Fitness Friday: Jake Steinfeld, Personal-Fitness Guru, Gives Tips to Keep Kids Fit

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Jake Steinfeld, the actor, fitness personality and co-founder of Major League Lacrosse, knows how to keep a body in shape.

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Starting in 1990, Steinfeld created “Body by Jake”, which is a personal fitness company that makes innovative exercise products, workout videos, started the first fitness television network, FitTV, and even offers an online physical fitness training program called fitorbit.

Steinfeld, who was born in Sea Gate, Brooklyn, grew up in Baldwin, Long Island and has lived in Los Angeles since 1977, started training celebrities in L.A. and gained a reputation as the “trainer to the stars.” Early in his career, Steinfeld trained Harrison Ford (to get in shape for the movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”), Steven Spielberg and Priscilla Presley.

Just last week, Steinfeld and David Morrow, the creator of the lacrosse equipment company Warrior Sports, published their co-authored book, “Take a Shot!: A Remarkable Story of Perseverance, Friendship, and a Really Crazy Adventure". The book chronicles how they (including a third partner Tim Robertson) founded theMajor League Lacrosse, the first professional outdoor lacrosse league.

While Patch , he gave us some simple tips on how to keep your kids and family in shape.

Steinfeld served under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Governor Jerry Brown as Chairman of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, during which he had a mission to establish California as the nation’s first “Fitness State”. He is currently the Chairman of the National Foundation for Governor’s Fitness Councils, which supports state councils by providing fitness centers to schools across the U.S.

Without further delay, here are Steinfeld’s tips for keeping your Body by Jake:

1. Everything in moderation. When it comes to practice (whatever your sport may be) or working out, go hard, but don’t over do it. It is important, however, to do a little bit everyday to help your strength and endurance.
2. Nutrition is major. If you put junk in your body, you play junky. You want to be a lean horse for a long race. This is a family challenge, have fun with menu ideas that works for the whole gang.
3. Don’t make sports or fitness a second job. Don’t make yourself nuts — patience is important, along with practice and persistence.
4. Have fun: Find an exercise that you enjoy doing. If you enjoy the exercise, you will continue to do them.
5. Find one day a week to eat whatever you want. Steinfeld likes to indulge on Saturdays. “It’s something I look forward to. Every Saturday I get up in the morning and I eat whatever I want. I love ice cream, pizza and M&M’s and I eat them all. Saturday night comes around and I say, ‘I’m never doing this again, my stomach hurts.’ But by Thursday I can’t wait for Saturday,” he said. It’s good for your mind, body, soul and family.  
6. Try to work out together. Family participation is so important, Steinfeld explained, to help fight childhood obesity. If the family takes responsibility for themselves, it is amazing what happens.
7. At the end of the day, “Don’t Quit!” which is Steinfeld’s motto. “Don’t quit on you and don’t quit on your family,” he said. 

If you are interested in getting more information, products or suggestions on how to get in shape, go to Jake Steinfeld’s website, BodyByJake.com. If you want to read Patch’s interview with Steinfeld, . To check out Steinfeld’s and Morrow’s book, click here to find it on Amazon.com.  

Check out these other fitness tips in our Local Voices section:

Fitness Friday Exercises: