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CNN Saturday Morning News
Summer Shape-Up: Interview With Jake Steinfeld
Aired June 08, 2002 - 08:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN ANCHOR: Our summer shape up segment this morning is all about kids, how to get them to eat right and have fun doing it.
Joining us from Los Angeles is Jake Steinfeld, the author of "Get Strong: Body By Jake's Guide To Building Confidence, Muscles and A Great Future For Teenage Guys."
Jake's joining us now live from Los Angeles.
Jake, good morning.
JAKE STEINFELD, FITNESS EXPERT: Hey, Jacqui, how you doing?
JERAS: Great, thank you.
Hey, why are we going to teenage guys now?
STEINFELD: Well, you know, it's interesting, I was actually a fat kid with a terrible stutter growing up and it wasn't until my dad bought me a set of weights when I was about 14 years old that really changed my life. I mean not only did the weights build my body, but it built my self-esteem and confidence.
And interestingly enough, what teenage girls have known for a lifetime about body image, self-esteem and self-awareness, teenage boys are just coming to understand. And that's really what "Get Strong" is all about. It's more of a road map for a teenage guy to build confidence, muscles and a great future.
JERAS: All right, well, a lot of teenage guys I know are sitting at home, playing their Sony PlayStation 2 and getting on the computer. How do we motivate them? How do we get out there and do some exercises with these?
STEINFELD: Well, I'll tell you what, Jacqui, you know, it's not just the teenage guys. There are a lot of kids in this country who are sitting around on the Internet and not outside being physically active. You know, one very important thing that I think works always is, you know, kind of living by example. And the moms and dads, moms and dads who are watching right now, there is a terrific workout that I came up with in "Get Strong." It's kind of a throwback workout where you don't have to go to a gym. You don't need a lot of weights and stuff. You do it right in the basement or right in the bedroom. You need, you know, two dumbbells, a straight bar. You know, you can put a pull-up bar right in between the door jamb and you can do it along with your son. It's, you know, it's a four week program that, once again, builds endurance, builds confidence and builds self- esteem.
But the name of the game is is everything in moderation. You know, everyone always looks and says why there are so many fitness gurus out there and so many diet products and so many pieces of fitness equipment, why is America getting fatter and fatter and fatter? And my opinion on that, quite honestly, Jacqui, is that everything becomes white light because what's announced today being good tomorrow is not good.
JERAS: Right.
STEINFELD: And people just want to be able to live a healthy, happy life, to be able to grow into their '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s and enjoy their wives and husbands and kids and grandkids and not feel the ohyoiyoi (ph), you know? It's the ohyoiyoi factor.
JERAS: Right. And what's, at what age should people start exercising? Teenage or earlier?
STEINFELD: Well, I'll tell you what. You know, there are a lot of different studies out there. I really believe that, you know, I have four little midgets at home. I have a 9-year-old daughter, a 7- year-old son, a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old son. Now, you know, they're all not doing thousand pound squats. But, you know, they're running around. Get kids outside. Let them play. You know, structure is kind of cool early on. Team sports is terrific.
But when you're talking about weights, 11, 12, 13 years old you could really get them started working out with weights. But before that, pushups, pull-ups and dips. Excellent exercises. Get that muscle memory going.
JERAS: All right, sounds like a great idea and do it with family. A little bit of motivation.
STEINFELD: Absolutely.
JERAS: All right, thanks, Jake, for joining us.
Jake Steinfeld's new book, guys, for teenage boys, "Get Strong."
STEINFELD: That's it.
JERAS: All right. Thank you very much.
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