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After more than 10 years in the health and fitness industry, as an AFAA certified personal trainer, group-exercise instructor and fitness director, I stumbled across a new concept in the ever-growing quest to change lives through exercise. "No Sweat ... Go for Gold" is a board game in which you exercise as you play. Don't let the name fool you; after more than 60 push-ups, 28 leg-lifts and 45 crunches I was sweating!

An entrepreneur in Sacramento, California, developed "No Sweat" to bring exercise and fitness education to families. After almost 20 years of mulling over the idea, perfecting the game board, patenting it and establishing the company name, Fun & Fitness LLC, Dan Thompson created a unique and fun way to help families get fit.

How to Play

The objective of the game, secondary to getting fit and having fun, is to earn enough money by exercising and moving along the game board to enter the track-and-field competition at the center of the board.

The game is initiated when players earn $50 by completing their warm-up stretches. Players must raise money for hotel accommodations, airfare and sporting goods.

The first three players to finish win gold, silver and bronze medals. The medals, exercise descriptions, game bucks and rules come nicely packaged in the "No Sweat" game box.

The game includes "calorie cards" showing pictures and indicating calorie counts for different foods. There are also "exercise cards" picturing 18 different exercises.

At the start of the game, players individually select their level of play. Beginners perform the number of repetitions shown on the red exercise die, intermediate players perform double the number and advanced players triple the number.

Young children or those new to exercise should definitely stick to the beginner level.

The underlying success of "No Sweat" is that the whole family can play and it is adaptable to different fitness levels. It is fun to see how children and adults alike can progress while playing the game.

All the Sacramento families who originally tested the game absolutely loved it.

The bottom line is that playing "No Sweat" gets families off the couch and, more importantly, moving.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:08 AM