American Council On Exercise Helps Fitness Seekers Go For The Gold With Olympics-Inspired Workouts

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of the upcoming Olympic Games, American Council on Exercise (ACE) has developed four week-long workouts inspired by popular events to help Americans train like the athletes who will be competing in London this summer.  As the public follows the excitement on TV, they can also get fit with gymnastics, track and field, swimming and cycling-inspired exercise programs.

The gymnastics and track and field workouts were developed in partnership with Olympic gold medalists Dominique Dawes and Allyson Felix. Both are members of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN), and Dawes is a co-chair of the organization.

"The Olympic Games showcase the world's finest and best trained athletes, people who dedicate their lives to maintaining healthy lifestyles so they can be at the top of their sport," said ACE Chief Science Officer Dr. Cedric X. Bryant. "Using this international event as an inspiration, ACE has developed these workouts to show Americans how they too can train like their favorite Olympians. It's all part of our continuing effort to help people live their most fit lives."

ACE fitness experts evaluated the four sports and developed exercises based on the attributes world-class competitors require, including balance, agility, strength and coordination. ACE then tailored the workouts to be accessible to fitness enthusiasts at any ability level.  Each plan includes a warm up, cool down and four different exercise routines to be completed in a week, with rest days in between.  A new workout will be posted each week leading up to the Games at ACE Get Fit™ Workouts and will include instructional videos and photos to help demonstrate how to properly perform the exercise that make up each of the workouts.

A member of the gold medal-winning "Magnificent Seven" in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Dawes now dedicates her time to working with the PCFSN on various healthy living initiatives.  She is also a supporter of the fitness component of Joining Forces, in which ACE and the PCFSN have partnered to unite fitness professionals around the nation to offer one million hours of fitness training services at no cost to family members of actively deployed military reservists and National Guard members.

According to Dawes, "Gymnastics is the ultimate combination of strength, balance and coordination. You get out of the training what you put in, which means you get to choose your own success."

Allyson Felix, a gold medalist sprinter, helped in the development of the track and field workout.  Felix is currently participating in the Olympic trials. "Training for track and field is all about finding the motivation to work hard," she said. "Whatever your specific event, working on your strength is going to provide the foundation for your success." 

For more information on ACE's Olympic-inspired workouts and additional exercises, visit ACEfitness.org/workouts

About ACE
American Council on Exercise (ACE), America's premier fitness and personal trainer certification, continuing education, and training organization, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting Americans against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction.  ACE sponsors university-based fitness and exercise science research studies and is the world's largest nonprofit fitness certifying organization.  For more information on ACE and its programs, call (800) 825-3636 or visit the ACE website at www.acefitness.org.  AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE, ACE and ACE logos are Registered Trademarks of the American Council on Exercise.

SOURCE American Council on Exercise