HEALTH Personal Fitness

BATHING SUIT SEASON IS UPON US, leaving us the perennial three options: 1. buy some great cover-ups and towels and extol the virtues of the one-piece swimsuit and baggy trunks; 2. make an effort to get in shape; or 3. become a prophet of “safe skin” and shun the sun and those who love it. While all three options have their advantages, we’ve all known since our days in junior high P.E. classes that fitness should be our goal. What we may also have learned in those days, though, was that fitness meant squat thrusts and other absurd and torturous Jack La Lanne-endorsed isometrics.

Welcome to the ’90s, where fitness means fun-getting outside and doing the things you like to do in places you like to be. Call it cross-training or lifestyle shaping, or whatever you want. It means biking, walking, skating, and hiking-the things we did before the fitness fanatics told us it was good for us.

Here are the best places to just do it in the Metroplex.



Mountain biking

SINCE 1988, THE DALLAS OFF ROAD Bicycle Association has built and maintained eight trails for mountain bikers. This award-winning group, which boasts a membership of 400, logged more than 1,400 volunteer hours on local trail projects last year, according to DORBA president Steve Mayo. “If you ride a mountain bike trail in Dallas, we’ve probably built it,” he adds. The best trail? Mayo says to head to Cedar Hill State Park, which offers challenging 3.5-mile and 7-mile loop courses. The park is located off FM 1382, 3.2 miles south of I-20.

Beginners might prefer a course at the L.B. Houston Park, located on California Crossing Road at the Trinity River, bordered by Loop 12, Highway 114, and Northwest Highway, just north of the University of Dallas campus. Named tor a former director of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department, the L.B. Houston trails are set among large trees, rolling hills, creeks, and wildflowers. The 926-acre park also offers a more difficult 4-mile trait for mountain hikers and several dirt trails for hikers only. To reach the park, take Highway 114 to Las Colinas and exit at Tom Braniff Road. Go north on Tom Braniff to California Crossing and then turn left.

Other popular spots include:

●a 3.8-mile trail at Boulder Park near Red Bird airport (take I-35 south to the Cleburne/Highway 67 exit; the park is just south of the airport off Highway 67); this is a challenging course through a tree-lined park;

●a 3-mile course at Windmill Hill Nature Preserve in DeSoto, one mile south of Highway 67 on Main Street;

●the 10-mile, hilly Northshore National Recreational Trail at Rockyledge Park at Lake Grapevine;

●a 3.5-mile trail at Horseshoe Park at Dove Road north of Business 114 in Grapevine;

●the 4.5-mile Knob Hill Trail at Highway 3 77 and 1171, north of Roanoke; and

t●he 2.5-mile and 6-mile loops at Sister Grove Park off Highway 380, east of McKinney.

Call DORBA at 214-556-0640 for more information, including updates on trail conditions. The city of Dallas also has a map of 400 miles of bike routes along less-traveled residential streets and in industrial areas, according to P.M. Summer, bicycle coordinator for the city. “There’s a whole different world out there on the back roads,” he says. To get more information about the map, which costs $7-50, call 214-670-4039.



Nature walking

TAKE THE WHOLE FAMILY-INCLUDING Fido, on his leash-to the Dallas Nature Center, a 630-square-mile nature preserve located on Mountain Creek Parkway in Duncanville. This place is the perfect cure for any city blues you may he feeling and is a great introduction to the outdoors for kids who may be seeing too much pavement.

The center features five trails ranging in length from a half-mile to 2.5 miles. All are for hiking only; some feature steep slopes. Three are dog-friendly. Head for the observat ion platform for a view of Joe Pool Lake.

The center is open from sunrise to sunset and offers regular tours highlighting native plants, as well as special programs for the kids. To get there, take I-35 south to the Highway 67 exit and turn right on Wheatland Road. Drive four miles on Wheatland to Mountain Creek, turn left, and look for the sign for the center on your right. Call 214-296-1955 for more information.

City walking

IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO DRIVE into the suburbs, or simply prefer the sights, sounds, and smells of civilization, try the 2.3-mile Turtle Creek Greenbelt trail, which begins at Reverchon Park on Maple Avenue and winds its way through Oak Lawn to Avondale and further into Highland Park. You’ll pass some of the city’s most exclusive high-rise residences and most elegant mansions. This paved trail is well-populated on weekdays at noon with members of downtown health clubs.



Walking (or cycling) into the past

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN WHILE YOU BURN, try the Mustang Historical Trail in Farmers Branch. The 9.3-mile route begins at the Farmers Branch Historical Park on Farmers Branch Lane between Denton and Ford roads. The trail features 22 historical locations, including a railroad depot dating back to 1875, the sites of the first Dallas County schoolhouse, cemetery, Methodist Church, and the location of” the Confederate Cavalry Training Camp. The trail is best for walkers and bikers because it follows city streets, although a section along Golfing Green Drive features a paved trail that connects with Oram Good Park. Pick up a map at the Historical Park’s museum shop. Take I-35 north to the Valley View exit, just north of I-635 (LBJ Freeway).



Lakeside jogging, biking, or blading

THE 3-MILE BACHMAN LAKE TRAIL IS BEST for walkers, joggers, and rollerbladers who don’t mind a little urban activity mixed in with their pastoral scenes-look for frequent landings at Love Field, but also keep your eye open for Saint Mark’s crew team quietly rowing down the lake, The lake is just west of I-35 on Northwest Highway.

The granddaddy of lake view trails is, of course, the 12-mile White Rock Lake trail (see our feature this month, “50 Reasons to Save White Rock Lake,”page 40). The trail connects with the 7.5-mile White Rock Creek Green Belt Trail, which extends north from the lake through nine Dallas parks to I-635 and Hillcrest. Along the way, the trail crosses under Central Expressway, where you can hear the never-ending thunder of cars passing over your head. City officials estimate that more than 20,000 people use the trail each week, so if you like to people-watch, this is the place to go.

Other great trails

●The Breckinridge Park Trail in northeast Richardson offers a 4.5-mile loop around a small lake. The park has a wheelchair access restroom and is popular with families and picnickers. Take Central Expressway north to Renner Road, Turn east on Renner, and follow signs for the park until you reach Brand Road. Turn right on Brand and drive a quarter-mile to the parking area.

●Brookhaven Community College at Marsh and Valley View offers a 2-mile walking and jogging trail that circles the campus and is popular with students.

●The 2,4-mile exercise trail at Kiest Park on South Hampton and Kiest is a nice paved jogging path.

●The 4.5-mile trail along Duck Creek Road that travels to the Oates Road in Garland,

●The 1.7-mile trail at Glendale Park on East Ledbetter in Oak Cliff.

For more information on outdoor trails, call the Dallas Park and Recreation Department at 214-670-4100, or the parks departments of Dallas’ surrounding cities.

Happy trails!

Under 20 and Overweight



R. KENNETH H. COOPER, REVERED EXERcise guru and founder of the Cooper Aerobics Center in North Dallas, where well-trained adult bodies have gotten their physical fitness fixes for years, is shifting his focus. He’s looking at children, and he’s not sure he likes what he sees.

Cooper’s new book, Kid Fitness: A Complete Shape-Up Program from Birth Through High School, presents some rather startling facts and figures: Kids today are heavier and less fit than 15 years ago; eleven million children age 6 to 17 are obese; and at least 30 to 35 percent of school-age children are at risk for heart disease and premature death as adults.

Cooper attributes the problem to lifestyle changes: schools have fewer exercise requirements; children no longer walk or ride their bikes to school; and after school, children turn to TVs and video games keep them indoors and sedentary.

The good news, says Cooper, is that with a little guidance from parents, change can come rather quickly, and most kids also don’t need a regimented fitness program. The best idea is to begin incorporating more physical activities into your family V daily lifestyle. To keep your children interested in fitness, Cooper stresses the importance of age-appropriate activities. For example, during the first several years of life, most children are active enough on their own and don’t need a lot of encouragement to spend their extra energy. When children are a little older (5 to 8 years old), parents should make sure their kids are getting at least 30 minutes of exercise three or four times a week. Whatever you do, don’t force a child to do something he dislikes. (Try a long walk in the neighborhood with your dog-it will give kids a good workout and can also be an opportunity for heart-to-heart talks, lessons on nature, and map-skill building). Cooper also notes that intense physical activities such as weight training should be avoided until a child passes puberty.

Cooper’s new book is available in local bookstores; to learn more about fitness classes for kids at the Cooper Aerobics Center, call 214-233-4832.