Tips for Fitness Professionals Who Work With Kids!

When it comes to kids, physical activity must be fun! Kids don’t view exercise in the same way that adults do. Adults seek out exercise for health related benefits, kids are not concerned with the physiological training effect of exercise, they come for the psychological rewards…social interaction, personal success and fun! Whether leading a kid’s fitness class or developing youth fitness programs you need to consider all of the things that motivate kids to move and keep them coming back for more.

Guidelines and Tips for Youth Strength Training

Can children do strength-training exercise? YES!
Should children do strength-training exercise? YES!

The physical benefits for children who do strength training include more muscle strength, more connective tissue strength, more bone strength and reduced injury risk.

Youth strength training guidelines:

· Exercises: 4-12 per session
· Sets: 1-3 per exercise (12 total sets/session)
· Repetitions: 10-15 per set

JrFit: Youth Fitness Specialty Certification (19-24 CECs--all major certs US and Canada)

If youth fitness is an area of training that sounds interesting, you should consider continuing your education with advanced training to safely and effectively work with the youth of all ages and fitness levels. An excellent home-study CEC course that is recognized by all major certification organizations in the US and Canada is:

JrFit: Youth Fitness Specialty Certification

This in depth program (worth 19-24 CECs) will teach already certified and experienced personal trainers, lifestyle coaches, and athletic trainers to safely and effectively train youth ages 7-17.

American Academy of Health and Fitness: Fitness Specialty Certifications and Continuing Education Home Study Courses for Health and Fitness Professionals

Dispelling the Myths About Youth Strength Training

Can children do strength-training exercise? YES!
Should children do strength-training exercise? YES!

One common objection to youth strength training is that youth can’t build muscle due to lack of testosterone. Studies have shown that children can indeed build muscle – an average of 2.5 lbs. in two months!

A similar objection is that youth can’t build strength due to lack of testosterone. Again, studies have shown that children can indeed gain strength—as much as 65% in two months.

Overweight in Early Childhood Increases Chances for Obesity at Age 12

Children who are overweight as toddlers or preschoolers are more likely to be overweight or obese in early adolescence, report researchers in a collaborative study by the NIH and several academic institutions.

The researchers periodically collected height and weight measurements of a sample of children, beginning at age 2 and continuing until age 12. Their analysis, appearing in the September Pediatrics, provides some of the strongest evidence to date that overweight in early childhood increase the chances for overweight in later life.

Many Obese Youth Have Condition That Precedes Type 2 Diabetes

Many obese children and adolescents have impaired glucose tolerance, a condition that often appears before the development of type 2 diabetes, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study findings appear in The New England Journal of Medicine.

"This study suggests that many obese children have a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "Researchers have a lot of information on how to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes in adults, but we need to find better ways to prevent and treat the disease in children."

"Calcium Crisis" Affects American Youth--Expanded Web Site Seeks to Inform Children of Dangers of Low Calcium Intake

Only 13.5 percent of girls and 36.3 percent of boys age 12 to 19 in the United States get the recommended daily amount (RDA) of calcium, placing them at serious risk for osteoporosis and other bone diseases, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Because nearly 90 percent of adult bone mass is established by the end of this age range, the nation's youth stand in the midst of a calcium crisis.

"Osteoporosis is a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), sponsor of the Milk Matters calcium education campaign. "Preventing this and other bone diseases begins in childhood. With low calcium intake levels during these important bone growth periods, today's children and teens are certain to face a serious public health problem in the future."