Fitness for Kid's

Why fitness training important for kids?

Adequate muscular strength allows kids to deal with the demands of daily life without excessive stress on their joints and muscles. Activities that build strength promote strong bones, muscles and good posture, improve the ability to lift and manoeuvre objects and obstacles and enhance healthy growth and development.

Importance of Physical Activity for Children

Children need to be active every day to promote their healthy growth and development.

Kids who establish healthy lifestyle patterns at a young age will carry them - and their benefits - forward for the rest of their lives.

Physical activity can help kids cope with stress. It also promotes: 

·         Healthy growth and development 

·         Better self-esteem 

·         Stronger bones, muscles and joints 

·         Better posture and balance 

·         A stronger heart 

·         A healthier weight range 

·         Social interaction with friends 

·         Learning new skills while having fun 

·         Better focus and concentration during school

Ask if they want to be a part of a team or do an individual activity, enroll in a skill based or recreational class or do their activity with a friend or family member. 

Parents can provide support and guidance about how to start and how much activity a child needs each day. They need to feel motivated and enjoy their activities. Keeping an activity log can help them chart their progress, while praise and rewards for each small step achieved can help to keep them motivated. 

Children should: 

·         Include a warm up and cool down as part of each activity session

·         Drink water before, and after activities - and have water breaks during their activities

·         Wear sunblock, a hat and sunglasses when outside in warmer weather

·         Use the right size of protective equipment

·         Start at a level that matches their current fitness level. Too much too soon can result in injury. Always play it safe

Canada 's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living for Children tells us that three different types of activities promote healthy growth and development: 

1. Endurance

Endurance or aerobic activities - activities that involve continuous movement of large muscle groups - increase heart rate, cause breathing to quicken, and make you work up a sweat. They are important for development of a healthy heart and lungs. 

Endurance activities can be lots of fun - and they don't have to be competitive. Help your children choose the right activities for them. Here are a few examples: 

·         Scootering, in-line skating, skateboarding

·         Swimming, skating, dancing, tennis, martial arts  

·         Hiking, jogging, skipping, playing tag, cycling, dodgeball  

·         Hockey, football, soccer, basketball  

·         Skiing, lacrosse, wall climbing  

2. Flexibility

Activities that encourage children to bend, stretch and reach promote flexibility. Having adequate flexibility allows children to participate in daily activities without pain or restriction from their muscles or joints. 

Being flexible promotes good posture, reduces muscle stiffness and soreness, increases relaxation and minimizes risk of injury 

Flexibility Activities 

·         Active play on a playground 

·         Digging in the garden or at the beach, raking leaves

·         Gymnastics, dancing, wall climbing 

·         Yoga, skipping, stretching routines 

3. Strength

Working against a resistance helps children build stronger muscles. Adequate muscular strength allows kids to deal with the demands of daily life without excessive stress on their joints and muscles. 

Activities that build strength promote strong bones, muscles and good posture, improve the ability to lift and manoeuvre objects and obstacles and enhance healthy growth and development. 

Strength activities to promote strong bones and muscles include: 

·         Lifting and carrying things like groceries, garbage and garden waste 

·         Raking leaves, climbing stairs 

·         Gymnastics, doing sit-ups and push-ups 

·         Playground activities: monkey bars, climbing ladders, scaling poles 

·         Calisthenics using their own body weight as resistance or supervised weight training exercises using tubing, bands and hand weights. 

 

Regular exercise and physical activity promotes strong muscles and bones. It improves respiratory, cardiovascular health, and overall health. Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and reduce your risk for some cancers.

The takeaway

Staying active at any age helps to promote overall health.

Building a healthy foundation is important for raising children to be healthy adults. Children are naturally active, and encouraging this with fitness guidance will create lasting habits.

Enroll your kids today & make them happy in life

Thank You...