Despite our best efforts, childhood obesity
rates continue to rise. Many factors contribute to this, but surely one of the
most important factors is a lack of exercise. According to the Center for
Disease Control, children and adolescents should do roughly an hour of aerobic
exercise a day to stay healthy. Yet in recent years, less than a quarter
of our school children actually do that. And as our children live increasingly
sanitary, boxed-in, always-wired lives, it's little wonder that they don't find
time to exercise. But, that can be changed.
If you're someone who's concerned
by this and would like to help do something about it, one of the easiest things
to promote among children is functional fitness training.
If you're someone who's concerned
by this and would like to help do something about it, one of the easiest things
to promote among children is functional fitness training.
Simply put, functional fitness is about using
the body itself as training equipment. There's no need for weights or complex
machinery that can be dangerous for children. Basically, it's about letting
children play like children already do! Stop by a playground sometime, and
watch the kids. What do they do? They climb things. They crawl under things.
They run. They play balancing games. Done properly, these are all totally valid
forms of exercise. Put into a structured setting, these simple activities can
be turned into effective youth fitness and exercise programs.
And best of all, they're FUN! The kids are already doing these things by themselves. They just need a little help from you to make sure they stay on-task and get the exercise they need. Something like an obstacle course like The Railyard Obstacle Course can be the perfect solution to this. With some boxes to jump on and off of, and some balance boards to walk across and crawl under, just about any area can be turned into a ready-made childhood functional fitness center in a matter of minutes.
So what do the children get out of this? Besides getting to do the things they already enjoy, strength training among children helps them get the most out of their growing bodies. Younger children don't put on muscle mass from training like adults do, but what it does do for them is train their brains to use their bodies effectively. A child's brain has to learn to use their body's muscles, and these sorts of exercises are perfect for doing that. Whether they're your own children, your students, or your clients, these simple activities unlock the potential within their own bodies. The health benefits will be immediate, but will last a lifetime.
Even though childhood obesity and inactivity
rates can be worrisome, it turns out that the simplest of youth fitness and
exercise programs can be the most beneficial. You can help make a difference
and make life better for our children both today, and for the rest of their
lives.http://www.railyardfitness.com
