TAG | coaches
3
Safe Fitness Training for Kids
No comments · Posted by Jason Zagami in Cross Training, New Articles
Education & Experience
Fitness programs for kids aren’t necessarily complicated, but they do require an additional level of education and experience. A child’s body is not fully developed, so it’s important that you take extra care when loading their muscle, bones, and tendons. Because of this we choose fun games that improve conditioning and team building, instead of focusing solely on strength.
The Right Tools
The best training for your kids is a balanced program of Cardio-Conditioning and Light Weight Lifting. Luckily today many schools and private fitness facilities have equipment designed to work for kids and adults. One of the best tools for training kids is the Concept2 Rower. The only exposed moving parts are the handle and the seat. Unlike the treadmill, the rower moves under the users own power making it virtually impossible for them to get injured by the machine.
Good Coaching vs Bad Coaching
Weight lifting for kids isn’t bad when done properly and performed well within their limitations. Problems arise when coaches create a competitive environment in the weight room, turning their training into a power lifting competition. When kids start Benching, Leg Pressing, or Squatting significantly more than their body weight, this can cause hardening of the growth plates, or tear their young muscles and tendons. Don’t let the media and a few bad coaches scare you away from keeping your kids healthy.
Teaching Them is Protecting Them
The goal is to teach them how to properly care for their bodies. We teach gym etiquette, nutrition, how to exercise safely, and explain the dangers of steroids and supplements. It’s a lot less likely that your child will be negatively influenced by peers if they’re properly educated.
bones · coaches · Coaching · concetp2 · Fitness · growth plate · high school · kids · middle school · muscles · sports · tendons
Work with True Experts
It still baffles me as to why people follow instructions from coaches that are in worse shape than their clients.
I’ve learned under Olympic lifting coaches, MMA Fighters, Top researchers in the field of Nutrition, and many others over the past eleven years. It’s the culmination of all that I’ve learned and applied to myself that makes me an expert in my field.
Leadership
As a coach, I could never ask a client or athlete to do something I couldn’t do. Everyday SBF trainers lead by example. We run races, eat the way we preach, and proudly post times and weight for our standardized workouts.
Smoke and Mirrors
Don’t settle for less than excellence. If a trainer is overweight or unable to run a mile, they are unqualified in that profession. You wouldn’t hire a Piano teacher that couldn’t play, so why is it so widely acceptable for trainers to be unfit?
Credentials
Education and Experience are not the same. Virtually every trainer these days has a degree in Exercise Physiology. It’s just the beginning of their education, not a replacement for real world experience. Until it’s applied properly over years with many athletes it’s nothing more than “Exercise Theory”.
The Right Fit
When looking for a trainer, decide on a goal. If you want to become a better runner don’t hire a bodybuilder. Conversely if you’re interested in power lifting don’t hire a tennis coach. Find a trainer that has the body type you want. While body types can be influenced by genetics, being in top shape never happens by accident.
True Athletes
At Solid Body Fitness Strength and Conditioning coaches Jason Zagami and Daniella Bitto have years of experience with athletes. Let us help you reach your goal whether it is a marathon or losing five pounds. We’ll get you there.
Click Here for a Free Guest Pass
Solid Body Fitness
63 Sprague Street Hyde Park
617-365-0905
Jason@SolidBodyFit.com
Human performance and overall wellness is improving at a rate that has never previously been possible. The advent of the Internet has provided a vast wealth of information from researchers, coaches, and athletes on which methods are effective and which are fruitless.
Mining for Gold
The greatest information is available online mostly free or for a nominal fee (usually under $75 per year). There is a lot of garbage on the web to sift through, so find credible experts
and see who they associate with. I’ve learned the most from Mark Twight of GymJones.com for endurance training, Greg Glassman of crossfit.com for power training, Mike Boyle strengthcoach.com for sport specific training, Dr. Barry Sears zonediet.com for nutrition, and the New England Journal of Medicine NEJM.org for disease management.
Can’t Steal What’s Free
All of my information is available online and it’s free. By putting myself out there it pushes me to be a better writer and coach. If I write something I have no choice but to back it up or get called out.
All of our workouts are available online. I’ve worked incredibly hard the past eleven years traveling the world, and learning from the best coaches. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on seminars and trainings, countless hours researching and experimenting, and now the culmination of all my hard work is up for the world to see.
I do it partly to prove myself but also to challenge others. If we all share what we know we will advance faster then ever thought possible. Don’t be afraid of someone copying you. By the time they start using it, You’re already 10 steps ahead with new information and research.
Go out, learn, test, and post results
Solid Body Fitness
617-365-0905
Jason@SolidBodyFit.com