For children to grow up healthy and active, it’s important that they develop these habits early. One of the best ways to support that effort is by establishing a youth fitness program at your local gym or fitness studio. By providing the tools, skills and experience needed in order to lead a physically active lifestyle, you can help make health and fitness a lifelong habit for children and teens. So how do you get a program started? It’s much easier than you may think.
Promoting healthy lifestyle choices with youth fitness programs
A safe and effective program is about going beyond exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle. As a trainer focused on youth, it’s important for you to play an integral role in preventing obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In fact, statistics indicate that as much as 80 percent of American children may be overweight when diagnosed. It’s without question that these medical conditions have become an epidemic—but, you can become a leader in prevention through an effective and educational program.
As you begin to plan and prepare classes for your program, be sure to select activities that are suitable to the age group and the physical ability of the participants. For example, playing tag or hula hooping may be more age appropriate for young children—while Zumba or jogging may be more suitable for teenagers. The most effective youth fitness programs are enjoyable for every participant. More importantly, this is your golden opportunity to educate the kids on the value of making their health a priority at an early age. And remember, nothing is more effective than leading by example.
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Growing your skill set with a youth fitness certification
Whether your goal is to promote youth fitness at a local elementary or junior high school, the YMCA or through an outdoor summer program—it’s important that you are armed with the skills and education to get started. Through one of these organized programs, you can work to assess and grow your participants’ aerobic capacity, flexibility, muscular strength, endurance and performance. With certification from a third-party accreditation, you will have the experience and tools needed in order to administer and examine proper strength and endurance training. And, in turn, you will be able to determine the strength levels of the kids. With this as a base, you can offer activity recommendations geared toward building and growing their skills.
As you begin to explore options for certification, be sure to enroll in a comprehensive program that can help you to achieve your short- and long-term goals. The most important outcome of a youth fitness certification is that you are qualified to give your youth participants the tools, skills and experience to lead a physically active lifestyle into adulthood. Ready to get started? Learn more, today.
