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Summer Fun and Fitness  

The song, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is true. And, so do boys. If you make fitness fun, (like we do at Achievers) they’ll participate, enjoy it, and continue to like it throughout their lives. Summer is a great time to increase the fitness aspect of your children. Kids can engage in those activities at home, because they have more time and they can do it outside. USA Gymnastics makes it clear to not recommend kids practice actual gymnastics skills at home, but what Achievers can offer them are exercises and fun things to do at home that will increase their strength, flexibility, and coordination to better prepare them for gymnastics skills in our classes.

            Starting children when they’re young with fun and fitness is very important. In 1978 the Newman and Strong Study showed through autopsies done on preschoolers, that even as young as three year olds, children show signs of coronary risk factors. They had discovered streaks of fatty deposits in their blood. We have to get our children active and help to keep them active throughout their life. Obviously, it is extremely important to promote regular exercise to our children.

            Because children’s bodies are so small they naturally have impaired cardiac output and stroke volume and lower oxygen capacity due to smaller heart and lungs. Because of their inhibited lung capacity they breathe quicker than adults and prefer a start and stop activity over something that is more aerobic in nature. Most kids naturally don’t like aerobic activity. They lack the attention span and it is physically uncomfortable for them. What can we do to see that our students are growing and physically getting stronger? Encourage active play.

            Society has helped to make couch potatoes out of our children. With the crime rate as it is, many parents don’t feel comfortable allowing their children to go out to play freely like they did when they were kids. In many families both the mother and father work and don’t get home in time to allow their children to go out and play. And, they don’t feel comfortable for the babysitter to watch them outside. Encouraging kids to stay in gymnastics, and just active play will prevent adult obesity, and are worth our extra time and effort.

            Some shocking statistics that have come to light recently from Dr. Cooper’s Institute and cannot be ignored. For school age children 30%-35% are at risk for heart disease. Half of all children don’t engage in physical activity long enough to receive aerobic benefit. Only 32% of children ages 6-17 met the minimum standards for physical fitness out of 12,000 children tested. For children ages 5-8 it was found they already have at least one heart disease risk factor. Only the state of Illinois requires four years of daily physical education in high school.  I encourage parents of our students to play with your kids!  Let this be anr excuse to act like a kid.  Jump in and play with your children. They’ll love you for it, and they’ll appreciate what you doing for them.

            According to a 1987 Harvard study, in the last 20 years there has been a 54% increase in body fat in children. That percentage has doubled since the 1960’s. This is partially due to poor eating habits, but mainly because of lack of physical exercise. The psychological ramifications from children making fun of overweight peers can be hideous on young boys and girls. The chances of an overweight teen becoming an overweight adult is 80%. If a child comes from a home where both parents are obese there is an 80% chance they too will become obese adults. How can we stop this terrible down swing of physical fitness in our youth? They have got to start moving.

            Encourage your kids to ride their bike or walk to their friend’s house. Parents, park further away from the store and walk. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Add activity and movement to your kids lives whenever you can.

     Remember that the family that sweats together sticks together!