Do you want to get into better shape for a sport?
Are you getting enough exercise?
Are you in the shape you want to be in?
Do you feel good about your body?
Do you know how to exercise and eat right?
Are you motivated to exercise and do you enjoy it?
There are so many reasons why a child or teen would exercise. These are just some of them. A trainer can help them get on a specific program tailored to their goals and needs that is fun and safe.
Growing up in the Bronx, my cousin and I spent a lot of time together. At 14, he said, how about starting to exercise, “You’ll look good for the girls?” Something in me just clicked. I moved my brother’s bench and his plastic weights filled with sand into my bedroom and I set up a pull-up bar. I started doing push ups and sit ups and worked out in school with the weights. I got really into it and had my friends come over on the weekends and work out with me. When I became 15 1/2, my brother asked me if I wanted to join Metrofit, a gym a few miles away. I went with him and his friend John. John taught me how to workout. Within 3 weeks I was designing the training programs. We worked out for a year or so and then my best friend Adam and I worked out. He was captain of the football team. I designed all of our workouts. Working out as a child set me up for the rest of my life. I’ve been working out since I was 14 years old straight and now while I’m writing this I am 45.
When I was looking for schools to go to, I thought I was going to become an accountant like my dad. I went to Buffalo University to take a look at what they offered. They offered a degree in Sports and Exercise Science, which I was very interested in. Through one of my four internships, I was at a fitness center where I taught a youth strength and conditioning class. When I came out to Los Angeles I trained a number of children in their homes and at health clubs. One, kid I worked with from 10 years old to 18. I got him on a great strength and conditioning program, played a lot of different sports with him, and went hiking and to the beach together. I helped him a lot with his eating encouraging him to eat healthy and worked very closely with his mom to help her son eat well. I have found children respond very well to a trainer to exercising and eating habits and maybe not so well to their parents.
I think it is so important for children to exercise and eat right. Many children unfortunately don’t exercise and/or eat right and don’t live the lives that they can.
Children can:
- look and feel better
- increase their strength
- increase the stamina and endurance
- perform better in sports
- feel better about themselves and their body’s
- decrease their weight and reduce their body fat if necessary (break the cycle early)
- set up great lifetime habits
- learn how and be encouraged to eat healthier
A trainer can be a great support system for helping a child get on an exercise program and healthy eating plan. They can take the child through a comprehensive fitness assessment and have a fun, safe and effective exercise program designed for them tailored to the child’s health and fitness goals.