Childrens Health and Fitness
I think it is very relevant at the moment to discuss childrens health and fitness, especially after last nights TV program ‘Spoilt Rotten’ brought to light the amount it costs the NHS to treat children for illness and injuires that could of completely been avoided.
Obesity, rotting teeth and passive smoking were just some of the issues that were brought up on the program, all of which comes down to 2 things, Education and Lifestyle choices.
At Winners 2000, we are very concerned that not enough has been done to tackle these issues, so we have taken it on ourselfs, in a bid to improve the health and lifestyles of the the children in Torbay and Teignbridge.
We Have been running a Junior program called ‘Lions’ at our Torquay site for over 3 years and have had some amazing results. It nevers ceases to amaze us how impressionable young children are, and given the right time and information they will make the right choices for themselves. We have seen Children lose weight, increase in confidence, overcome bullying and acheive high levels of success at school both physically and academically all due to living the right lifestyle.
Our program isn’t your average junior sports program where the children turn up, play for an hour then go home, we ask a lot more from our ‘Lions’ than that. I have listed below the key skills that we use to design each session, the children then get tested at the end of term to prove that they have learnt all the important aspects of making the right lifestyle choices.
| Strength (safe and effective completion of strength training) | Full body resistance exercises taught and undertaken, using specialised gym equipment designed for Children.Free weight exercises with barbells, dumbbells, bands, balls and kettlebells.
The primary focus throughout any beginner training sessions is to ensure correct completion of each movement. |
| Flexibility | All types of stretching exercises are taught for each body part, along with breathing techniques, yoga and tai chi exercises. |
| Hand/eye co-ordination, | Teaching free weight exercises, plus ball games and boxing style drills. |
| Stamina and speed | Bleep tests, hill runs and cardiovascular exercises such as rowing and treadmill work. Measurement of stamina is carried out using recovery tests to measure resting heart rate. |
| Speed | Numerous sprint drills are completed over varying distances. These include change of direction and lateral speed to cover all major sports. |
| Balance and the development of neural pathways / movement patterns | Bosu/fit-ball movements are included as well as functional movements to develop balance, awareness and control. |
| Nutrition and diet planning | Teaching the basic food groups, how to build up a successful diet plan. Key foods to include and exclude from the diet to ensure good health and maximize sporting performance. Homework assignments included. |
| Community Awareness | Regular visits and presentations from the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Brigade, NHS No Smoking and RSPCA. Mock incidents at each session, questioning and verbal tests on these topics at every session. |
| Positive mental attitude | Discussing and identifying role models and the traits them make them successful. Learning how to set personal goals, and why they are so important. Using positive language and understanding how each Lions behaviour and conduct can impact on those around them. Using positive self-talk and simple reframes to see opportunities and challenges in the correct way. |
We obviously have a big emphasis on fun as well, it is very important to us the children enjoy participation in physical activity, hopefully this will condition them for the rest of there lives.
Our Lions program start on April 19th from our all 3 of our sites in Torquay, Paignton and Newton abbot, please email me for further details or call the gym direct if you have children that would like to make some positive changes.
Jon Ellery- Site Manager, Winners 2000 Paignton
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Excellent post. I saw the program myself and was left in disbelief at the attitude of some of the parents. One refused to believe and change the fact that she was overfeeding her obese, 10 stone, 5 year old child! I’m 10½ stone….Im 31!!! One parent refusing to give up smoking even though it was affecting their own child’s health. Sweets and pop for breakfast! What goes through these parents minds? These young minds and bodies are being ruined by their habitual and negative unhealthy lifestyles and eating habits that are guided and enforced by their own parents! Education of the parents it seems is as important as the education of the children. Congratulations to you and winners 2000 for setting up and successfully running the Lions program to motivate children and parents towards a fitter, healthier future.
We have had so many great results in the past 5 years we have been running the Lions project, in terms of how it has had a positive affect on children, not just physically. Children today are doing less and less, and in an environment with less discipline and boundaries than ever before. Not only is that not good for them, but it is not good for societey either. Our program is about “the whole” child, meaning we not only get them physically fit, we teach them about why it is important to be community aware, to not smoke, do drugs etc. We are really proud of this program and we hope that with the expansion we can get help more children than ever before.
It is really sad when we get children in who are so unhappy and withdrawn because they are overweight. There is no reason for any child to be overweight and unhealthy other than they are not eating correctly and they are not exercising, both of which are on the parents to a large degree. I tell all the parents I work with “if you ask your child what they want for tea, do you expect them to say vegetables and chicken?”. No, they choose via taste first, parents choose via cost and convenience in most cases. Food is fuel, children need good fuel to grow up healthy and strong, to develop properly. Just destabilising blood sugar levels through feeding them too much fruti juice, bread and pasta will cause weight gain and mood swings in a large proportion of the Uks children, as our genetics are not programmed to handle large amounts of sugar as someone born in the West Indies or India would be.
If you want any advice about your childs diet, if they are overweight or have helath problems you think are related to food, please contact me and I will happily, FREE OF CHARGE, give you some tips about how you can easily get them to lose weight and feel better.
Simon Jeffery
Manager
Winners 20000 Fitness Limited
Well, no excuse comes to mind! Get the kids down to winners! Help them get involved, active and educated on the their heath, fitness, well being and life skills. Simons advice is extremely valuable, take advantage of it now and make a difference.
http://www.winner2000.co.uk
My two children have been going to lions at winners Torquay for over a year now. They really enjoy the variety of exercises they do and having their own exercise card is helping them to take responsibility for their own health and well being. Which is really important for their health and fitness now and throughout their lives. They have both formed good relationships with the staff there, who are dedicated in what they do. I am pleased Lions have expanded by having more sessions on during the week. It is worth every penny as you cant put a price on your childrens future