The numbers are alarming – just read the two comparison points below. According to the Department of Health and Human Services:
- Only one in three children are physically active every day.
- Children now spend more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen (e.g., TV, videogames, computer).
Does your child play a sport?
Many sports taught today focus on the skills of that particular sport, but not the overall fitness required to advance. For example, here a few of the requirements for specific sports:
- Soccer requires aerobic endurance, speed, quickness, and agility.
- Baseball requires balance and coordination, speed, quickness, reaction time, and agility.
- Basketball requires strength and power, jumping ability, balance, and coordination.
Each sport has specific key fitness components.
What if my child doesn’t play a sport?
Now all kids have an interest in or are active in sports. Many kids have interests in art, music, science, or technology, but this may mean that they don’t have a chance for daily fitness or more physical activities besides gym class. They should find ways to be active for at least 30 minutes a day and develop good fitness habits to avoid chronic illness.
Where do you start?
As parents, we should be teaching our children the right habits in life. Balance Health and Fitness can start by assessing your child’s current fitness level and then come up with a plan to make improvements. It’s important to determine a baseline of their overall fitness to develop a plan to monitor progress.
Get a fitness assessment for your child
This assessment takes about 1 to 1 ½ hours to complete, and it addresses elements such as balance, agility, speed, and coordination, as well as the upper body, lower body, and core strength. Detailed results are provided and an option for the design of a custom fitness plan can be created if you choose to do so. During the assessment, your child will be guided from activity to activity, and the atmosphere is always friendly. This is not a “boot camp” experience, but a supportive one that’s appropriate for kids.
How much does it cost?
Coach Duane from Balance Health and Fitness will complete the fitness assessment for $35 and provide you with results. Additional options include designing a custom workout plan, one-on-one training, and group training.
Coach Duane is the owner of Balance Health and Fitness. He holds credentials from the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a personal trainer and youth exercise specialist. You can reach him at Duane.Hardek@gmail.com or at 412.607.3544.
