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KIDS’ FITNESS


David Parker


Founder, IMOVE Training & Education


“I


MOVE Training has worked


with children as young as six years old and up to the age of 18 for almost 10 years, but it’s only in the last three years that the main business focus has been children and adolescent fitness. We help young people develop strong and healthy bodies, and aim to nurture a good perspective on maintaining activity into adulthood. “We offer a variety of fi tness sessions


designed to develop fundamental movement skills and athletic motor skill competencies, while improving physical fi tness such as mobility, strength, muscular strength and endurance, power and aerobic fi tness. Every session includes elements of lifting, jumping, landing and skipping. “We offer a full children’s fi tness


timetable at Next Generation Club in Swindon and now have nearly 100 participants attending IMOVE sessions throughout the week. The exposure and success has meant our programmes are also expanding into local schools. Sessions are booked per half term, with pay as you go during school holidays. “Our most popular sessions are


Junior Strength and Junior Running. In my experience, children of all ages and from different backgrounds – whether


Every session includes elements of lifting, jumping, landing and skipping


regularly playing sport or sedentary – really enjoy weight training. For the sporty child it can build strength and power for further success; for the sedentary child, the gym offers a safe environment, free from the pressures of competition, to develop confi dence and personal success. “The big question: if a structured and


supervised fi tness training session is good for children, at what age can a child start? The consensus is generally based on levels of maturity rather than their actual age: children must be responsible, able to listen and take


instruction. That generally means children aged 10 and over, although we’ve found girls as young as eight can take instruction. As a coach, you may have to approach the session slightly differently if you’re working with young boys whose learning style is not necessarily geared towards listening. “Certainly fi tness training can be


started at school age – defi nitely secondary school age – but not every school has a gym. Unfortunately most fi tness clubs don’t allow children under the age of 14 to participate, which is a missed opportunity.”


Alan Pearson MD, SAQ International


“S


AQ International has worked with thousands of schools and organisations over the last 20 years to deliver consultancy services, functional activity programmes and equipment. The three


main programmes for SAQ – which stands for speed, agility and quickness – are Fundamental Movement, Jab and Move (JaM) and Early Essential Movement. “The Fundamental Movement programme ensures children


are taught to move effi ciently and correctly in all directions, as well as controlling and manipulating objects – for example, catch and strike. This builds confi dence and has a positive impact on their behaviour and their ability to read, write and concentrate. JaM is a functional boxing programme that brings


together self-defence, physical training, hand-eye co-ordination, power and speed. Lastly, Early Essential Movement is based on key research regarding a child’s early development, focusing on developing neuro pathways of the brain to ensure optimal child development. “We get an incredible response to our


programmes from teachers, especially after showing them research and results from our work with failing schools in London. Physical activity has a far greater impact on the children’s ability to learn, improve confi dence, self-esteem and behaviour than it does on obesity. “SAQ International has worked with Virgin Active on a global


basis for over 16 years and we’ve partnered with the operator in the UK for the last three years. Fundamental Movement has been introduced in over 65 Virgin Active Academy sites.”


82 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital June 2015 © Cybertrek 2015


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