Youth Physical Fitness Creates Better Leaders of Tomorrow! By: Jeff King

Exercise is an activity that should be a part of everyone’s life no matter what age.  The potential benefits of being fit and working out are numerous and far outweigh any potential negatives an individual may occur when working out.  Many people just think of exercise benefiting them just from a physical standpoint.  However, physical fitness can also improve one’s spiritual and emotional state.  In my experience as a personal trainer and strength coach, one demographic I have seen gain multiple benefits from exercising are young kids.

Exercise can serve as many roles for our youth.  We all understand that kids who work out will become better conditioned which can ultimately lead to them being healthier human beings and better athletes if they choose to participate in sports.  The point of being healthy is vital for our youth as they are the ones who will be running our country in the next 20 to 30 years. The last thing we as a society should want is to have a bunch of physically unfit people as our health care providers.  Perhaps the most important benefit physical fitness has on our youth actually does not involve anything physical at all.  Exercise can instill many principles in our youth.  The concept of working out consistently and getting in better shape is an example of how being committed to a certain task can produce results.  Being committed to school will lead to good grades and being committed to be a good friend can lead to good friendships.

Although these examples focus on different realms of life, the principle is the same. Kids who work out consistently become self-confident and display a high self-esteem.  The process of accomplishing certain exercises and getting positive reinforcement from either a coach or parent is very rewarding for kids and thus making them feel good about themselves both physically and emotionally. Kids who work out normally do so in an environment where they are surrounded by other kids (i.e. game, practice, or a class).  Therefore, exercise provides a form of social interaction for kids. The ability to interact with others is a very important trait for kids to have because as they grow up and mature, they will need to be able to be comfortable in interacting with people from various backgrounds in order to be successful in life.  The structure learned in exercise can also carry over into other aspects of life.  Moreover, exercise can provide a lifestyle that each child can carry into their adulthood, thus decreasing the likelihood of having health issues and increasing the probability of having a better quality of life.

Jeff King is a strength & conditioning coach at Fitness Quest 10 who directs the Varsity Speed Academy.  Some of Jeff’s responsibilities included learning and applying the principles of injury prevention and sports rehabilitation with all the student athletes.  Jeff’s main goal in life is to educate, motivate, and inspire people of all ages about the importance of exercise and nutrition.  Although Jeff specializes in working with high school athletes of various sports, he has worked with people with ages ranging from 10-60. For more information on Fitness Quest 10 and  Varsity Speed Academy check out www.fitnessquest10.com.