Outlining the area of children’s fitness

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Ruben Lundtoft & Julie Johnsen “Fitness in Association”

(www.foreningsfitness.dk)

Development in childrens fitness(”Overblik over den danske fitnesssektor”, Kasper Lund Kirkegaard, 2007)

(Tal om børnekultur – en statistik om børn, kultur og fritid, Wulff og Bille, 2006)

• Less physical activity among children

• More times spend on TV,playstations and computers

• From children day care to activating children in fitness centers

• Childrens fitness has a large growth potential

Fitness programs with most growth potential:

(“IDEA Health & Fitness Assoc. 11. annual Survey Results”, Sept. 2006)

1. Personal training; Pilates or Yoga2. Kid's fitness3. Adult one-on-one personal training4. Pilates & traditional strength training fusion5. Gyrotonic6. Pilates7. Senior classes8. Strength training (group)

• Also in Denmark we experience increasing demands on different kinds of fitness for children and teenagers.

• In Denmark it is estimated that 3.000 children are members in fitness centers.

• Clubs experience increasing demands from schools, local authorities, families with inactive children.

Fitness for children in Denmark(Fitness til børn vinder frem, Berlingske Tidende, 2007)

(Experiences from the project: “Fitness in association” www.foreningsfitness.dk )

Development project”Children- and Teenfitness”

Purpose of this project:

- Fulfill the wishes for fitness-activities for children

- Offer a wide range of physical activities to reach children with different interests

- Create an environment where children can develop not only physical but also social skills and mental skills

What is fitness?(New Oxford American Dictionary, 2007)

Fitness is:-the condition of being physically fit and healthy

-the quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task

What is: ”Children- and Teenfitness”?

Strength training

Strength training Basic

trainingBasic

training

Cardio activitiesCardio

activities

Exer-tainment

Exer-tainment

Outdoor activitiesOutdoor activities PlayingPlaying

Why fitness for children and teens?

• Fitness includes everyone – does not exclude: - poor motor functioned children/teens - overweighed children/teens

• More time to the individual - personal conversation

Generel motivation factors(Yngvar Ommundsen, professor,

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway)

Generel motivation factors(Yngvar Ommundsen, professor,

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway)

• Enjoyment

• Self-efficacy

• A social good group environment

Generel motivation factors(Yngvar Ommundsen, professor,

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway)

• Acknowledgement fore participation

• Personal investment in the activity

• Positive feedback

• Show attention to the child/youngster

Generel motivation factors(Yngvar Ommundsen, professor,

Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway)

• A democratically leader style is more motivating than authoritarian or laissez-faire leader style

• Children and youngsters should seek to have task/mastery goals instead of performance/ego-goal.

Working with children

• Be creative when working with children • Include fun, exploring, games

- this may include making new individual programs exercises and regulating goals - this may include reorganizing the room every week

• The entertaining value is important- This is their spare time

• It is our goal to see children leave the fitness center with a smile on their faces

Potentials 

• Learning while exercising!

Discussion issues

• What is your experience with children fitness in your country?

• Fitness among children is popular. Is this reason enough to implement it in your respective physical cultures?

• How can we maintain the interest for fitness activities?• How can you see it implemented in your country? Which

opportunities/barriers do you see? • How does it work in those countries who already have

implemented fitness for children and teenagers?