Youth Fitness
The West Suburban YMCA Fitness/Wellness Department welcomes you to the Youth Fitness Center. As part of our mission, we are dedicated to increasing the well being of our youth members and ensuring their safety through proper education and training.
Youth Fitness Center Philosophy
It is necessary to recognize that children and teenagers are not “miniature adults” and that they have many special considerations that need to be properly addressed. Training should be taught and supervised by qualified individuals. Avery Faigenbaum, a world renown expert in youth training states, “There is potential for catastrophic injury if safety standards for youth resistance training-qualified supervision, proper program design and age specific training guidelines-are not followed...Trained fitness professionals must supervise every exercise session…Professional certification in the area of strength and conditioning is highly desirable and is available through the NSCA.” (1)
We take our responsibilities seriously to ensure the safety of our youth members which has led us to implement the following:
- We have staffed our Youth Fitness Center with individuals with a fitness background that will enable them instruct youth and adults in proper form and technique. These individuals will approach and instruct children/teens/adults who are in need of form and technique corrections. We ask that you be courteous and accepting of instruction.
- We continue to hold Youth Fitness Classes run by qualified Fitness Professionals. All our Youth Fitness Course instructors hold certifications that are considered the top licenses in the Fitness Profession.
WHY YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE INVOLVED
IN Y-FIT PROGRAMS
1. Less potential for injury. Injury may not necessarily be seen in the form of a pulled muscle, sprained ankle etc. Long term postural deformities, stress fractures and degeneration of the spinal disks can occur from improper form, technique and program periodization (2). The spine doesn’t fuse until 25 years of age and therefore it is imperative that caution be taken when training youth. Our instructors pay particular attention to the growth patterns of youth when designing their program.
2. Identification of correctable risk factors. Muscle imbalances, inflexibility, and specific areas of poor physical condition must be identified in order that needs of the individual be met. We evaluate all our participants on an individual basis and make proper adjustments as necessary for each individual.
3. Strength training for youth should focus on movement patterns (not muscles). Protocols that focus on efficiency in gross motor patterns have demonstrated lasting benefits in functional efficiency (3). All our classes focus on the development of motor skills (lunging, bending, pushing, pulling) and movement coordination while using proper progression and adhering to youth guidelines.
4. Flexibility and Coordination. Children need to focus on dynamic stretching which work an active range of motion, coordination and proprioception. Stretching muscles that are not in need of stretching have adverse effects on the body. Proper flexibility, agility, coordination and balance are all incorporated into our classes.
6. Your child will learn the proper way to lift. When it comes to lifting, most people are untrained and pass on their bad habits to friends and children. Our fitness professionals teach proper form and technique to our youth. At the end of the seven weeks, our youth are able to identify technique faults, display proper form, and understand the importance of proper form and technique.
“Practice makes permanent”. Start your child off with a proper education and equip them with the tools necessary to ensure a healthy fitness future.
For more information, contact Dan Mandell at 617-244-6050, ext. 3034 or danm@westsuburbanymca.org.
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1, 2 Faigenbaum, Avery. Youth Resistance Training: Position Statement Paper and Literature review. NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal. p63. 1993.
3 Mancino, Mark. A Functional Approach to Children’s Fitness. Personal Training on the Net, www.ptonthenet.com/articleprint.aspx?articleID=2321. 2005