When you think about fitness conditioning, you need to keep primary fitness characteristics in mind, including aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility.

As well, secondary fitness characteristics should be included, such as balance, co-ordination, agility and quickness.

During each stage of life, the benefits and training response varies, so you need to keep these in mind when pursuing health and fitness goals.

When instilling enthusiasm for fitness in our youth, it is also critical to keep the big picture in perspective.

Encourage children to be active, expose them to a wide range of activities and, most importantly, make it fun. We want our youth to be active for life.

Human growth and development in the first 15 years of life is dramatic and each stage of a child’s development should be taken into consideration when undertaking fitness training. Generally, the focus of fitness for youngsters should be play.

The young ones

As soon as children are able to move, they should be encouraged and given the opportunity to explore movement on their own.

Crawling, walking, climbing, squatting, throwing, pushing and pulling are important activities for development of children under the age of four. Play with other children and adults is an important beginning to healthy, active adulthood.

Aim for 60 minutes

From the age of five years to pre-puberty, the focus of fitness should be on games and fun. Older children involved in sports and training are ready for more regimented fitness conditioning; however the emphasis should still be on activities they enjoy versus boot camps for children.

Current research indicates that children should be involved in short bursts of cardiovascular training throughout the day rather than long endurance training, due to the immaturity of the cardiovascular system.

According to Heath Canada and ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), the recommendations that children and youth five to 17 years old should accumulate an average of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity. More vigorous intensity activities should be incorporated or added when possible, including activities that strengthen muscle and bone.

Age 8 and up

Older children from age eight and up can be involved in more structured fitness programming; however, it is essential to account for differences in growth and maturation when participating in fitness programs. Children’s fitness programs should not be modelled after adult training principles.

According to the ACSM Guidelines, children can partake in a strength training program after the age of seven or eight. The recommendation is to begin with body weight exercises such as lunges, squats and pushups.

One set of 13 to 20 repetitions of a variety of exercises for the full body is suggested. The goal of youth strength training should be to improve musculoskeletal strength while offering a variety of safe, effective and fun training methods.

A well-rounded fitness program should also include endurance, flexibility and agility exercises. Carefully consider the proper execution of exercises, to decrease the risk of soft tissue and joint strain. All youth strength training programs must be closely supervised by knowledgeable instructors who understand the uniqueness of children, along with strength training principles and safety guidelines.

Including activities for balance, agility and other neural-based activities will accelerate children’s coordination, which they will bring forward into sports and activities later in life.

To download Canada’s Physical Activity Guide for Children, visit csep.ca.

- Helen Vanderburg, B.P.E., is a renowned trainer, corporate wellness speaker and owner of Heavens Elevated Fitness.