Training Young Assassins…
The big question that everyone always asks, or that is on everyone’s mind is, “How old do my kids have to be to start training them?
The answer to that question is easy. You have been training them since birth. Since your kids have been old enough to observe you and watch you, they have been taking everything in like a sponge. Watching your facial expressions, watching you move, workout…or not workout. I am a firm believer in having your kids around you while your working out, playing sports and doing the physical activities that you enjoy. And the reason is simple, you are a product of your environment. What kids see they will do and they will become. To a certain extent, just because you love a certain sport and played it growing up…doesn’t mean junior will take to it. But, the more they are around physical activity odds are they will take to something and make working out and being healthy a priority like Mom and Dad.
Kids will let you know when they are ready. Children are amazing at copying what they see and when they get to that age when they start to mimic what you are doing you must fuel their fire and encourage them, help them along, let them workout and move beside you. This not only creates a powerful bond between you and them, but it builds confidence and self esteem in them as well.
I will add this and this is based on much research and not just my own opinion, children are amazing movers and do so better than most adults. Fight the urge to fix what isn’t broken. Often times as adults we want to critique them on form or this or that…just let them move, let them figure it out. Experience is the best teacher. And if you start critiquing them on every little thing even from an early age, they will soon stop. Just sit back and enjoy the show!!
My boys are 5 and 7 years old. They can do multiple chin ups, do the static arm hang, can bang out some push ups. I try to make sure that I am as active as I can be in front of them so they see Dad getting after it and most times they jump right in along side me. I leave the pull up bar always hanging in the door and often times out of the blue they ask to get on the bar and do some work. Monkey see, Monkey do.
Kids need to move and use their bodies, that is obvious. Sometimes kids have all sorts of pent up energy that if its allowed to be drained in a physical way it helps them mentally. Physical exhaustion is good for the soul, almost spiritual.
“What movements should I have my kids doing?” As the great Peter Griffin once said, “this is easier than we are making it.”
Just let your kids play!!! Sprint, Run, Jump, Climb. Sign them up for any and all sports to get them comfortable in moving their body through space, develop some coordination and to find out what sports they like and hate.
As your kids get older and they start to express interest in specific movements then start helping them with those in small doses. If you can teach a kid to do a push up, chin up, body weight squat, hinge their hips and to carry something they will be on a trajectory to be the strongest and most self confident version of themselves they can be.
Outside of the working out with the kids here is something I have started doing with my kids to start getting them more proficient at skill movements. Kids have a very short attention span and can lose interest very easily. So, I set a timer for 5 minutes and we either go shoot pucks or play catch with a baseball for those 5 minutes. What this does is keep the time short, it allows for their max attention, which will make sure we get just 5 minutes of quality reps. Quality over Quantity always wins. Sometimes I set the timer for 6 minutes….Shhh don’t say anything. Once the timer goes off we are done. But, almost always they want to keep going and want one more shot or one more throw. After the timer I let them decide when they want to be done. You will be surprised at what just 5 minutes a day can do over weeks and months.
What you have to be careful of is not punishing a kid with the sport or exercise. This means, don’t force them to shoot 100 pucks if they don’t want to. Don’t force them to do 50 push ups cause they broke something or mis behaved. The ability to workout and the sport is the “Gift”, so never ever punish them that way. They will grow to hate the sport or working out. If you must punish them, do so by with holding the “Gift.” I guarantee you that will suck more and you’ll get your point across.
As kids get older towards the end of grade school and start of middle school they may start to get introduced to more dedicated training. Here is where parents and coaches need to be paying attention. And you need to find a coach that really cares about the young athletes. Kids are busy. Probably playing multiple sports, going to school, homework, growing fast, playing with friends and hanging with family. That can take its toll on kids. Don’t force feed training here and going to a gym or working with a strength coach. Not all kids will have the mental make up to train 3-4 days a week at an older age. Some can only handle 1-2 days a week and that’s ok, every one of us is wired different. I would rather have kids train with intent and purpose 1-2 days a week vs. training 3-4 days a week and getting burnt out, taking 3 months off and then coming back.
If you can train older kids with intent and purpose 1-2 days a week from end of elementary school through middle school into high school you will have kids who are absolute Assassins in their sport or just in life. These kids will have a rock solid foundation built brick by brick that most other young men and women will not posses.
Don’t make it complicated, get your kids moving, let them see you move, have fun and enjoy the show!!
