Cross Training for Kids – How to Help Them Out
Just like adults, kids need to be active. One of the best ways to do this is to initiate them into a CrossFit training programme early enough in their lives. There is no clear-cut line of the minimum regarding age from when you can introduce CrossFit to your children. That said, the recommended minimum age is from 7 years. One of the greatest challenges is designing a CrossFit program specifically for kids. If you are at a crossroads not knowing how to go about this, the following tips can help you out.
Have a Passion for Children
The first tip to running a successful CrossFit program is to develop the love for children. It is almost impossible to coach kids if you don’t have a passion for their development and welfare. Trying to push through this may see you becoming unsuccessful.
Be Real to the Kids
You may think that kids are not smart when it comes to reading faces, but they know when you are pretending and when you are your authentic self. From the beginning and throughout the program, ensure you remain true to who you really are. Kids love that.
Stay Current and Relevant
There are lots of movies and cultures that define kids’ ecosystem. If you want to train kids in CrossFit, you need to be up to date with all this stuff. With the internet, kids have become tech savvy, and they are watching movies you probably even haven’t heard about. Try and be current with what kids love to watch so that you can integrate the same into your CrossFit gym lessons.
Act Like Them
When you enter kids zone, you need to act just like them so that they can identify with you. For instance, you could do voices of popular cartoons or characters so that you can connect with the inner passion and capture the love of your CrossFit kids.
Put Boundaries in Place
Children know when they do something wrong, and all that they are waiting for is for you to tell them they have messed up. The best way to approach this is to set boundaries and closely monitor the behavior and activities of the kids so that they do not overstep on these boundaries. Be sure that some of the kids will test these boundaries just to see what you can do.
Always Maintain Eye Contact
Eye contact and confidence are some of the soft tools you can use to instill values and show seriousness to the kids. Whether you are instructing them on a specific skill or reprimanding them for something they have done wrong, eye contact will deliver half the results and complement other measures you may put in place.
Have a Back-Pocket Game
It is not always that the CrossFit exercises and games you plan will go smoothly. At some point, you may be forced by the context to switch over to another game because the earlier one may not be working right. It is therefore important to have that back-pocket game. Games such as crazy obstacle course and burpee dodgeball always work wonders.
Also, remember to be louder than the kids so that they can hear you and make them see that you are in control. At the end of the class, always have a chant or special cheer.
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