TM
st re ng t hing f a m ilie s f r o m w i t h i n
POWERED BY FOUR BARREL FITNESS
By Adam &
Kristin Kleinert
Fostering
Individual
Enthusiasm
hen we began our journey
to become a fitter family, we
chose a cohesive approach
to overall family health. This
concept appealed to us not
only due to the simplicity
just one plan can be to implement, but also
because we place such value in our time spent
together. Thus far, the journey has been
enlightening and even fun. But we are raising
four different humans with four very different
personalities. Keeping our tribe motivated to
stay active means fostering each individual’s
enthusiasm for movement.
W
We know our kids. We are hands-on parents and
involved in every aspect of their lives. However, we
thought it might be more fun – and enlightening – if
we asked each of them their preferred way to be
active. After all, kids change. They grow and adapt
and are exposed to new ideas on an almost-daily
basis. How better to foster motivation than to
offer a current favorite when it comes to exercise?
BRAHM, 7
Brahm was born 13 weeks premature and spent
a couple of months in the NICU before coming
home after birth. Combine that with the fact
that he’s the youngest of the brood, and you can
probably deduce that we go a little easy on him.
We didn’t sign him up for sports as early as we did
the others, and we’ve been a little overly excited
about each physical milestone he’s met and most
42 EXTOL SPORTS / OCTOBER 2017
Some days Brahm would rather work on the ballfield
instead of play on it...and that’s ok.
likely a little too worried about the asthma he’s
developed. Despite our parenting precautions,
Brahm is an active little guy and you’d rarely find
him holding still. He’d rather be outside than in,
and spends as many daylight hours as possible
riding, digging, building, running, etc.
When we asked Brahm what is his favorite way
to exercise, he wrinkled his nose and replied, “Um,
I guess...push-ups.”
After giggling at this a bit (because, really?
who loves push-ups?), we explained to him
that exercise can be anytime he is moving and
maybe even sweaty. He responded much more
enthusiastically, “I like working on stuff outside.
That gets me sweaty. And I like to swim.”
MOLLY, 9
Molly is definitely our least active kiddo, though
she’s far from sedentary. Remember when I
mentioned how kids change and grow? That’s
Molly. She reinvents herself regularly and her
interests vary accordingly. She’s tried several
different sports, but usually loses interest after a
time. (We’ve learned she often comes back around,
so we do hang onto equipment and athletic gear.)
Recently, Molly surprised us by announcing
that she planned to join the cross-country team
at school. Since she has never enjoyed running,
we weren’t sure if she understood just what
“cross country” means. When we asked her, she
simply rolled her eyes. “I know what it is, Mom.
It’s running. Like, running far.”
Our next order of business was to see if she
could complete a mile without stopping. She
surprised us again by going out and doing just that
with Dad jogging alongside. Finally, we agreed to
look into the logistics of her actually joining the
team. (Fourth graders are allowed to run with the
older kids at our school, but there is technically
no team for Molly’s grade level.) In the end, Molly
wasn’t able to run on the team this season. Which
brings us to the biggest surprise of all: She’s still