TACKLING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
– HEAD ON!
By Toni Krasicki
I
t’s hard to believe that more than 80 per cent of Australian school children are not
meeting the minimum physical activity guidelines, ranking Australian children as some
of the least active in the world. In a nation that credits sport as an integral part of its
national identity, why are our kids becoming less active? While participation in organised
sport still ranks highly, it’s the rise of more sedentary pursuits that is putting our kids at risk
of too little activity.
Thankfully, kids’ fitness programs have now gone beyond the
confines of organised sport and school physical education
classes in the realisation that kids need to be educated
about healthy habits from an early age. Here are a few kids’
programs that promise to teach not only age specific skills, get
them moving but most importantly of all, to prove how much
fun fitness (for life!) can be.
The programs:
•
2 to 3 years: A 45-minute class designed for a parent or
caregiver to take part in. The music is specially written for
the class with lyrics acting as sung instructions that lead
children through simple moves to build body awareness
and balance.
•
4 to 5 years: Using music, lyrics and simple choreography
to ignite vivid imaginations, the 45-55 minute class
takes kids on a journey of action and song. The class
develops self-awareness, balance, weight transfer and
concentration skills while interpreting music and moving
to a beat.
•
6 to 7 years: Classes are run in either a 30, 45 or 55-minute
format with a focus on fundamental movement skills in a
fun rather than formal context. The action-packed class
emphasises foundation and games while kids can sing
along to their favourite tracks.
•
6 to 7 years (dance): Fundamentally the same as the
above class but with a focus on dance and the added
option of a performance at the end of the program.
•
8 to 12 years: This 30 or 45-minute class incorporates a
combination of moves from dance, martial arts and
yoga. It includes great music and games to keep things
interesting while developing skills such as strength, speed
and agility.
•
13 to 16 years: A typical class is 30 or 45 minutes long and
is a mish-mash of the coolest bits of martial arts, hip-hop,
sports conditioning, plyometrics, dance and yoga. The
easy to follow moves are really fitness in disguise and are
designed to instill a strong sense of achievement.
BORN TO MOVE™
www.lesmills.com.au
Adding another feather to their very full cap, global experts
in movement and motivation, Les Mills, has cornered another
market – kids. The BORN TO MOVE™ series of programs targets
2 to 16-year-olds with an aim to not only get them moving
but also have them falling in love with fitness. All classes are
set to catchy tunes delivered in a fun and motivating group
environment and are refreshed, Les Mills style, three times a
year to maintain interest. The key here is that ‘engagement
experts’ rather than your traditional Les Mills instructor that’s
trained to motivate adults, run the classes and are equipped
with kids coaching skills. The programs are designed with fun
in mind but also to build confidence and develop skills using
simple moves, role-playing, stories, games, team building,
performance, problem solving and the magic of music. But
whatever the age group, it’s an opportunity to spend time
with friends or make new ones.
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SUMMER 2014
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