Teenager going to the gym

kingfisherblue

My youngest son is 13 and is very conscious of his body image - he's almost 6' tall and is built like a brick toilet. If I had a pound for every time he has been asked if he plays rugby, I'd be rich (we live in a rugby league town, and no, he has no interest in rugby ).

Anyway, he has wanted to join the gym for ages, but money is tight and some gyms don't allow children, no matter how tall they are . I was browsing through the scouncil website the other day, looking for activities over the holidays, and I spotted some gym sessions held by the local youth service.

I rang to ask about the sessions, and he has been for his first time tonight. He's had a great time, loved every minute of it . He's come out hot and sweaty, ready for a shower, but beaming. This has made my day, as he has depression and quite a negative attitude. He also usually hates most forms of exercise, although he doesn't mind cycling and walking.

The staff seemed really good too - they gave him a proper induction, kept an eye on him, and praised his efforts (which boosted his confidence). So, one happy lad tonight, with an equally happy mum

geoffky

You will soon be reaping the rewards..
Exercise is a major ingredient on many courses such as pain management and well being courses.
The endorphins released will help a great deal with his moods.

paulineb_2

Glad he enjoyed it

Just to say, some gyms wont allow people under 16 to join because the instructors aren't insured to teach them

Im a fitness instructor, not a gym instructor but I used to teach fitness classes in gym chains, some would allow 14s and overs to do my classes with a parent, some would allow 12s and overs

But my qualification only allowed me to teach 16 plus

I am now a qualified kids fitness instructor, so I can teach from 5-15s and I absolutely agree, teens do get missed out

But the gyms who say no, if their staff don't have the qualifications and insurance are absolutely doing the right thing.

If a gym level 2 qualification or a ETM (exercise to music) level 2 allowed people to teach teens, it would be fab, but teens aren't mini adults and you learn that when you do your kids fitness course

Its the same reason why I did a special qualification in teaching pre and post natal women, my ETM wasn't enough to cover me insurance wise

Its not that instructors don't want to teach teens, sometimes they cant and its not worth the risk if someone got injured and tried to sue you.

kingfisherblue

geoffky wrote: »

You will soon be reaping the rewards..
Exercise is a major ingredient on many courses such as pain management and well being courses.
The endorphins released will help a great deal with his moods.

I've told him this before, and when he came out, he was buzzing. I've had a chat with him on the way home about exercising when he feels his mood darkening. I think going to the gym has proved my point, and he's much more willing to give it a try now. He even spoke poitively about PE :eek:

Pauline, I agree that teens are very different to adults and have different needs, and I understand that some gyms don't carry the approprite insurance or have staff with relevant qualifications. I wouldn't want anybody to treat my son as an adult just because he happens to be taller than them (and yes, it does happen - adults often expect him to be more mature than he is, because they forget his age as he is so tall). I think those who train to teach exercise to teens are also more understanding of their body image issues, the fact that their moods can be all over the place due to puberty, etc. My son's safety is just as important as his happiness, and I'm delighted that the gym instructors were such positive male role models for him - something he sadly lacks, as his dad couldn't be classed as such . My son also blamed himself for a long time because his dad left, which has been a contributory factor to his depression. It was only last year that he told me this, but his dad moved away to start a new family when my youngest was 5. Luckily, with counselling and a lot of support, he now knows that he is in no way to blame.

paulineb_2

And without sounding like Im giving the waggy finger, Id advise you to ask discreetly about qualifications and insurance. It is important

I believe that I could have taught safe kids classes with just my ETM, but the syllabus was such that I couldn't and I don't regret for a minute doing the kids course

Some of the gyms I used to teach in were stuck in the dark ages. Anyone under 16, no bother, you can teach them, pregnant, you can teach them as well, but I actually couldn't, because if anything god forbid had happened to anyone in my class, injury, Id have been the one sued

Any fitness instructor worth their salt will happily show someone copies of their qualifications and insurance. I don't carry mine around with me, but Id show people them if they really needed to see them

Safety is the main thing.

paulineb_2

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I've told him this before, and when he came out, he was buzzing. I've had a chat with him on the way home about exercising when he feels his mood darkening. I think going to the gym has proved my point, and he's much more willing to give it a try now. He even spoke poitively about PE :eek:

Pauline, I agree that teens are very different to adults and have different needs, and I understand that some gyms don't carry the approprite insurance or have staff with relevant qualifications. I wouldn't want anybody to treat my son as an adult just because he happens to be taller than them (and yes, it does happen - adults often expect him to be more mature than he is, because they forget his age as he is so tall). I think those who train to teach exercise to teens are also more understanding of their body image issues, the fact that their moods can be all over the place due to puberty, etc. My son's safety is just as important as his happiness, and I'm delighted that the gym instructors were such positive male role models for him - something he sadly lacks, as his dad couldn't be classed as such . My son also blamed himself for a long time because his dad left, which has been a contributory factor to his depression. It was only last year that he told me this, but his dad moved away to start a new family when my youngest was 5. Luckily, with counselling and a lot of support, he now knows that he is in no way to blame.

Its a bit different now than when I did my ETM, because back in the day, 2008 when I did mine, you taught 16s and overs and that was it

They have now reworked the syllabus that you can have a couple of people in a class who are deemed a special population and kids do fall into that category, but if you teach an entire class of a special pop, you need to go and do the training

But some studio co ordinators live in the dark ages, I remember one class I taught and I had screened people at the beginning, any injuries, illnesses, anything else I need to know about.

Nothing. And then when I left the class I was casually chatting and someone told me she was pregnant and I was like !!!!!!!!! To myself, because I wasn't then insured to teach her

And also some programmes such as BTS, Les Mills are developed in other countries, in some countries if people bring a GP note, you can teach anyone whether you have the knowledge or not

So you'll get gyms that allow people who are pregnant to do Body Pump irrespective of whether the instructor is qualified

And Im not meaning to be the Grinch that stole exercise. Im totally for people who fall into a special pop doing exercise that's why I did extra qualifications

But if someone teaches a class and they teach someone and that person shouldn't be in that class, if someone gets injured you are personally liable. And if you taught a kids class and a kid got injured and you didn't have the qualification, your insurance company would say too bad.

Ive heard stories of people doing certain classes, core ball and falling off them because someone hadn't pumped them up properly and they have been sued. Its not always the leaping about that gets people injured

Its for the sake of the person and the sake of the instructor. And as I said, anyone who wants to see my certs and insurance, absolutely more than welcome.

Glad hes enjoying it, I taught a metafit class to 30 8 year olds with the permission of metafit, one kid did 30 burpees in 2 mins

Putting me totally to shame.

kingfisherblue

Thanks for the advice Pauline. The gym is council owned and run, so hopefully I don't have anything to worry about

My son is a bit achy today, but he was warned that this was likely, and TBH he wasn't too bad at all. He's on an outdoor adventure style weekend from tonight until Sunday, so plenty more exercise, but I have informed the group leaders of his gym session last night - they know his history and I thought it might be relevant in case he has aching muscles and mentioned them.

paulineb_2

Yes, thats DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness, normal. Sometimes you get a bit more sore the following day, not everyone does but I do.
Just using muscle groups that you might not use as much in everyday life.

meritaten

aww that's lovely - it can make such a difference to teens to find their forte! it can be just as hard on the early teens who are built big as those skinny types. anyone out of the normal parameters tend to be targets or feel different.

marisco_2

What a lovely thread. I bet you are chuffed that you found out about this facility. It sounds like the gym is really well run. I hope your son continues to enjoy going along there. Exercise is an excellent way to boost your mood, so very good for people who suffer from depression.

kingfisherblue

Thanks meritaten and marisco (hope your week has improved meritaten). Very positive and kind comments from both of you.

I mentioned in post 7 that my son was going away on an outdoor weekend - well, he's back, complete with a pile of washing , but more importantly, with happy memories of the weekend . He's had a great time, made some new friends, and tried some new activities. His favourite was caving :cool:.

Things are looking good :j