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Dear Reader,
The arrival of the New Year is traditionally a time for resolutions. It was the view of the philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt that our ability to make resolutions was what distinguished us from animals. Unfortunately, Frankfurt was not so forthcoming about how to keep them.
Many who resolve to do something for their body at the start of the year give up within a few months. Why? Initially, everything is new, interesting and exciting. Friendly staff are on hand to provide instruction; we meet nice people and sense that something good is going on both physically and mentally. Moreover, we experience a sense of pride that we actually managed to take that first step. However, after the introductory phase, motivation can decline. The training session is no longer seen as a highlight in our day and so our will to continue wanes.
What is more, this happens at the very time when we are being called upon to train at a higher intensity in order to maintain progress. We need to get through this critical phase; if we manage to break through this “firewall,“ motivation becomes intrinsic and after a few days we experience a strong need for physical exertion. We have banished those dreaded inner demons and in those final seconds of each exercise we feel what it is like to push ourselves to the limit. What is more, we come back for more because we realise that something positive is happening within us. That has nothing to do with esoterics. The root cause – like everything – can be found in the physical. Neurologists and endocrinologists can provide us with the necessary evidence but what’s important is that it makes those resolutions superfluous.
Werner Kieser
A time bomb ticking
Whether it is obesity or back pain – statistics of children in the developed world show a dramatic increase of both conditions. That is the result of changing life styles, where television and computer screens have replaced the campfires, but without the need to go out and collect wood to keep the fire going.
Foto: © Kieser Training/Michael Ingenweyen
Today’s young adults are the first generation ever to do less physical exercise than the biological minimum required for good health, and the situation is worse still in the next generation, in today’s children and adolescents. Recent studies show clearly that adults find it much harder to ensure they get a healthy amount of physical activity if they had not done so as children. So with our children becoming more and more inactive, we are not only facing the problems of obese kids (some of them already developing adult onset diabetes) or children with musculoskeletal pain, but we are storing up many more problems for the later stages of life. The time bomb is ticking. However, the standard fitness recommendation to get more cardiovascular exercise may not be the best advice for overweight, underactive children. The fact is, very few children choose to spend 20 to 30 minutes doing any kind of continuous endurance exercise, regardless of the benefits or incentives. Most youngsters prefer to play hard or run fast for 30 to 60 seconds, rest a minute or two, then repeat their performance, essentially alternating brief bouts of vigorous exercise with longer recovery periods.*
Ideally, children should have access to exercise programs that meet their physiological needs and match their personal activity patterns. Fortunately, it is possible to provide such exercise programs through sensible strength training.
Dispelling Myths & Misconceptions
Many people mistakenly believe that strength training is an inappropriate and unsafe activity for youth. Conceptually, this does not make sense. If strength training is safe and effective for your frail elderly clients (see our story on the back page of this issue), it is even better for healthy young people with full movement capacity and plenty of energy.
Another common misconception is that strength training can be detrimental to bone development in children, but this has never been demonstrated. However a study involving 9- and 10-year-old girls showed that bone mineral density increased by 6.2 percent in those who performed both strength and aerobic exercise, compared to 1.4 percent in those who did not strength train.
It is also said that for children, calisthenics exercises are safer than strength training exercises on machines. This is likewise untrue. Most children—especially those who are under-fit and overweight—cannot complete a single pull-up, bar-dip or push-up. However, it has been found that using resistance equipment, these same kids can adjust the weight load as necessary and are able to perform 10 to 15 controlled repetitions of every exercise.
Good supervison paramount
The training programmes offered by Kieser Training are geared to the needs and ability of the child or adolescent. Its medical evaluation guarantees a safe introduction to training. In the event of preexisting problems, the doctor can modify the content of a programme or the way an exercise is done. Regular check sessions are provided to monitor not just the quality of the exercises but also the machine settings, as they can change rapidly when children are growing.
However, there is one physical restriction: The child or adolescent must be at least 1.50 metres tall to be able to use the Kieser Training machines. (Further reading: “Faktum 09 – Strength training for children and adolescents“ on www.kieser-training.com/en/quality/ research-development or “Topic 3 – Strength training for children and adolescents“ available at your Kieser Training facility.)
*A. Faigenbaum, “Strength training for children and adolescents“ Clinics in Sports Medicine, Volume 19, Issue 4, Pages 593-619.
Strength training …
… makes you happy
Kieser Training customer
Heike Zedler
“I’m on Cloud 9 – as is my back and my soul“: This was the answer given by Heike Zedler, a customer from Berlin when asked last March why she came to Kieser Training. Strength training for the soul? That really made us curious and we wanted to find out more.
The 41-year old has been a customer of Kieser Training for two years. “I started because of serious disc problems.“ She initially experienced symptoms in the legs and found it extremely difficult to move her left leg. Her thigh felt numb. “It was if my legs had gone to sleep – permanently,“ was how she described this unpleasant feeling. On a holiday, she suddenly experienced a stabbing pain and realised that she had to do something. Something that would produce a more lasting solution than the acupuncture and massage that had only provided temporary relief. So she came to Kieser Training. Since she started training, her symptoms have disappeared completely.
And where does the soul come into this? “I am much more optimistic about the future because I know that my symptoms will not return,“ explained the bank clerk. In addition, by doing Kieser Training she finds it easier to cope with the minor problems thrown up by daily life. She has a desk job and her work often triggered neck and shoulder pain. They have also disappeared. “Going to Kieser regularly is now part of my life,“ she explained, “it just makes me feel on top of the world!“
