This is Anthony, a graduate of our Junior Fitness Certification performing a Kettlebell Goblet squat with dynamite form. Anthony is an avid athlete and particularly enjoys the sport of hockey. When Anthony came to us we performed a thorough movement assessment on him, and like most young teenagers, he had some areas in his body that were not as mobile as an athlete would want as well as some muscles which he needed to learn how to activate. In his case, it was some tightness in his calves, hamstrings and middle back which was impacting his ankle, hip and trunk mobility as well as some weakness in his glutes that he needed to learn how to "fire."
This is not uncommon in teenagers given how quickly their bodies can grow during this time of their lives. Anthony and his parents fully embraced our instruction and he quickly became a huge fan of the foam roller for joint mobility work and resistance bands for hip/glute activation to be able to nail the form on his goblet squat. His diligence with the roller helped get his joints moving through a greater range of motion and his resistance band work got his hips and glutes firing which is tremendously important for skating in hockey. Great job Anthony, keep up the good work buddy!!!
If you have a son or daughter age 13-15 who would like to complete our junior fitness certification to have access to the club fitness center prior to age 16 or if you have any questions about the program please contact Fitness Director Jon Mack. The cost to complete the 4-one hour sessions with one of our certified trainers is $225 and includes a comprehensive movement assessment and an age/developmental level appropriate exercise prescription for them-whether they are an athlete or not. We also encourage parents to be a part of this certification so that they too understand what exercises may or not be suitable for their children given where they are in their physical and mental maturation.