The youth fitness trainer is a professional responsible for helping youth in their physical development and well-being. Today’s busy society, complete with fewer home cooked meals and an abundance of time spent in front of the computer, cell phone, and gaming console, has caused childhood obesity rates to soar. The U.S. Surgeon General reported that the past 20 years, the number of children who are overweight or obese has doubled. NPTI Florida owner Pat Sherman estimates this number to be approximately 22 million.
To combat a lack of physical activity, NPTI Florida (Orlando/Tampa) has added a 200-hour Youth Fitness Certification program to educate and train industry Personal Trainers to help children get active and make better lifestyle choices. In fact, according to NBC, nearly one million of America’s youth now rely on personal trainers to get them in shape, lose weight, or improve the ability to play sports. This creates a huge demand for qualified educated youth fitness trainers nationwide. NPTI Florida is leading the industry with accredited youth fitness education.
As an NPTI Florida youth fitness trainer, you will design and implement creative personal training programs that will provide direction, structure, and strategies to encourage a healthy way of living. Most importantly, however, you will ensure that the fitness programs you implement are developmentally appropriate and safe for a child’s developing body.
The Ideal Youth Fitness Trainer
In addition to being trained at NPTI Florida, you will fit the mold of the ideal Youth Fitness Trainer if:
- Your personal training program helps the child improve his or her self-esteem and sense of belonging.
- You create fun fitness activities that aren’t typical of basic gym routines.
- You take time to follow up with the child’s fitness goals.
- You outline the fitness program with the child’s parents and encourage feedback.
- You teach proper stretching and breathing exercises.
How is Personal Training Different for Children?
Personal trainers who specialize in training our youth know that children require special considerations due to growth and the immaturity of their physiologic regulatory systems. NPTI Florida teaches the fitness standards for children to include at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, half of which should be vigorous.
Who is a Youth Fitness Trainer?
A youth fitness trainer is a Personal Trainer specializing in helping youth in their physical preparation or their quest for well-being. In addition to aerobic activity, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends strength training for children as young as six, provided it is done under qualified supervision. NPTI Florida owner Pat Sherman states that regular strength training for children helps them maintain a healthy body weight, benefits their skeletal and joint development, and joint development and improves sports performance.
The NPTI Florida Youth Fitness graduate also improves the population’s state of health in general. These professionals will thus have to coach certain people, in groups or individually, by focusing on public health issues such as the fight against obesity, sedentary lifestyle, isolation, etc. However, even in this kind of situation, he must always take into account the expectations and specificities of each child.
Factors to Consider when Training Children
- Children have immature thermoregulatory systems; therefore, exercise should always be done in thermo-neutral environments and children should always remain well hydrated to avoid overheating.
- Overweight children may not be able to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity, therefore, a gradual increase in time and smaller intervals of time are generally required to achieve this goal.
Youth Personal Training Programs: Design and Implementation
Youth personal training programs may be implemented to help children lose weight, become more active, achieve fitness goals, and excel in spots.
Whatever the reason, however, a few things must always be considered when designing and implementing a training program for children.
Because the bones of the body do not fully fuse until we reach young adulthood, protecting the growth plates should always be a concern. Any injury to the growth plates can impact a child’s future growth and leave them susceptible to future injuries.
How to Become a Youth Fitness Trainer
NPTI Florida (Orlando) offers a 200-hour ACCSC Accredited certification program in Orlando, Florida. This program is open to all NPTI Graduates nationwide and industry Personal Trainers and Fitness professionals. NPTI Florida Youth Fitness Trainers, more so than any other type of Personal Trainer, must ensure they are properly trained as to ensure safe and effective workouts for children. You can expect parents to ask about your credentials, so it is important to ensure that your resume is comprehensive and impressive.
The first step to becoming a Youth Fitness Trainer is contact NPTI Florida by visiting www.nptiflorida.edu or calling 407-772-0057.
