Parents Guide To Gym Sign-Ups

Getting your kid signed-up for the gym can get confusing, especially after scrolling through social media feeds or talking to a well intentioned sport coach about what your kid ‘really needs to do this off-season’.

The age old ‘more is better’ approach tends to cause more harm than good. Here are some tried and true suggestions to keep in mind when signing your kiddo’s up at the local gym.

1). How much training should my child do?

This is a great question and there are some details to consider before choosing the best plan for you. Let’s look at those details >>>>

Training Experience : If it’s your first time joining a training program, I wouldn’t recommend any more than 3x/week. Working out can have robust effects, especially when you’re just starting out. With that said over doing it (>3x/week) becomes a real possibility; chronic injuries, excessive fatigue, and the worst….burning out. At this point the goal should be

1). creating a positive relationship with the gym (you’ll be there a lot in your life)

2). learning how to control your body.

More experienced gym go-ers know how to move their bodies, have mastered the foundational movements and can now focus on getting bigger, stronger, faster. Now you should start to think about ‘In-Season’ vs. ‘Off-Season’ training.

Competing Interests : You only have so much energy in a day and some of that needs to be reserved for recovery (not to mention school, sports & other extracurriculars). All of these activities should be seen as competing interests that need to be accounted for when choosing the right plan.

Off-Season : 3-5x/week

Now is the time to get bigger, stronger, faster. It’s not a complicated process, it just takes opportunity and consistency. Giving yourself 3+ opportunities to move & lift each week allows you to master all the foundational movements and lay down the ‘anatomical scaffolding’ to get stronger while reducing the risk of injury during the season. Consistency is the other side of the fitness coin. Once you choose a path, stick with it. Most plans work but are abandoned far too quickly to see any benefits. Don’t fall into the trap of jumping in&out of programs because you didn’t see immediate results.

I’m a big advocate of taking time away from your sport; I know I felt burned out after being in rinks and traveling around for hockey 11-months a year. I felt like I was missing out on other opportunities and going to the rink just wasn’t fun anymore. Take time away to focus on getting bigger, faster, stronger and actually ‘miss’ your sport. You’ll be so excited (and prepared) to start the next season.

In-Season : 2x/week

Why only 2 days? Playing a sport is just like training in a gym. The body is getting worked and it needs time to repair and recover. Competing with a sport schedule is a recipe for disaster. Athletes who over-do it in the gym will likely see their sport and gym performance dip and it’s likely to lead to over-use injuries. Take this time to maintain the strength you built in the off-season, do rehab exercises and ‘fill the buckets’ of the movements that aren’t used often in your sport. This will help you maintain the necessary balance in your body to avoid chronic injuries and put you in a better position to build on that foundation the next off-season.

2). What types of training should I be doing?

I come from the functional training background, which just means that we look both at the requirements of sport AND the design of the human body. Far too often we like to identify ourselves as ‘basketball players’ or ‘soccer players’ but really we’re humans first. There are certain movements that all humans should be able to do (run, jump, throw, squat, push, & pull). The rationale being that if you’re deficient in any of these movements, you’re likely dealing with imbalances (postural) that will make it more challenging to acquire new skills and worse, could lead to injuries. Think of these movements as the basic foundation to higher level movements. For instance, being a good jumper in the gym likely will lead to going for a rebound during a basketball game. If you don’t jump well in the gym where there are no external pressures, you’re almost guaranteed to fail in a game when those pressures are present.

Long story short, if your gym has machines everywhere and no space to run, jump or throw then that gyms probably not the best fit.

Look for :

-Turf (at least 25 yards)

-Plyo boxes, hurdles, agility ladders and medicine balls

-Barbells, Dumbbells, and Kettlebells

-Bands (superbands, minibands)

Final Note:

The training experience should be engaging, positive and fun.

Look for…

…a place where the coaches care. These are coaches that support their athletes (pictures on the wall, go to sporting events), go to continuing education credentials and most importantly listen to what your needs are. Ideally these coaches will hear you out and use their experience to recalibrate and set realistic goals, mentoring you throughout the process.

…friends. Your kid is wayyy more likely to have a good time if his friends are training with him or there are other kids in the group with them.

…convenience. You shouldn’t have to drive an hour to train. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked in world renowned facilities where clients would drive an hour + to work with us but it doesn’t need to be that way. Find a place that is in your price range, and driving radius; remember opportunity and consistency is the x-factor.

If you have any questions or want to comment below, please do!