Crossfit for children and adolescents: features and rules of classes

Physical activity in childhood is one of the main factors in the harmonious development of a child. And therefore, parents of growing toddlers or schoolchildren think about the best training option that children will like and will strengthen their health. Among the wide variety of sports sections, there are also relatively new areas, for example, crossfit.

What is crossfit for kids?

Children's crossfit is scaled version of crossfit training for adults. Such classes are built taking into account all the principles of classical crossfit, that is, they are aimed at increasing endurance, strength, balance, speed, flexibility and other characteristics. They are diverse and functional, they solve different problems, they can serve as a base for any power or team sport, as well as athletics and martial arts.

Most importantly, CrossFit helps ensure feeling good and getting better every day... In addition, children's workouts invariably include elements of play and fun, especially in the groups of the youngest clients.

To make the kids not bored, the coaches introduce interesting and unusual exercises into the training program, for example, walking and jumping in the style of any animals - a bear, a crab, a tiger, a dinosaur.

Benefit and harm

Children's workouts in this area have a lot of good things.

In crossfit training, several sports directions are combined at once, which provides a versatile development of the physical qualities of children and eliminates boredom. Thanks to attending such classes, the child becomes dexterous, strong, flexible and resilient, his movement accuracy and body performance improve.
In the classroom, children learn exercise techniques and lay the foundation for general physical fitness. This reduces the risk of injury in the future and strengthens the musculoskeletal system of babies. The load is selected individually, taking into account the physical condition of the child and his past sports experience.
Regular workout attendance is the prevention of many health problems resulting from low mobility. According to doctors, the physical activity of modern schoolchildren is much lower than it was 20-30 years ago. A few physical education lessons per week are not enough, because the WHO recommends physical activity for 1 hour daily.
Being engaged in CrossFit, the child receives a portion of good emotions, which also has a beneficial effect on the work of his brain. Research has confirmed that exercise has a positive effect on thinking and learning.
By visiting the group with other children, the child will find new friends with whom it will be interesting for him to compete in the hall, acquiring new skills. In CrossFit, a lot of attention is paid to the "community" - friendly communication between club members, supporting each other in training and outside the gym. This undoubtedly has a positive effect on the communication skills of young athletes.

As for the disadvantages of children's CrossFit, many parents are afraid of high intensity training and exercises that are harmful to children. In fact, if the training process is moderately intense, the child will practice under the supervision of an experienced instructor, and at home he will be able to fully recover due to proper nutrition and adequate sleep, children's crossfit will not do any harm.

To reduce the health risks of your child, it is important to pay attention to two things. First of all, it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the choice of the club and coach. The training should be conducted by a person who has the appropriate education and experience in working with children. He will competently design a program, exclude potentially harmful exercises from it, and take into account the age of his athletes.

Secondly, parents should show their baby to a doctorto check his health and get admission to sports activities.

In addition, it is necessary to explain to the child that he must be attentive to himself during the training. If there are any problems, the little athlete should immediately inform the coach about it.

Division into age groups

In all gyms, children who come to do CrossFit are divided into several groups by age.

Toddlers under 6 years old. Some sections invite young clients from 4 or even 3 years old. It all depends on the education and specialization of the coach.
Children 7-9 years old. This is the most common crossfit group for children, as younger students are very active and need to switch their attention after school and homework.
Children 10-12 years old. At this age, the training program is already becoming more complicated, elements of training for adults are included (work with additional weights).
Teenagers. This category includes children 13-17 years old, and the most prepared and active children can already participate in competitions.

Functional features of training

Unlike regular fitness, crossfit for kids, like an adult, provides a lot of variety. Each new day is a new workout program based on WOD (Workout of the Day). It is built on several principles, for example, you need to perform a certain number of repetitions of each exercise. within the time indicated by the trainer as quickly as possible (AFAP), or start each minute with a certain number of repetitions of the same exercise (this workout is called EMOM).

Each workout necessarily begins with a warm-up designed to prepare the body for work. For example, children can start their workout with jogging, long jumping, bear walk, lunging, air squats. This is followed by a developmental block in many halls. It provides 15-30 minutes to practice new or difficult skills. During this part of the lesson, the child will master the technique and learn new exercises.

When planning the WOD, the trainer will take into account three different types of exercises used in CrossFit.

M (Metabolic / Cardio). Jumping rope, treadmills, a special bicycle (Air Bike), a rowing machine, and a ski trainer (Ski Erg) provide a good cardio load during CrossFit.
G (Gymnastics). This focus includes a variety of exercises to help develop balance, flexibility and coordination. These include jumping, pull-ups, handstands, "corner", somersaults, push-ups, and so on.
W (Strength)... In strength work, there is both training with its own weight and exercises with weights, a barbell, heavy balls, a sandbag, and dumbbells.

In the workout of the day, exercises of two modalities (medium load) are most often present, less often of one modality (light workout) or all three (high load).

Examples of exercises and ready-made programs

In children's crossfit workouts, there are many exercises in which their own weight acts as a burden.

Pushups Is a great way to strengthen your pecs and triceps. Learning this skill begins with a lightened position with the toddler's knees on the floor. This will help the kids to strengthen their torso and shoulder girdle so they can move on to straight-legged push-ups later.
Air squats Is the best exercise to develop your legs. By squatting, children improve their coordination and develop leg muscle strength. In addition, this exercise is good for posture.
Pull-ups - one of the basic exercises that develop the muscles of the back and biceps. It involves many muscle fibers in the work, strengthens tendons and ligaments. Mastering this skill usually begins with horizontal pull-ups, as well as using elastic bands or with the help of a trainer.
Burpee - Exercise for the whole body, which includes both strength training and aerobic activity. The child should take the support while lying down, push up, and then jump up and clap over his head.

It is important first to learn the correct technique for this exercise, and then to increase the number of repetitions and increase the intensity.

Workouts also include various exercises with sports equipment and fitness equipment.

Rope climbing - excellent load for the shoulder girdle, it develops coordination and grip well. First, the child learns how to properly grip the rope with his feet, and to complicate the task, he can climb without using his legs.
Ball throwing - A full body exercise aimed at developing precision, agility and speed. The ball is thrown at the target indicated by the coach, which is initially low. For the first workouts, ordinary balls are used, experienced young athletes throw medballs weighing 3-6 kg.
Jumping up - wonderful exercise for the muscles of the legs. The smallest can jump on discs or low boxes, older children - on pedestals with a height of 40 cm. To complicate jumps, they often add burpees.
Rowing - has a beneficial effect on endurance, involves almost the entire body. If there is a rowing machine in the gym, children should definitely use it. This exercise is also good for cool down and warm up.
Jumping rope - good for leg muscle development and coordination. Many children like them, so kids quickly enough begin to perform double and sometimes triple jumps.

With regard to the training program, it is best if the child exercises regularly, and the trainer increases the intensity as planned and includes new exercises in the program. In most gyms, children attend classes three times a week. It is undesirable to do it more often so that the child's body has time to recover.

Ready-made programs for adults should not be used in children's workouts, since significant loads are contraindicated for young athletes. If the parents are doing it on their own and have decided to introduce the child to CrossFit, it is best to build a program based on bodyweight exercises with the addition of aerobic loads (running, jumping).