Tweens and teens fire up their fitness basics in summer training class
A local gym owner realized there are kids who can’t do a jumping jack or understand simple footwork patterns but she’s aiming to change that with her summer tween/teen fitness program.
Sheri Saperstein has been in the fitness game for over three decades and has owned her own studio since 2015, and while the bulk of her business might be focused on adults, summer is about the kids.
Saperstein’s Fire Up Fitness Studio is offering strength training and conditioning for tweens and teens this summer, and she promises it will be fun.
“Every year, usually in the summer, I try to do a tween or teen class,” she said, and this year she is focusing on kids 11 to 14 years old.
Saperstein said she likes working with this age group because they’re malleable and, like sponges, they absorb the information she provides. This is also the age when kids are becoming more aware of their bodies, and they either start to become excited about being active and getting in shape or they’re inhibited by their bodies because of social media, peer pressure and trends, she said.
She wants to see them choose to be active but has come to realize that some kids might not know where or how to start.
Saperstein said she’s noticed that elementary and middle school gym classes are very much sports related. It’s not a bad thing, she added quickly, “but they don’t focus on basic body weight movements, agility and calisthenics.”
“I focus on what's called functional fitness,” she said.
Her class isn’t about checking how big your biceps are getting or focusing on leg work, “because at this age they don’t need to know that,” she said.
They need to know the basics.
Saperstein said she’s had kids that don’t know how to do a jumping Jack or follow basic foot-work patterns for things like lunges. And just like the adults she trains down at the Medford Senior Center, kids need to focus on form, balance, agility, flexibility, endurance, stability, and how to prevent injuries, she said, even if they aren't playing sports.
“All of these are different functional fitness components, in addition to just strength and cardio,” she said.
If you can teach tweens and teens these basics, they’re only going to get healthier, stronger, more energetic bodies that can do more over time, she said.
What will a session look like?
In her West Medford studio, Saperstein said, she tries to combine all the functional components with games.
“And I make it really fun for them,” she said.
She might have eight or 10 kids planking (holding a push-up-like position) in a row. Then the last person in the row drops and army-crawls under everyone else. Then that person planks up at the opposite end and the next person drops and crawls. The idea is that no one falls on top of the kid who is crawling, but they often do, Saperstein said with a laugh.
“They love it," she said. "Everyone laughs, but it really teaches them the value of teamwork and also strength and stability and endurance."
Other favorites, she said, are the long jump and high jump, in which kids are just competing against themselves, trying to better their own distances. For the high jump, Saperstein said, they use a pool noodle as the bar. Starting low, the kids do squat jumps first and then work up to a running jump, always landing on mats. When they get it, it's a confidence builder, particularly for the kids who might not be as extroverted or active as some, she said.
“Another thing they love is ball slams,” she said.
Saperstein has a number of weighted balls, ranging from 4 to 25 pounds. She has each kid pick a ball, think of something that really irritates them, then raise the ball over their heads and slam it down as hard as they can. Then they squat down, pick it up and do it again.
“The balls don’t bounce back so there’s no danger, and they always have a great time,” she said.
Her whole objective, she said, is simply to get kids to realize that the stronger they are, the better off they’ll be in all aspects of life, even when doing simple things like carrying groceries or a backpack full of books. It’s fun, focused fitness that no one will dread, she said.
“I want them to look forward to coming,” she said. “In about six or eight weeks, they’ll notice a difference.”
The 411
Classes, which are for both boys and girls, run every Wednesday at noon from July 8 to August 19. For cost or other information or to register, call Saperstein at 617-966-1114, visit FireUpFitnessStudio.com or see her Facebook page.
