CrossFit Kids: Improving Overall Health and Learning Capabilities

There is no denying that to help our kids grow up happy, healthy, and develop into successful adults, we need to encourage them to be physically active and incorporate fitness into their everyday lives in a fun and challenging way so they can grow up with an already established routine that incorporates healthy habits.

A quick Google search on exercise and children’s learning will provide you with a ton of information about the various studies done proving that regular exercise and physical activity among children will not only improve their overall health and fitness, it can also improve their learning capabilities in school, including their comprehension and test-taking skills.

With data like that available, it’s shocking that so many school systems are cutting physical education programs.

I am very passionate about health and fitness for myself and my family. For the past five years, I have been very involved in a fitness program called CrossFit.  In my off time, I am a certified Level 1 CrossFit coach and about a year ago, I received my CrossFit Kids trainer’s certification and coach local kids and teen classes regularly at my local CrossFit gym.

As I was researching and learning about CrossFit Kids and its approach towards kids’ fitness, it became crystal clear to me how closely it aligned with the overall mission here at K12.

The K12 curriculum and online learning allows for learning that can be customized to each child’s needs in an engaging, interactive, and challenging way, with a mix of online and offline, including textbooks, hands-on materials, and lessons created to accommodate diverse learning styles.

CrossFit Kids is a method for teaching CrossFit to children and teens, ages 318. CrossFit is a fitness regimen developed by Coach Greg Glassman over several decades. He was the first person in history to define fitness in a meaningful, measurable way (increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains). CrossFit itself is defined as that which optimizes fitness (constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity).

The CrossFit Kids program is a strength-and-conditioning program specially designed for kids and teenagers and their specific developmental needs with the goal of educating them about functional fitness and inspiring them to pursue it.

Science proves that brain function is positively impacted by exercise. The CrossFit Kids program seeks to play a part in helping our kids gain a cognitive edge by encouraging them and modeling for them the practice of regular exercise. Kids that are physically active perform better academically.

This past summer, I reached out to the founders of this amazing program, Jeff and Mikki Martin, to see if they would be willing to share their knowledge and experience with K12 families and teach K12 parents how to incorporate fitness activities within their learning schedules that can help our kids stay fit and help improve their ability to learn.

Beginning this week, and continuing on throughout the school year, the team at CrossFit Kids will be contributing guest posts offering information, tips, and lesson plan suggestions along with overall instruction (as needed) around the basic principles of CrossFit Kids, wellness and health.

With the increase rates in obesity and Type 2 Diabetes among kids nationwide coupled with the abundance of research related to the benefits of exercise and learning, no one can deny how important this topic is. We are excited to be able to work with CrossFit Kids to offer fitness themed information that can positively impact our children’s lives.

I hope you find the CrossFit Kids program and the information they will share helpful and inspirational as you help inspire and encourage your own kiddos to get moving.

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