Motivating Overweight/Un-healthy Youths to be healthy

[samfitz111]

Hi Everyone

I did not really know where to put this thread but decided on Motivation as I want some help motivating.

I need help and advice from EVERYONE and ANYONE out there on this idea and hopefully soon this will become a reality where I am. Anyway here goes:

So I work for a youth club in Sydney which hosts numerous amount of activities and has a gym in it. I was thinking the other day, if it is a youth club and an organisation designed at helping youths they why are there so many adults here, especially in the gym? Sure we have youths which come in, but really its the same 20 or so school kids who are reasonably fit or healthy, these guys are doing fine in terms of fitness and health. But where are the other youths? the ones which have health problems such as: Obesity; bad diets; dont do any exercise; dream of being able to wear nice clothes or pretend they dont care about sport at school when they really dont want people to see them fail. These are the people I want to see in the gym or doing cardio, or boxing, or just giving it a go- we all started somewhere.

Now I understand this is a very touchy subject and everyone knows its a problem but no one wants to talk about it.-I do not intend to offend anyone in any way, I understand there are some disorders and genetics or things out of an individuals control which lead to weight issues. I am focusing on those who want to help them selves but dont know how or are afraid of failure.-We'll I'm talking about it, because YES it is a problem! Why? Because obesity leads to a numerous amount of deseases such as Asthma; long term injuries and joint problems as our bodies werent meant to carry large amounts of fat with out the muscles to acommodate; as well as increasing your risk of heart failure; heart attacks in the future, the list goes onnnnn and onnnnnnnnnn.....

And you know another tough reality for kids at school (im 21 so not that far out of school) you find it tough to fit in, you feel like ****, you feel depressed, and yes you are left out, people do tease you and it SUCKS! That is a harsh reality- not for all as some can cope better then others or get lucky- but for those that dont get lucky or cope its not a nice experience. You think I'm wrong, that school is a nice world where everyone skips around hugging and holding hands?? well im sorry, wake up! And for any parent who has to deal with their son or daughter crying from this teasing you know the harsh world of schooling. You may think Im full of it- but I spend my time trying to help everyone I can, Ill tell anyone in the gym who is giving someone slack for trying to put up or get out. Some people who are fit and healthy now who once wernt, or are muscular now who once wearnt forget the struggle of starting out.

Now, I know in my pictures and bodystats I dont look like much, hey I look unhealthy. But I have run marathons, used to be an outdoor hiking guide, and can bench 1.5x my bw (for reps), squat 2x my bw (for reps) and DL 2.5x my bw (for reps) so Im not all that unhealthy. Please dont judge me, I just want to help others. and if you want to criticise me then your the reason why people that are want to try dont or give up so piss off.

I want to create an environment for those who are willing to give it a go to feel safe where they can try and fail 1000 times and never give up. I want to help those that need and want help but dont know where to go. I'm not looking for any financial gain or social status gain from this, I just want to give those who are willing to change a guiding hand on the path to take.

Some ideas I have come up with are: Reduced membership prices/ free to those that are trying to change their lifestyle and have a written goal that is reasonalble.- however I dont know how you would judge someone to be unhealthy as bf is not always an indicator.

Talking to school sports teachers and sending kids our way that open up to them about health issues where we can help (with a letter, so people dont try and scam it)

Free membership to those who reach and achieve their goals (thus the need for reasonable goals), or maybe a prize as an incentive?
So to conclude:

I need YOUR HELP anyone! EVEERYONE It doesnt matter if you have never set foot in a gym, are trying to change your lifestyle to a healthy one or are a pro BB. you can all help me, at the end of the day these kids are out future and if todays health issues keep escalating it is going to effect all of us negatively.

[etali]

From my (limited) experience, I think that a range of classes in addition to just open sessions of weights / cardio stuff might help.

I do a couple of martial arts, and one of the classes I go to is a mixed age-group one with a high percentage of kids. There have been some amazing transformations in that class. For example, about a year ago, a 10 year old boy started attending. He was terrifyingly obese, and he couldn't even run two laps of the hall without turning into a wheezing heap. He was allowed to train at his own pace, and now, one year later he's just "a little chunky" and able to handle most of the exercises. No-body laughed at him, and while he's moved through the belts fairly slowly he has made progress, and he really seems to be having fun. He's even got the confidence to speak up and help white belts with little things like tying their belts, it's been awesome to see.

This might be a different age-group to what you're thinking of, but I think it's still relevant. I don't think he would have stuck around for just "running laps" or "doing push ups", because they're the sort of thing that few people enjoy for their own sake. However, he knows that all the boring exercises make him better at the fun stuff, so he tries hard.

Maybe you could attract teens with boxercise, dance aerobics (to popular artists, rather than zumba), and individual sports?

Speaking from my own point of view, I'm a completely un-coordinated klutz, so I avoided team sports like the plague at school. I was never unfit, but I didn't want the pressure of having to perform well or face the ire of my team.

[samfitz111]

WOW! 131 views and your the first to comment! You are a bloody legend!!!

Im looking at the age groups from 15yo and up (because where I work you have to be that age or be supervised by a parent or guardian). We have a couple of kids doing martial art classes as well who have gone through some amazing changes with in a year.

I like the idea of the boxercise class, we do have junior boxing classes as maybe we can offer discounts somehow- we just have to find a way not to discriminate agains anyone.

Thank you for your reply and ideas!! I thought more people would be stepping up with ideas seeing as this is a major MAJOR issue

From my (limited) experience, I think that a range of classes in addition to just open sessions of weights / cardio stuff might help.

I do a couple of martial arts, and one of the classes I go to is a mixed age-group one with a high percentage of kids. There have been some amazing transformations in that class. For example, about a year ago, a 10 year old boy started attending. He was terrifyingly obese, and he couldn't even run two laps of the hall without turning into a wheezing heap. He was allowed to train at his own pace, and now, one year later he's just "a little chunky" and able to handle most of the exercises. No-body laughed at him, and while he's moved through the belts fairly slowly he has made progress, and he really seems to be having fun. He's even got the confidence to speak up and help white belts with little things like tying their belts, it's been awesome to see.

This might be a different age-group to what you're thinking of, but I think it's still relevant. I don't think he would have stuck around for just "running laps" or "doing push ups", because they're the sort of thing that few people enjoy for their own sake. However, he knows that all the boring exercises make him better at the fun stuff, so he tries hard.

Maybe you could attract teens with boxercise, dance aerobics (to popular artists, rather than zumba), and individual sports?

Speaking from my own point of view, I'm a completely un-coordinated klutz, so I avoided team sports like the plague at school. I was never unfit, but I didn't want the pressure of having to perform well or face the ire of my team.