How Active Should Our Children Be?

by Patricia Conway Chartered Physiotherapist at Functional Training Ireland.

The benefits of exercise in children are profoundly important for long term physical, social and mental health. From bone density to prevention of obesity, exercise in the young lays the foundation of a healthy life. Lessons experienced through sport can provide important lessons in life. What form should this exercise take to have optimum benefits in the child and adolescent and how can we decrease injury risks from exercise?

 Guidelines:

Age                             Activity

< 2                              unstructured play

 3-5                             avoid organized sport run, swim and free play

 6-9                             skill acquisition possible, involve in less complex organized sport run, swim, gymnastics, ballsports

 10-12                         more complex skills allowing more complex sports

Risks to children from excessive exercise:

 May be seen where children become specialized in one sport too early especially in all year round sports

• Traumatic injury 

Participation in any activity organized or otherwise can lead to collisions or falls and can result in related injuries. Adequate supervision with use of protective equipment can reduce this.

• Exercise and rapid growth spurt.

The bone can get become thinner in the six months following rapid growth spurts. This can increase the risk of bone injury. There may also be reduced coordination and flexibility at this time with decreased performance which may affect confidence.  Being aware of this and adapting training during these vulnerable changes can ensure the young active person can continue to participate and enjoy exercise.

 Exercise has many benefits however we must be able to adapt to growing children to minimize injury risks.

Hello Friends,

We at FTI think it is cheeky that most of our competition only have 30 minute slots for  all physiotherapy sessions and sports massage treatments.

As a matter of fact we think it’s a clever way to bulk up  a clinic’s diary and get more bums on seats.

I have been in the industry in some shape or form for ten years now and I don’t know HOW you are supposed to fix someone in only 30 minutes!

All our physio treatments last 40 mins, and soft tissue treatments lasts 60 mins to aid proper thorough service.

Whilst we are on the topic of Physio clinics, I think it’s also wrong to hook a patient up to a machine of some sort for 30mins, or stick needles in them and leave the room!, maybe you have been to the physio and all they had was a curtain between you and the next patient?

At FTI we pride ourselves on having private rooms and giving everyone the treatment they deserve.

If your physio is doing any of the above, have a think about it and maybe give us a try?

Check out our Facebook Page for pearls of wisdom on Personal Training and Physiotherapy,

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING IRELAND RUNNING SEMINAR
24TH MARCH 2012 – 10am
VENUE:                NATIONAL STADIUM SANTRY
COST: €40.00      (22 Places)
SPEAKERS:          Functional Training Ireland Team             
Peter Mathews (3 Times Cross Country Champion of Ireland)

Dave Hare (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
                               
                                               
Part 1: Approx 1.5 hrs
Introduction
·         Foam Rolling Techniques
·         Running Specific Stretching
·         Dynamic Stretching
·         Core/Strength for Runners
·         “How this makes you faster”
·         Peter Mathews Experiences of Running

Coffee/Tea Break
Part 2: Approx 1.5 hrs
Practical:              The Functional Training System
·         Running Mechanics (that matter)
·         Low Tech Fuss Free Strength Work
·         Dynamic Warm Up Technique
·         Group Session (if participant wants)
·         Q & A

Let us know if you are interested we have 10 spots only left.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/cycling/2012/0213/paracycling.html

Well done to the girls, they work extremely hard on their strength and conditioning.

200 days to the paralympics in London now!

?10am, Saturday, 24th of March , National Stadium Santry.

We are running a seminar for runners on how to run faster and stay healthy. We have 22places up for grabs and it will only cost 40euro.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested.

The talk will be relevant to ANY runner and there will be practical aspect to it – so bring your shorts! It’s a great venue and we will have great speakers. Peter Mathews will be there for starters.

This will be a professional Seminar and you will leave with a clear understanding of your weaknesses and how to fix them yourself.

By David Hare CSCS, owner of Functional Training Ireland.

Below are some absolute basics to keep you fit and healthy for your weekly run, if you are a beginner or an expert they still hold true.

1. Get some soft tissue work;

Running is very hard on the legs, so getting regular massage, introducing some foam rolling into your routine or trigger point work will really help you become a fit and healthy runner.

2. Do some strength work;

Okay you hate lifting weights, but i’m talking about glute bridging work, tough stretches and core work, all of which will help you run better and more healthy. Get a good strength coach to show you how to do these, it’s not good enough to look up YouTube and cod yourself into thinking it’s good for you.

3. Stretch;

Simple but effective if done RIGHT. Your old school PE stretches aren’t going to cut the mustard anymore. 

4. Eat;

They amount of runners that don’t eat enough and at the right times is staggering. You need protein and carbs etc, but the basics still remain, eat well immediately after a run, you will feel so much better.

5. Hydrate;

Keep plenty of fluids in the system if you are a runner.

6. Get a coach of some description;

Try as you will, you can’t coach yourself get some else to tell you how stupid the program you just invented is!

7. Supplement;

If you are a serious runner I like, Vit D, Fish Oil, Protein and recovery shakes to be in your arsenal.

Hope you enjoyed the tips,

Let me know what you think…

We are open the day of the marathon from 8.10 am for anyone, client or not, to drop off their bags, grab a shake or coffee or even a light pre race massage! Our gym is right on the start line and we promise a great welcome and even better atmosphere.

Good luck to all ye hardy souls.

By David Hare ; Owner of Functional Training Ireland.

Do you head to the gym and hit the cardio machines first for a crappy 5-10minutes?

Do you head straight to the bench?

Ok, I will be honest, we have all done this, when people tell me what they get up to in the gym this is what I hear, rarely if ever do I hear about dynamic warm ups, Squats, free weights or core training.

Do yourself a favour and get a coach! Only if it is for a few sessions now and again –  but if you train yourself your doomed to less than perfect results. Here is what I recommend.

1. Write down your goals.

2. Get an assessment of your weaknesses by a trained professional.

3. Get a coach that can guide you a wee bit, better still join a training group.

4. Train as per plan written by someone smarter than you in the fitness area.

4. Repeat forever!

Remember even the top golfers have a coach, Lionel Messi has a coach, you can’t avoid it.

Call around for a FREE assessment and we can start you on your journey.

Medals don’t grow on trees at the world level, so a big congrats to Catherine Walsh and Francine Meehan 

 The Irish Female Tandem pairing of Catherine Walsh and Fran Meehan took bronze in the Time Trial at the UCI Paracycling Road World Championships, in Roskilde, Denmark.

Their time of 44.04.95 was enough to secure third place behind  Canada and New Zealand.  The pair won silver at the 2010 World Track Championships and earlier this season took gold during the Segovia leg of the 2011 Road World Cup. Come on London!