Matt Walters, a strength and conditioning coach at the Better Body Group, talks about their Young Athlete Development program.
The Better Body Group Young Athlete Development (YAD) sessions are designed to help youngsters build self-confidence in the gym through supervised group resistance training, where they learn the movement patterns and physical skills both for improvements in the gym as well as performance benefits in their chosen sports.
So why group training? The psychological and social benefits of resistance training in youth populations is well documented, guaranteeing the achievement of a common goal and the connected experience of everyone involved. This allows the participants to increase their confidence both as individuals successfully completing tasks, but also builds social confidence within their peer group.
The positive interactions between individuals in the training environment will help them learn new skills faster and develop their existing abilities. This positive peer group environment is one we take pride in cultivating through the YAD program at BBG and it’s yielded fantastic results for our athletes both for their performance and self confidence in the gym.
Further, having a positive body image and good relationship with training and the gym will help youngsters maintain and improve their health as they mature, which will lay the foundation for a healthy life. This is especially important in the current day and age as the increasing prevalence of sedentary lifestyles/jobs and the associated health issues make maintaining a regular exercise regimen vital to avoiding and offsetting many of the issues correlated with lower levels of activity.
This perception of physical strength and confidence built through regular, supervised resistance training is important for participation in physically challenging scenarios such as sport or playground games with their peers.
Resistance training also produces positive changes in youngsters with depression/depressive symptoms. This effect is stronger in those with clinical diagnoses and the intervention of regular, supervised, group based training has been shown to be a good predictor of mental health improvements in those suffering with depressive symptoms. Moreover, regular exercise regimens have been highly suggested to assist in the development of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and inattention in children and adolescents with ADHD.
The Better Body Group is focused on helping youngsters develop their global self-confidence through success in competitive speed and agility games with their peers as well as social development via group based games and activities in which communication and enjoyment are prioritised over performance. This balance creates a friendly, supportive atmosphere in which everyone is invested in both their own and the groups’ growth, alongside their physical performance and progress.
• For any questions or to get in touch in our friendly team, call 01732 451979.
