Chronicle Editor
Innocent Choga Fitness—
“I was never involved in physical activities at school because I was an intellectual. Playing sport was for those who were not intellectually gifted.” I once overheard one adult parent bragging to his children. We have different talents but this generalisation has been proven to be false. It would be correct to say that children are intellectuals in different disciplines, because when exercising and playing sport children use their minds to solve fitness and sporting problems.The fact that we tend to regard some disciplines better than others leaves those who participate in the least favoured disciplines behaving as and adopting the attitudes of failures.
I wonder how many work professionals would mind exchanging bank accounts with Serena Williams, Usain Bolt and Ronaldo.
It is also true that these talented sports persons also have to rely on other professionals to handle their affairs efficiently otherwise they would not succeed financially.
Nowadays it is not only the physically talented children that should take part in physical activities.
International Research has indicated that many children are now overweight and obese more than before and there is fear that their life expectancy could be shorter than their parents’ if this is not tackled at an earlier stage.
Some parents have realised that some less physically active children are not participating fully in sports activities either due to neglect by the overwhelmed few sports teachers or due to lack of serous approach to physical activities by school authorities . Therefore they are not leaving the fitness issue entirely into the hands of school authorities.
With tight school budgets being focused on academic activities only, some parents are resorting to hiring professional personal trainers. Volunteer organisations are being formed around the world.
These organisations are shouting out that children are the future and in order to curtail this obesity scourge, they are suggesting that the war should be started with the youth. These programmes are being implemented not only in schools but in communities.
According to Idea Fitness Journal (2011) good fitness trainers are being roped in to design safe and effective fun activities for children. These programmes help children to manage their weight and get into shape. These programmes assist the children by improving their fitness, sporting skills and eating habits.
The whole idea is to ensure that children enjoy good health, as well as build their self-esteem and confidence. The ultimate goal is to gear them towards the idea of balancing the mind and body lifestyles. This is achieved by teaching them about the various components of fitness, how the body functions, healthy eating and emotional wellness .
This kind of work requires fitness trainers who are open minded and have good listening skills. They have to be good motivators who able to get into friendly childish modes in order to be able to teach and coach children, but at the same time they should not lose that authority figure in order to maintain discipline. Trainers involved in these researches have indicated that children grasp the fitness concepts much faster than the adults.
One 14-year-old young man who plays rugby wants to know what I meant in last week’s article when I talked about adapting to civilisation and technological advancement as a way to contain diseases afflicting us.
He also asked: “You talk of mental endurance and mental strength exactly how does exercise and sport assist in this aspect?”
He asked for practical examples, so I felt the need to explain what I meant.
I meant that technological advancement is good but it is putting us in situation that is making us idle and thereby we should take mitigating steps to counteract the situation by exercising.
We also know that most foods we are exposed to contain empty calories, meaning they are valueless and we should counteract by incorporating traditional wholesome foods in our diet.
In this case adapting means taking steps to mitigate the bad effects to ensure that we enjoy good health and at the same time enjoy the good things that technological advancement provides.
As fitness enthusiasts or as sports persons sometimes circumstances will put you into the company of people whose actions do not conform to your values.
The ability to avoid doing what they do and sticking to your values and thus maintaining your identity means that through mental strength you have adapted to the situation and your identity has survived.
If you are surrounded by colleagues that are always eating foods that are not ideal and you manage to stick to wholesome foods that you know will help you maintain fitness then it means you have mental strength. If you go with the flow and blend into the situation doing everything that others are doing, we might call that negative adaptation you have failed to positively adapt because you are now somebody else, you become unfit .
Mental endurance allows you to stay focused on and off the pitch or in diet program. You are not swayed by what others are doing; you remain true to yourself and you stay focused on your goal.
It is possible to be among friends who are drinking and eating bad foods that are not recommended while you are not drinking and eating the same things because you know you have a match and you have to stick to a diet. That discipline comes with mental strength; your sporting career will survive. If you are rugby forward and you are not tempted to abuse your strength by bullying other boys at school you display mental strength.
It is also possible that other school boys or rugby opponents taunt you but you maintain your cool avoiding trouble. That comes through mental toughness as well. It is not a sign of weakness to remain cool. At times this helps in many other aspects in life and helps you survive in undesirable conditions.
So I could say, when you are in Rome you should observe and respect their laws, but do not do everything that the Romans do; take the good and leave the bad. When you are in the company of people who are not sports persons or health conscious you should bear in mind that you are a sports person/fitness enthusiast and you have to maintain your fitness to take your performance to the maximum level.
Email: [email protected] Innocent Choga is a six time National Bodybuilding Champion with international experience. He is studying for a science degree in Physical Education and Sport.
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