WORK IT OUT, FAMILY-STYLE
Working out together helps families become closer, boosts kids’ confidence.
At 13, Preston Truelove of Memphis is already a master at multitasking. An eighth- grader at St. George’s Independent School, Preston does squats while he’s brushing his teeth. While his shower water heats up, he drops to the floor and does crunches. If he’s playing a video game, he’s walking on a treadmill at the same time.
And nope, Preston’s not a fitness fanatic. He simply has a very dedicated mother with a few healthy tricks up her sleeve.
“We teach our children to brush their teeth. We teach them good study habits. We teach them to say their prayers before they go to bed. But somehow, we missed the boat on healthy lifestyle habits,” said his mother, Michelle Truelove, a certified personal trainer at Forever Fit Health Club with a degree in exercise physiology from the University of Memphis.
With help from Truelove, who has taught him easy ways to incorporate exercise into his daily routine, Preston currently is bucking a few national trends when it comes to adolescents and physical activity. According to statistics from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, only one in three children are physically active every day, and 28 percent of Americans (80.2 million people) age 6 and older are physically inactive. Possibly contributing to this sedentary lifestyle is the fact that children now spend more than seven-and-a-half hours a day in front of some type of a screen, be it computer, television, smartphone or video game.
But Truelove believes there’s hope on the horizon. Lately she’s been seeing more families — usually a parent accompanied by one or more children — come to her for fitness guidance. During her 19-year career, she’s trained a range of individual clients, along with families, young people, and adults and children with physical and mental disabilities.
As far as Truelove is concerned, there are no limitations — physical, age-related or otherwise — when it comes to developing a fitness routine. It’s just a matter of working around obstacles and focusing on strengths.
“If there is a disability in the upper body, there’s nothing wrong with the lower body. There are ways to work around any particular disability with the right trainer,” said Truelove, who volunteered in physical rehabilitation centers before embarking on her personal training career. “There’s always a way to do something and make everyone feel physically active.”
And when kids and families are concerned, sometimes it just takes a certain approach.
“Make it fun, not too structured at first, and give kids a challenge — they are competitive by nature,” she said. “Have you ever tried to race a child? They will give it everything they’ve got to try to beat you. You want them to start doing pushups? Drop down yourself, look a little frustrated like you’re having trouble doing them and just watch. Your child will most likely say, ‘I bet I can do it, Mom.’ and before you know it, he’s doing more than you wanted him to do.
“But as a parent, you have to join in. You have to be a role model. At young ages, kids want to do exactly what their parents do. And they usually want to do it better.”
Becca Marino, known as “Coach B” among her customers, is a strong believer in making family fitness time fun in order to make it a success. Through her company Fitness INSPIRATION! Inc., she and her team — certified personal trainer Jacob Schultz and registered dietitian Michelle Esposito — include Fit-KidZ parties and seasonal Family Boot Camps in their lineup of classes and services that combine physical fitness with health and mental wellness.
“I love to provide kids with a playful and fun experience with exercise, where they’re not thinking of it as a chore. We use Nerf guns and we flip tires and we set up a camouflage-covered military-style crawl-through and inflatable slides and we pretend we’re on a special ops mission. It’s something you really wouldn’t think to associate with fitness,” said Marino, a certified personal trainer and motivational speaker. “Meanwhile with the families, they’re connecting and bonding and spending time together.”
Amy Bohannam of Cordova worked with Marino and team in late January to host a Fit-KidZ birthday party for her son Slade’s seventh birthday. (“It was the best party ever,” said Slade.)
“As a mom, I’m always looking for new things to do for parties, along with fun, active ideas for the little ones,” Bohannam said. “I really believe in the philosophy of Fitness INSPIRATION! Inc. — combining teamwork, a healthy mind and a healthy body, and I love to give my children that inspiration.”
Marino said many parents tell her that their children’s confidence levels get a significant boost once they get physically active. The entire family sees benefits as well.
“The families I see that exercise together are happier, more relaxed and absolutely physically healthier,” Truelove said. “There is far more peace in those homes. You get rid of the negative energy.”
Preston Truelove said his mother comes up with exercises for them to do together, and he’s not complaining.
“I really enjoy working out with my mom because she makes it fun. She’s taught me how important it is to be active,” he said. “We bike ride a lot together too. We even compete with each other so it feels more like a game.”
His advice to other young people: “It’s pretty easy to get started. Just get up and start moving.”