At a recent Manitoba Fitness Council conference there was a
very interesting Presentation by Dr. Dean Kriellaars on Physical Literacy. Not only a professor at the U of M, but also
a Doctor for the Cirque de Soleil performers training centre in Montreal, he
knows first hand the importance of movement and the need to have people active.
Simply put, YOU CANNOT GET FIT WITHOUT PARTICIPATION!
Dr. Kriellaars would know, he was one of the key players in
developing Canada’s Physical Literacy program which is now well known and used
throughout the world. Just like reading
and writing, children need to learn how to move. If we want children to be active for life,
they need to develop physical literacy at a young age.
In many countries the Literacy Model has been improved
upon. Not only is it (1) Learning your
ABC’s but; (2) Numerical Literacy (1,2,3’s) (3) Musical Literacy (Do Re Mi)
and (4) Physical Literacy – movement vocabulary.
Without the ability, confidence and desire to be physically
active just knowing the fundamental land based skills are lost. Unstructured play become extinct, obesity and
diabetes increases and bone density decreases. Eg: Obesity went from 9% in 1970
to over 26% in 2015 and is estimated to be 2/3 by 2030! How
many kids do you see playing outside after school or on weekends? What are YOU doing after work???
And, what about Happiness and Physical Activity? At Age 5 all kids love it. At the Age of 10 -13, most Girls feel unhappy
with Physical Activity!
This doesn’t have to be.
Functional Fitness is in the right direction. Something that I have been emphasizing since
I started teaching fitness classes over 9 years ago….mainly to adults, however,
the requirements are the same.
Physical Literacy enrichs the core – involves strength,
endurance, flexibility, cardio and body mass.
Does this sound familiar?
Dynabods can agree with this. And
talent is owning the movement – not being on the podium. This is where you build confidence. If it’s fun, you will want to do it again.
Dr. Kriellaars had mentioned that the Bone mass in the
Cirque de Soleil performers aged 20 to 65 years of age did NOT change. They have a low injury rate (half that of
gymnists) and only train 270 minutes per week.
So what is the take on all this?
YOUR MIND AND BODY ARE ONE.
LEARNING TO MOVE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE.
As Dr. Dean Kriellaars stated “You can learn at any
age”.
And Remember – “USE IT OR LOSE IT”
