Spring Training
Our season begins in the gym where we work on building strong minds and strong bodies in preparation for the rigors of trail riding. Spring Training goals are aimed at creating lasting change and opportunity for 906 kids:
- Get the kids comfortable in a gym setting. Gyms can be intimidating!
- Teach the kids gym etiquette. Behavior, respecting equipment etc.
- Educate them on proper form and lifting techniques in order to work out safely.
- Teach the importance of CONSISTENCY and how it correlates with proper eating habits, exercise, stretching and life habits. We are what we consistently do!
- Build confidence, self-esteem and positive self-image through 8-weeks of strength building.
The workout
The program is an 8-week program broken into two 4-week blocks.
Session #1 focuses on traditional weight exercises such as the squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-ups etc. Sets and reps are done with low weight/high rep ranges. Our initial goal is to focus on creating good form and build from there. Small groups would spend 10-minutes at each station and rotate on the coach’s mark to the next station. Total duration of the workout was approximately 90-minutes.
Session #2 is faster paced and aimed to stress both strength and cardiovascular endurance. The workouts last approximately 75-minutes broken with a 10-minute warm-up, 40-45 minutes of circuit training followed by a 10-minute cool-down. The 40-45-minute core workout is a real test as the kids go through a 20-minute non-stop routine moving from station to station without breaks. They get a 2-minute break then move into a second 20-minute circuit. We end with a cool-down.
The coaches
We have partnered with Superior Fitness to provide a fun, safe and challenging Spring Training Program for 906 kids this year. All workouts are led by a professional personal trainer from Superior Fitness along with volunteer 906 Adventure Team coaches.
Measurements
Before the 8-week block began in February Superior Fitness executed some fitness and flexibility testing of each kid entering the program. At the time of our website launch (today) we have yet to complete the 8-week program. We’re anxious to review the data and quantify their improvements and gains.
Philosophy/Message
Whether we’re in the gym or on the bike we strive to create the following competencies:
- A willingness to Do Hard Things (work hard)
- Consistency
A note from Todd:
Do Hard Things: I believe we (adults, society) under estimate kids. I believe we miss a critical opportunity to introduce kids to the concept of doing hard things while they’re young. I believe we miss the opportunity to tie the necessity of doing hard things to success in life – and impressing the reality on kids at an early age that anything worth its weight is going to require hard work and effort! In short, we subconsciously make it acceptable to avoid hard things. Our view of them, the under estimation of them, lowers their own perspective of their ability – subconsciously.
So, we do hard things and we have fun doing them. Whether we’re riding with Adventure Bike Club or working with the NICA Team you can be assured we’re going to do some hard stuff – and they’re going to be smiling. At the end of the season 906 kids come out of the program doing things they did not believe they could do at the beginning.
Consistency: The simple concept that “we become what we repeatedly do”. We talk about the importance of creating positive consistency – and we talk about how consistency can also be negative if it involves repeatedly doing the wrong things. Consistency create habit – we’re educating them to make positive choices and create positive habits.
