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>> Ryan: Hey everybody, welcome to this edition of the GMB Show.
Today's episode, we've got Andy, we've got Jarlo, we've got me, talking about kids.
>> Andy: I thought we were going to talk about boats.
>> Ryan: Boats!
>> Jarlo: More boats.
>> Ryan: More boats.
It's all about boats.
A 22 footer, right?
>> Andy: 22 footer.
That's what, that's-
>> Ryan: That's what Amber said and-
>> Andy: For today's show, you should get a 22 footer.
But moving on to kids, a lot of people ask us how they should encourage their kids to
be more active at various ages.
You know, how do I get my kids into fitness or into moving or into just being active or
being strong so that they don't have problems later on.
How do I make it so that it's something they want to do.
Then also we get questions like is this okay to do with kids, is this safe, is this all
right.
I think Ryan and Jarlo all three of us have kids, and we've spent a lot of time with them,
because we're good fathers.
We have some ideas on this too, and we've also taught children, Ryan and I especially
have done a lot of teaching of kids, and I think we've got some ideas on this.
It doesn't mean that we're experts.
We're not parenting gurus or anything.
Maybe we can give you some ideas for those of you who do have children or have friends
who have children, ways that you can show them fun things to do that they're going to
enjoy that will set them up to be active and healthy later.
>> Jarlo: First on the safety issue, you know, whether particular programs are appropriate
for your children or teenagers and what not.
One of the things to know that's really important to understand is that kids on a primary level
are self regulating.
The worst thing you can do is set expectations and have non adaptable, non adjustable programs
where you tell them to complete something or else, or force them to do a certain thing.
On the other hand, there's a reason why there's a pitch limitation in like Little League Baseball
and things like that.
Because after a certain point, they aren't as good at self-regulating.
But what I mean by self-regulation for children in terms of programs such as ours is that
they'll stop at a point before they're going to get hurt.
>> Ryan: Uh huh.
>> Andy: Right.
Children aren't so attached to achieving a-
>> Jarlo: Outcome.
>> Andy: A skill or outcome that they will push themselves to an injurious level.
>> Jarlo: Yeah, that usually happens at the teenage and young adult level.
>> Andy: Right.
>> Jarlo: At that point.
Another thing too is that our programs, as a whole, because they encourage self regulation
and auto regulation and our program, that way they're inherently safe.
Because we don't tell someone to go to a certain point, right, so in that respect, yes.
>> Andy: And so one of the keys there is that, the reason that Jarlo says our programs is
because we specifically know that most of our programs don't have very clear you must
hit this number of repetitions or you must be lifting this amount of weight or you must
be doing whatever, right?
Because it's hard to say children at different levels of ability or size for their age or
whatever are going to be able to hit all of those.
On any other program, too, the most important thing is to make sure that it's process driven
rather than outcome driven.
Practice this kind of movement, experiment with this kind of skill, right, rather than
you must get this for this duration in this specific way before you can do any other thing.
>> Ryan: Exploration is a big thing, I think.
You know, coming back to the play aspect of things, just look at kids, and if you watch
how they move when they go to the playground, they just do.
There's something there, and they just want to climb it, or they just want to jump off
of it, and they're not focusing on achieving a particular skill, they're just trying to
play with their friends.
I think that when you have-, well, I'll give you an example of my children.
Eight year old daughter, six year old son.
When we move around and play, there is nothing I'm trying to get them to do.
They're not trying to achieve a cartwheel or something.
I might be working on my cartwheels.
They see me do it, they play around and I'm not coaching them, basically, is what I'm
after.
It's trying to get them involved and get them to move and enjoy the process.
I think that's a big thing.
Unfortunately, I do see parents because of the gym in Japan that I have where we only
focus on children, some of the parents want to get involved and think that they need to
be coaching from the sidelines.
That, I don't think is a good thing.
I think if you do have your child go and learn from somebody, let that coach be the coach.
It's a different topic.
But basically, when you're with your children and you're doing some of these programs with
them, a good example might be Vitamin, a program Vitamin that we have.
Don't expect your children to be able to do anything and put pressure on them to achieve.
I think, my opinion, is just let them play.
You know, do it with them and say if they want to do it, cool, but I don't know, I wouldn't
even have them go through the progressions necessarily.
>> Andy: Right.
Because children learn best by exploring and by following their curiosity.
>> Ryan: Yeah.
>> Andy: And that's the way that they learn mentally but also physically, as well.
So you don't want to hold them to a specific standard or tell them that you're measuring
them against a specific thing.
Obviously, you don't want to teach them to do challenging movements with bad technique,
but technique is actually a lot more flexible in children.
>> Jarlo: Yeah, there's more band width-
>> Ryan: Yeah, right, yeah.
>> Andy: So you shouldn't focus on well don't do this, do it this way, make sure you do
this.
It's different from teaching adults, because children don't think the same way as adults,
right, and they also don't have the same level of ingrained motor patterning that we do too,
so they can actually experiment a lot more, and their bodies are built to absorb a lot
more of error in that experimentation, as well.
Show them something that, for them to explore and for them to follow their curiosity on,
and then mostly just get out of their way rather than trying to correct them.
>> Ryan: That's a good point right there.
Just let them do it.
There's no reason to jump in and try and coach them.
I don't think I've ever really coached my kids.
I've just done stuff with them and they just play.
>> Jarlo: On a practical level going back to how to encourage this, one of the things
that you're dealing with, one of the barriers and obstacles is opportunity.
So you have competing elements on your time and your children's time.
You have of course they want to play and we want them to be able to do this and of course
physical play, but you're competing against, you know, depending on the age of your child,
you're competing against homework, you're competing against other scheduled activities.
It seems like there's a lot of scheduling in kid's lives.
>> Ryan: Uh huh.
>> Andy: Yes.
>> Jarlo: Right, but these are important things, you know, homework, chores, other family responsibilities.
All of these other things.
So what you're looking for is providing the opportunity.
In that respect, and why it's a practical thing is, the things that Andy and Ryan were
talking about, with playing, exploration and making mistakes, is that you don't really
have to have a regimented program, and that's good, because you wouldn't be able to employ
a regimented program sustainably-
>> Ryan: Absolutely.
>> Jarlo: And consistently anyway.
If you can only have 15, 30 minutes, that's better than nothing, and would you rather
spend those 15, 30 minutes doing like 5 sets of pushups, right, or would you rather have
them practice something like a cartwheel or like moving around, rolling around, or especially
the locomotives that we like to do with the bear walk and the monkey and the frogger.
These are all things that are fun and can be progressive as much as the child wants
to do within that time frame, and you don't really have to have like a really detailed
plan.
The opportunity costs a big barrier in those questions that parents ask.
How can I get my kids to do more.
Well, you have, you know, the opportunity to do that is something that you'll have to
schedule in.
>> Andy: Right.
>> Jarlo: And the more regimented you try to make something, the less likely that's
going to appear on the schedule.
>> Andy: Right, so then how do you make them want to take those opportunities with you.
You have to create some opportunities and time in the schedule, but then how do you
make sure that these are things that your children want to do with you, right?
>> Jarlo: Uh huh.
>> Andy: Because if it feels like something that you're putting an expectation or forcing
them to do, they're going to rebel against it, right?
Really, I think one of the biggest things is just not to make it other, not to make
it strange.
Especially not to make your own practice and training something that you do privately away
from them.
>> Jarlo: Mmm.
>> Andy: Right?
The more divisions you create around physical practice and real life the stranger it's going
to seem to them, right?
One of the biggest things is really to let them see your practice.
Let them see what you do, and let them see that it's something that's rewarding for you
and fun-
>> Jarlo: And a normal part of existing.
>> Andy: Exactly, a normal part of your life.
And then it's going to be something that they're going to be a lot more inclined to want to
do with you.
>> Ryan: Along those lines, as well, when you're working out, something I've found with
people is that they might think that their children are impeding on their workout.
So let's say your child comes over while you're working out, and you say no, no, no, Daddy's
working out or Mommy's working out, go do your own thing.
Well, if you really want to get your family involved, then understand that yes, they might
be intruding in your workout, but I kind of look at it as a different way.
There's an opportunity for you to kind of put that workout aside and then play with
your kid on those movements.
So rather than following that program that might be laid out for you that day, look at
it as an opportunity for you to share this with your child.
>> Jarlo: And I know that's difficult.
>> Ryan: It's very, it's so difficult.
>> Jarlo: Because you also have to carve time out for yourself.
>> Ryan: Right.
>> Jarlo: Within that, and that's what I meant about the schedule and being regimented, that
also applies to yourself.
So it's difficult, it's hard, you're going to have to make some certain choices in that
day, in that month, in that period of time of your life.
>> Andy: Right, but if you are a parent, then that's not going to be anything that's a foreign
concept to you, right?
>> Jarlo: Right.
>> Andy: You know that you're having to make adjustments on the fly and make changes and
just do the best you can sometimes.
>> Jarlo: Yeah, so we're not saying that this is what you should be doing all the time.
>> Ryan: Right.
>> Jarlo: Right.
What are your options and what are your opportunities, and sometimes you have to take advantage of
it when you can.
>> Ryan: Yeah, and just like you said, Jarlo, I mean there are times where you just need
your own workout, obviously.
But there are times that it's going to happen when they're going to come on over, and if
you get angry at them for interrupting your workout, then they probably won't want to
do it with you again.
>> Andy: Right.
>> Andy: So another thing to think of is that one of the reasons that we're discussing this
is because people specifically ask us all the time how can I get my, how can I do this
with my family.
How can I get my kids more interested in this, how can I get my kids more involved in this.
And so we've addressed some of that.
Mostly just make sure that you practice in front of them.
Show them that it's fun.
Invite them in to be part of it when it makes sense to do so.
But the other thing is also that you have to also allow for the opportunity that they
might not be interested right now-
>> Jarlo: Uh huh.
>> Ryan: Absolutely.
>> Andy: In what you're doing.
You might have to find other ways to get them interested in more physical stuff.
My daughter is not at all interested in doing monkey crawls with me, at all.
But we moved last year to a place that's got a great pool and there were other kids a little
older than her that were there every afternoon, and over the course of about three months,
my three year old learned to swim really, really well.
Because she wanted to be down there playing with those kids.
We found that and I didn't want her to do any other specific kind of activity.
I wanted her to do the thing that she was interested in.
Over a few months it was almost every day she spent two hours practicing swimming, and
she loved it.
>> Jarlo: Nice.
>> Andy: And so maybe you might find other things that they're interested in which can
then draw them to different things later on.
>> Ryan: Right.
>> Andy: Right, so it's again coming down to not imposing a set idea on them, not imposing
our will on them or our idea of what training should look like, but letting them find the
path that's interesting.
>> Jarlo: There's more and more of that research coming out, that early specialization in athletic
activity is no good.
>> Andy: Right.
>> Ryan: Right.
>> Jarlo: Yeah.
>> Andy: It's, some of the highest performers in very specialized sports, like what was
it, Olympians, most Olympic medalists have experienced an average of like five different
sports before they were ten.
>> Ryan: Yeah, Wayne Gretzky, there was, yeah, talking about him, as well.
>> Andy: Yeah.
>> Ryan: Depending on the season, he was doing a different sport when-
>> Jarlo: Yeah, a very broad base.
>> Andy: Right.
>> Jarlo: At a young age.
Versus being just a hockey player.
>> Andy: Yeah.
>> Ryan: Uh huh.
>> Andy: And so kids have to experiment and have to choose their own thing, and a lot
of times it ends up being different from the parents.
>> Ryan: Oh yeah.
>> Ryan: And there's nothing bad about that at all.
I think that anyone listening to this would agree that there, they don't really care that
their children do specific sports, but they just want their children to be happy.
>> Jarlo: Yeah
>> Ryan: Yes.
>> Andy: And to move, you know, be physical and be comfortable in their bodies and be
able to, well, to have that physical autonomy too as they grow, they can choose what they
want to be able to do.
>> Ryan: All right, this is a short one today, but I think we talked about some good stuff.
If you do have any questions, we'd love to hear from you.
Call night, too, ideas, whatever, let us know.
You can always contact us at info@gmb.io, but also please leave a comment below, because
we would love to hear from you.
All right.
Thanks fellas.
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