Fitness and Life Lessons from a 2 Year Old

There are many great things that come from being a father of a 2 year old little boy. Being a strength coach and trainer the one thing that has been very interesting is watching him develop physically. From not being physically able to do anything to a walking, running and jumping little ball of energy. The development of stability, strength and balance throughout the 2 years has given me an appreciation for movements and patterns that as adults most of us have lost a long time ago. Watching his fearless attitude, persistence and joy for life everyday reminds me of the ambition and love for life that seems to be lost among us as we just grind through life day to day. Below are some things that I have learned from Nolan, my wonderful 2 year old who keeps things interesting and keeps my wheels spinning on human development from a physical stand point and how to be successful in our chosen career field. 

Fitness Lessons from a 2 year old

1.       Stability and Strength from the ground up – As a newborn we have no core strength or stability. We have to develop the stability and strength in our core and joints to lift our heads up, push up with our arms, go into a plank, push up into a tall plank and follow the process until we are standing and walking around. Taking this process to our clients, we must develop proper stability and strength through our clients’ core region starting on the ground. Exercises such as planks, tall planks and side planks are all great places to start with new clients. Once clients have built a solid base on the ground we can move them up to standing core exercises.  

2.       Keep sound movement patterns – Once standing our little guys favorite position to look at something on the ground is to drop down into a deep squat. This deep squat is perfect! Hips are back, toes are straight ahead and chest his vertical. He can stay there for as long as he pleases with no discomfort. As we age we lose this tool to be able to bend through our ankle, knee and hip joints. We lack the core strength and are too tight in our hip flexors to stay vertical through our upper body. Working to keep this pattern as we age will help keep us feeling and moving better as adults.

3.       Learn to crawl before you can run – Progression in training is the most important thing I can think of. Kids do not come out ready to walk and run. They must progress each day to get gain the skills necessary to move. We must progress our clients properly to ensure that they have the necessary skills to move and feel better after a training session in our program.  Progressing them at the right pace is vital to them being able to perform at a high level.

Success Lessons from a 2 year old

1.       Be Relentless – When a 2 year old sets their mind to something there is absolutely no way that you are going to stop them from getting what they want. As adults we tend to become complacent with our jobs, careers etc. We all have goals and dreams of doing great things but once we get started we often lose our drive and determination to make it happen. Next time you set a goal, be relentless about achieving it!

2.       Be Fearless – There is no such thing as fear or risk for a 2 year old they jump off couches, touch things they shouldn’t and do whatever they want to at the time. When was the last time you took a risk as an adult? We like to play it safe and conservative to make sure that we don’t put ourselves in any bad situations. Without risk there is no reward. Be fearless in your pursuit of success and take calculated risk. You may lose some but the wins will bring results that far outweigh the losses.

3.       Don’t listen to the word No! – As frustrating as it gets saying NO to a 2 year old a thousand times a day it is necessary so they don’t kill themselves. As adults, the word NO cripples our creativity and spirit to do things that we have dreamed of. If we have a dreams and goals that we believe in and are driven to accomplish we will most likely hear the word NO along the way. Don’t listen, push on towards your goal relentlessly and without fear!

Happy Training!