Staying Healthy During Quarantine Requires a Good Workout
The prevalence of adolescents that are being classified as overweight and obese has reached unprecedented levels. Despite intense clinical and public health focus on obesity and weight-related behaviors during the past decade, obesity prevalence remains high with 1 in 5 children classified as obese according to the CDC. According to the American Council on Exercise, children should participate in a variety of physical activities every day, including active play, non-competitive activities and vigorous exercise, making high intensity interval training (HIIT) a safe form of physical activity for children and adolescents.
Prodigy is a specially designed program for adolescents between 11-17 years of age. Prodigy is the latest innovation from F45, one of the world’s fastest growing functional fitness networks, which has been designed to deliver a safe, effective and time-efficient form of physical activity for adolescents. Landing in selected studios on October 24th, Prodigy provides adolescents the opportunity to develop both physically and mentally – in a motivating, community environment.
“We’ve specifically developed a Functional HIIT program with the aim to combat the rise of obesity and health related issues in adolescents,” said Lee Wallace, F45 Chief Sport Science Officer. “Our workouts have been designed to mimic the nature of children’s day-to-day movements making it more appealing, engaging and enjoyable for kids, compared to other fitness structures, encouraging a lifelong participation in physical exercise.”
Current guidelines recommend that adolescents should participate in 60 minutes of moderate-to-high intensity physical activity every day and also include muscle and bone strengthening exercises at least three times per week (Department of Health [DOH], 2018).
Collectively, the regular participation in HIIT workouts in child and adolescent populations has been shown to positively influence both health and fitness markers as well as encourage lifelong participation in physical activity.