Before reading this blog I'd like the parents reading this to answer a series of questions with YES or NO.

Does your teen run funny or look a bit uncoordinated?

Does your teen get puffed out quickly?

Does your teen's knees wobble or collapse inwards when running?

Does your teen's ankles turn inward or outwards?

Does your teen get injured often when playing sport?

If the answer is YES to any of these questions, please read on...

Answering YES to any of these questions is concerning. There is a high chance that your child is lacking strength, mobility and/or body control necessary for optimal running mechanics that are crucial for sport performance and injury prevention. Poor running mechanics can increase risk of injury and are put in compromising positions when playing their sports and being physically active.

What also could be lacking is the ability to perform fundamental movements well. It is essential that teens learn to perform strength movements such as squats, deadlifts, split squats, upper body push and pull to strengthen muscles and joints. This helps prepare the teen athlete for the demands of the sport. Athletic movements such as running, jumping, landing, change of direction, throwing, catching and climbing are also crucial in your teen's physical development. Read more on our blog post of youth athletes learning the fundamentals of movement.

Learning and developing the fundamental movements are not only important for running, sports performance and injury prevention, but important for life in general!

Learning to control your body, maintain correct posture and spine alignment, developing lower body strength to tolerate the forces going through your body when playing sport or being physically active. The benefits are endless and it's a no brainer that physical literacy is implemented as young as 10 years old in the U.S.A. Australia is behind unfortunately.

Does your teen want to become stronger, run faster and more efficiently? Your teen can do something about it.

Inner Athlete are Youth Fitness Specialists who specialise in long athletic development for young athletes. We are truly passionate in teaching fundamentals crucial for human and sport performance. We teach young athletes how to move well, exercise safely and ultimately improve physical performance.

We can't stress enough how important physical development for teens really is. Teaching teens how to perform strength movements, how to run, how to jump and land properly and change directions correctly, sets them up for life!

When teens struggle to perform the fundamentals well, unfortunately it stands out like a sore thumb. In my professional opinion this needs to be addressed ASAP.

Please reach out to us if you answered YES to any of those questions or know of anyone that may benefit from our youth development program.

Nathan Palenka
Youth Fitness Specialist
Inner Athlete Performance