Sports have positive impact on children

The other day my client and consequently now good friend, Laurie, asked me how I got into the fitness business. She asked me if my parents were the athletic type. They weren't, but my mother was wise enough to sign me up for soccer and swim teams.

Thanks, Mom, you made a major impact in my life with those decisions.

My daughter, Dayna, is 6 years old and I can't wait to enroll her in soccer this fall. I truly know what a positive impact sports has on children.

Sports makes you realize you are somebody and you feel you can do anything when you are dedicated. I wasn't the best on any of my teams, but it didn't matter because I was inspired.

With the ever-mounting, added stress our children face these days, they really, really need to work some of it out physically. Sitting in front of a TV, computer, or video game is OK, but not more than an hour a day.

Exercise produces natural "feel good" hormones called endorphins.

Parents: Please make an effort to get your kids moving. It may also get you going. The benefits of exercise for children and adults can be similar.

My friends and I just completed a four-week boot camp. Each day we came back from Cove East, we felt better, we felt more confident, we felt more alive, we felt alert, we felt stronger and we felt empowered.

I got into the fitness business for a variety of reasons. The priceless benefit of getting to this profession is staying in great physical condition. Other than spiritual health, nothing is better than physical health.

The main reason I became a physical trainer is for the pay-it-forward feeling I get when I see others, especially my younger clients, gain better health, self-confidence, and maybe even a little 'tude.

When I see my youngest client, Jessica, age 9, kick and punch the standup kickboxing bag with energy and sass like she has never known before, I remember why I do what I do. When I see 53-year-old Susan J. weigh in 34 pounds lighter, I remember.

Thanks, Mom, for getting me started down this road of fitness for me as well as others.



- Rhonda Beckham is a nationally certified personal trainer, with teaching certificates in Pilates and kickboxing. She is owner of Help Me Rhonda and Perfect Pilates, a Pilates instructor at Lake Tahoe Community College and Sierra Athletic Club, as well as a personal trainer operating out of Sierra Athletic Club and the Tahoe Keys Marina Dance Studio. She may be reached at (530) 208-6369, www.tahoetrainer.com and rhonda@tahoetrainer.com.



Sampling of area fall youth sports:

Pop Warner Football Ð Chuck Leonard, (530) 542-8333 or (530) 542-3970

Pop Warner Cheer - Beckie Klitsch, (530) 544-7456

South Lake Tahoe Recreation-Swim Complex Ð (530) 542-6056

BMX track South Lake Ð (530) 542-9337

Douglas County Parks and Recreation Ð (775) 782-9828

South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena - (530) 542-6262