Fitness For Your Preschoolers

By the time your child reaches the age of three to five years old, he/she has probably developed most of the basic physical skills such as walking, running, jumping and such. At this age, kids are probably at their most energetic and active phase of their lives, so this is the perfect time to introduce them to fitness activities so they can make the most out of their pent-up playfulness.

Kids falling in this age group have a lot of chances to engage in various physical activities that could hone their physical abilities. Allowing them to participate in such activities can help them improve their physical skills, build self-esteem, improve their physical fitness, and improve their immunity for certain illnesses.

How Much Physical Activity Should A Preschooler Have

Kids who are three to five years old should get at least an hour of structured physical activity, in which they are guided by an adult or a trained professional and an hour of unstructured physical activity, wherein they are allowed to play in their own way. 

Also, as much as possible, you should not let your kids stay inactive for more than an hour at a time as this may lead to decreased physical fitness. Limit the time they spend on video games and encourage them to spend their free time outdoors.

Encouraging them to engage in sports or physical activities at a young age can be help them to become fitter and healthier in the future, as the habits formed during childhood are often carried by the child through adulthood.

It is also important to recognize which activities your child is able to handle. The activities they are participating in should be fun and challenging, but it should not be beyond their abilities.

Most parents who want to make their preschoolers more physically active might want to introduce their child to organized sports. However, at such an early age as this, preschoolers usually have not yet mastered even the basic skills such as throwing, catching and taking turns. They also have trouble understanding even the simplest rules and instructions, so organized sports might not work well for them. It is important to introduce them to a sport that can teach them the basic skills, to prepare them for future sports participation.

You should observe your child to learn what kind of activities he/she enjoys the most. For example, if you see that your child is blessed with an amazing flexibility and loves to tumble on every bed in your house, then you should probably sign him/her up to a non-competitive gymnastics school that can help them to further develop their skills.

You should make sure that the activity your child is participating in is the thing they truly enjoy. Forcing them to engage in activities which they do not enjoy could end up frustrating them and discourage them from participating in any kind of sport or physical activity.

No matter what kind of physical activity or sport they choose, you must ensure that they are having fun doing it. If they don’t find the sport or the activity fun, you must ask them and try to address the issue or better yet, encourage them to participate in another kind of sport or physical activity.

Learn more about health and fitness by following our official blog sites. Enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids in the most fun and imaginative way :)

Ashirbayeva Outpaces Other Olympic Qualifiers at the Rio Test Event

The competition for the final Olympic spots for Gymnastics continued Thursday as the Rhythmic Gymnastics discipline took place in the Rio Olympic Arena following the Artistic and Trampoline gymnastics that took place earlier this week. With 15 of the 26 available Olympic berths already handed out at the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany last September, the remaining qualification spots were to be distributed at this second and last Olympic qualifying competition.

Staniouta puts on a show

Three-time world all-around bronze medalist Melitina Staniouta took the opportunity of being invited to the test event to defend her title as the reigning World All-around bronze medalist. She still competed at the test event, despite being already qualified for the Summer Games, a qualification she won at the 2015 World Championships.

The Belarusian gymnast took advantage of the absence of the two Russian stars, Yana Kudryavtseva and Margarita Mamun, to get a feel for the real Olympic competition. The competition seemed to have turned on her side, she has excelled on all of the apparatus, and acquired a total score of 72.215 points, a score in league with her Russian counterparts.

Ashirbayeva wins the match of the Olympic seekers

Uzbekistan gymnast Elizaveta Nazarenkova failed to grab a qualification spot for her country at the 2015 World Championships last September, after landing on the 16th spot on the competition. But Nazarenkova let the errors pile up in the Aquece Rio Test Event, successively dropping the Ball, a Club and the Ribbon to dash her Olympic hopes.

Kazakhstan rhythmic gymnast Sabrina Ashirbayeva, one of the favorites going into the Test Event, did not waste the second chance she got at the Test Event. She displayed an astonishing performance at the Rio Olympic Arena to win the competition against other Olympic hopefuls, finishing with a total score of 69.500 points.

Aside from her, Austrian rhythmic gymnast Nicol Ruprecht, Finland’s Ekaterina Volkova, Italian gymnast Veronica Bertolini, Uzbekistan’s Anastasia Serdyukova, Romanian gymnast Ana Luiza Filioranu, Chinese Shang Rong and German gymnast Jana Berezko-Marggrander all acquired the right to advance to the Rio Olympic Games this August.

Brazil, Oceania and Africa take advantage of continental cards

Since Brazil was the host country of the Olympic Games this year, the country is guaranteed to have a spot for the Olympic Games no matter how the Test Event turns out. Even though Natalia Gaudio landed on the lower spot of the scoreboard, she was still granted the right to advance to the Olympic Games this August, meaning Austrlia’s Danielle Prince has also earned a qualification, while the athlete who will represent Africa is yet to be announced.

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Australian Gymnasts To Grab Olympic Berths at the Test Event

Not since 1988 that Australia has been unsuccessful in qualifying a female gymnastics team to an Olympic Games – a situation which the latest batch of stars will prevent from happening this weekend.

The Australian women’s artistic gymnastics team will compete at the Aquece Rio Test event which will start this Saturday night (AEST). The Australian team needs to be included in the top four spot in order to acquire an Olympic berth.

The Australian artistic team has only accomplished to get into the top 14th spot at the previous World Championships, failing to acquire the Olympic qualification as it requires a top-eight finish.

Nevertheless, the result was good enough to receive an invite to the Rio test event, which will take place at the same venue as the Summer Olympic Games in August. Teams who finished at the top 9th to 16th has earned the invite for the test event.

Trying to preserve almost thirty years of tradition, Australian national team coach Peggy Liddick feels that the pressure is on, but she doesn’t want to put the burden on her young team.

"My superiors remind me of it every single day," Liddick told AAP of Australia's strong history at the Games.

"But it's not fair for me to put that undue pressure on the team.

"I'm really consciously trying not to coach by intimidation.

"It's a real delicate balance between going in confidently and doing our job and yet not having them be so afraid of not qualifying that they strangle their own performance."

Last week, Australia has participated at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in good form, wherein they managed to acquire the third spot in the team event.

They finished the competition ahead of Japan – who took the sixth spot at the World Championships – winning them the bronze medal.

The former world champion Lauren Mitchell is still on the road to recovery from a knee injury and beam specialist Mary-Anne Monckton’s year ruined by a knee reconstruction, Liddick is preparing a brand new team to Rio.

Georgia-Rose Brown, Emma Nedov and Kiara Munteanu – who acquired the sixth spot in the all-around event last week in Seattle – are anticipated to partake in the all-around with Emily Little, Larissa Miller and Rianna Mizzen to complete the team.

Artistic gymnast Michael Mercieca and trampoline gymnast Blake Gaudry will also participate in the competition in hopes that they will acquire a qualification for the Olympic Games.

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Motivating Your Child To Be Physically Active

Compared to how they were a decade ago, kids these days are starting to get less and less active. With the presence of a lot of entertaining video games, movies, TV shows and the likes, children have become less likely to leave their houses and would rather stay inside than to go out and play with their friends.

Because of that, most of the kids nowadays are struggling to get enough daily activity. Aside from the fact that the increasing demands of school takes up most of their precious time, other things that captures their attention, such as the internet and video games saps up their time and energy, leaving them with no time and energy left for a physical activity.

Despite of these barriers, parents can still do something to encourage their child to engage in a physical fitness activity. We will discuss those things in this article :)

Benefits of Being Active

First of all, we will talk about why is it important for your child to participate in physical activities. Most of us already know that participating in physical activities, whether it is a simple act of jogging or a more intense sports, can provide numerous health benefits to children. Some of the benefits they can get through exercise are:

· Stronger muscles and healthier and denser bones

· Weight Loss / Weight Gain

· Increased Self-Esteem

· Increased Physical Fitness

· Better Mental Clarity

· Better Overall Health

Also, it is proven that physically active children are more likely to perform better in school and become more successful later in life. These kids also possess essential social skills such as leadership and being a good team player.

How Can I Encourage My Child To Do Physical Activity?

There’s a lot of things a child can get from doing a regular physical activity, but how can you actually encourage your kids to get physically active? 

Give Your Child The Opportunity to be Active

Give your child the resources he/she needs, whether it is a place or an equipment, so he/she can start to be physically active. Take your child to a place where he/she can get physically active, such as the playground, gym, or a sports school. Also, you could provide him/her with equipment such as a bicycle or a basketball so he/she can start on the road to fitness.

Make It Fun

Kids won’t do something he/she doesn’t find interesting. That might be one of the reasons why more and more children prefer to play video games than to play outside. 

To encourage them to engage in a physical activity, you should make sure this is something that will capture their interest. Know what activities your child will enjoy. Is your child a good swimmer? Then consider going to the beach with your family. Is your child good at dancing? Then sign him/her up to a dance class.

When a child enjoys what he/she is doing, they are more likely to do more of it. That is why you should always pay attention to the things that can trigger their interest, in order to keep them motivated on being physically active.

Learn more about health and fitness by reading our official blog sites. Engage in a fun and exciting training sessions, come and join us here today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids with us :)

Son Yeon Jae Finishes World Cup Pesaro With Two Silver Medals

Son Yeon-jae, a South Korean rhythmic gymnast, took home two silver medals at the International Gymnastics Federation World Cup in Pesaro, Italy on Sunday as she prepares for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

At the World Cup in Pesaro, Italy -- the season’s third FIG World Cup, Son has garnered a score of 18.550 points in both the club and ribbons apparatus final. Russian rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun acquired the title in clubs after finishing with a sky-high score of 19.100, while Ukrainian Gymnast Ganna Rizatdinova achieved the ribbon gold medal with a score of 18.600. Also in the ribbon event, Son tied with Russian gymnast Dina Averina for the silver with a score of 18.550. 

Earlier Sunday, Son obtained the fourth place in the ball event and sixth in the hoop apparatus. 

After winning the title in the individual all-around by finishing with a score of 76.450 points on Saturday, the three-time world individual all-around champion Yana Kudryavtseva chose not to participate in the apparatus finals as she decided to rest. The Pesaro World Cup was the first FIG World Cup appearance of the 18-year old Russian gymnast this season after recovering from an ankle injury. 

The competition in the Adriatic Arena was the first and most difficult challenge for Son this season as she had to compete with the world’s top-ranked rhythmic gymnasts such as Kudryavtseva and Mamun for the first time at the World Cup. 

Son has failed to reach the podium in the individual all-around on Saturday. However, she still managed to post a career-high score of 73.900 points to grab the fourth place. 

Son has successfully earned medals at every FIG World Cup this season. In the Espoo World Cup in February, she won the gold medal in the ball event, silvers in the all-around and ribbon, and a bronze in the hoop apparatus. Last month, at the Lisbon World Cup, the South Korean gymnast took the second place in the ball and clubs, and finished third in the hoop event. 

However, as the finest rhythmic gymnasts are anticipated to develop their skills further in preparation for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio this August, Son is expected to come up against more difficult challenges in the succeeding competitions. 

The 21-year-old Korean gymnast, who was placed fifth in the individual all-around event of the 2012 London Olympics, will travel back to South Korea tomorrow ahead of the national team qualification for Rio on Saturday at Tenaeung National Training Center in Seoul. Before participating at the fourth FIG World Cup this season in Tashkent in May, the South Korean gymnast is expected to enhance her routine and techniques against more challenging opponents. 

Yana Kudryavtseva and Margarita Mamun is acknowledged as the gold medal favorites for the Rio Olympic Games, as they have already proven themselves by displaying their dominance at the past World Championships in the recent years. While their compatriot Aleksandra Soldatova, who has topped the individual all-around in the first two World Cups this season, was absent at the Pesaro World Cup, Rizatdinova took the opportunity to become solid in the Adriatic Arena. 

The Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast, who grabbed the bronze medal in the individual all-around final on Saturday, has successfully collected gold medals in ball and ribbon, while also winning a silver medal in the hoop apparatus. Her only downfall was the club event, where she was placed 9th with 16.200 points. 

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