James & Dan go beyond complaining and think creatively on repurposing underutilized sporting  fields to create more engaging outdoor spaces for a physical practice.

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

James and Dan review and dissect an article from The Cut which explores the rise hypervigilance among American parents and mental health issues in children and teenagers. 

This state of of excessive alertness, heightened sensitivity, or intense watchfulness is being seen in playgrounds and can potentially limit a child's ability to develop physically, socially and emotionally.

They discuss the  importance of unstructured/unsupervised play and independent mobility for children's well-being, as well debate the notion that parental intervention in children's autonomy may harm their emotional health in the long-term.

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

James and Dan pick up where the previous episode left of by exploring how community led physical activity program's could be the answer to creating health and fitness autonomy for the next generation.

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

This episode discusses the use of supplements in youth populations. 

James and Dan debate where supplements may be a useful tool vs when they could be doing harm, how to navigate conversations around the use of  supplements with your kids and give insight into some of the more commonly used supplements and their function.

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

This episode explores the topic of body composition and how to navigate the challenges associated with pubertal changes, self perception and body image in youth.

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

James and Dan discuss the role of early specialization in youth populations. This topic is typically referenced within a performance context , but the discussion explores how specialization is beginning to bleed into every aspect of youth development.

What are the pro's?
What are con's?
What to look out for?
And, Is there an optimal level of specialization?

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

James and Dan explore a hypothetical scenario by having  to articulate and decide on one policy change they believe would have the greatest positive impact on youth engagement in physical expression.

Would you choose the carrot or the stick?
 

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

With the pace at which artificial intelligence is starting to integrate into everyday living, James and I discuss the utility and downside of AI as it relates to the health and fitness industry.

We dig into:

• How AI platforms give access to information
• Critically analyze the accuracy and relevance of that information
• Ideas on virtual reality, games and physical expression (you vs. the computer)
• AI in learning and behavior for young people 
• Freedom vs security in AI
• Spying on kids vs. “watching over kids”

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

In this episode we pick up where we left off to explore the power of narrative. We specifically look at the hero’s journey and how it can be used as a tool to showcase the mission and values we promote on the FIY podcast.

As covered in the previous episode, The Wonder School, which is a learner driven, Socratic based schooling systems, starts each day with a story (typically following a hero’s journey). This helps frame each day for the students to cultivate a love of learning, discovery what inspires them, find what they would sacrifice, help them overcome their fears, find their calling and change the world.

James and I want to take this framework and apply it to the FIY setting to discover some new tools that may create that call to action.

We’ll cover;

1. What the hero’s journey is and unpack its framework
2. Provide some examples that have stood the test of time
3. James and I will come up with our that follow a more strict set of inclusion criteria (i.e, not sport or war stories)
4. Discuss modern day heroes and why/why not they could be false idols
5. Provide some resources/stories that could inspire and create that call to action today

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...

Welcome back to another season of the podcast!

In this first episode, James and I explore the principles and practices of The Wonder School, and how they might apply to physical education.

The Wonder School is a learner driven, Socratic based education system in Wichita, Kansas. One of the founders, Zach Lahn, recently featured on Episode 370 of the Jordan B. Peterson podcast and I highly recommend giving it a listen for better context of todays episode

We zoom in on,

1. What is a learner driven school and what does it look like?
2. How can you apply the same principles to a physical education curriculum?
3. What might that look like practically?

As always, we'd love to hear your opinions or suggestions on potential topics for future episodes. Please email them through to [email protected] 

The mission of the Fitness in Youth podcast is to;

• Explore new ways to help make youth fitness a priority, fun, and for them
• Empower parents, policy makers and professionals with the tools to help their communities, today
• Elevate the intentions of the health & fitness industry, for the better (long-term)

About the hosts:

• James Fitzgerald - OPEX Fitness
  • James FitzGerald is the founder of OPEX (Formerly OPT) and The International Center for Fitness. When not coaching, he’s a full time husband, father and fitness athlete. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nutritional and lifestyle balancing techniques and training of other coaches has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a higher order.
• Dan Young - YOUNGTraining
  • Formerly a professional water polo player, Dan found an insatiable thirst for knowledge on how he could align and optimize behaviors to improve his performance as an athlete. This lead him to make the transition from athlete to coach and pay forward the knowledge and tools he acquired working under some of the industries best. His passion is working with the youth, to give them the tools to navigate their health long term and in so doing, change the landscape of the fitness industr...