From One Chin-Up to a 5-Minute Hang
This week Bear hit a milestone.. his first proper chin-up.
They’re not textbook-perfect yet (he’s seven), but they’re good enough to make me smile. What really blows me away, though, is his hanging strength. He currently holds the gym record of a 5 plus minute hang and a few months back he even won $10 at a fair by hanging off aerial silks for 2 minutes. The woman running the challenge couldn’t quite believe her eyes.
You might assume, because I’m a trainer, that I’ve been drilling him in the gym since he could walk. But the truth is, I’ve never pushed Milly or Bear with structured training.
Why? Because at their age, my experience and a lot of research say the same thing: early specialisation isn’t the golden ticket to success.
Movement first, sport later
Greg Rose, co-founder of the Titleist Performance Institute, has spent decades studying athletes who’ve gone on to compete at the highest levels. He’s found a clear pattern:
- Kids who focus on one sport too early often shine in their younger years… until they hit their teens. That’s when injuries spike, motivation fades, and progress stalls.
- Kids who spend their early years building broad movement skills.. climbing, sprinting, swimming, balancing, throwing, rolling, just keep getting better. When they do specialise, they bring a bigger movement “toolbox,” stronger bodies, and sharper coordination.
As Rose puts it:
“It’s not the early stars who make it – it’s the ones with the biggest movement toolbox.”
Bear’s chin-up, his record hang, even the silks challenge – they’re not from a single sport programme. They’re from years of play, variety, and movement.
Monkey see, monkey do
There’s another factor at play here too, and it’s one you don’t need research to prove.
Kids copy what they see. They’re watching us every day.
Bear sees me train. He sees Milly join in, have fun, and try hard. He hears us talk about food as fuel, not punishment.
We’re not sitting him down and teaching “healthy living” as a lesson. He’s just living inside it.
That’s why the best gift you can give your kids isn’t a rigid training programme or a sports scholarship.. It’s an example of consistent, balanced, positive habits.
If they grow up thinking movement, eating well, and looking after themselves is simply normal life, you’ve already set them up for a lifetime of health, whether they become pro athletes or not.
That’s the real win.
If you’re a parent and want to build these habits into your own life, not just for yourself, but so your kids grow up with the right example.. that’s exactly what I help people do.
Start with your habits. They’ll follow.
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