Last week I got the opportunity to give a health and fitness talk for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp in Brevard NC.  This is my 3rd year in a row, and it is such a blast to talk to young people who are so enthusiastic about life!

I have some pictures to show you.  There were about 40 kids this year, all sophomores and juniors that have been chosen Regionally by their Rotary Clubs for their Leadership Potential.  Unfortunately since they are minors without photo releases I can’ really show you the crowd, but you can see some of the things I showed and some of the Camp Counselors are returning RYLA grads.

Every year I bring in some strongman toys as it really seems to get the kids engaged in the presentation.

This year I decided to use a small strongman tire to show some stunts, and the fact that they don’t need a gym membership to exercise – body weight and a tire is plenty!

The tire I brought was a small 300 lb size we use for cardio and ladies strength training.  I also showed how I use it to simulate the hip drive on picking up an atlas stone.

I talked about how much sugar and chemicals are in soda, sweet tea, and commercially produced fruit juices.

I was also tying the health and fitness information into the ethics and leadership theme through these 3 main areas:

Personal Responsibility

Self-Esteem

Leading by Example

If you don’t lead from the front, you aren’t going to be able to help others.  You must do what you are asking others to do 1st!

One of the kids asked me before the event if I could actually jump on top of the tire.

I said sure – I think =) …

As you can see, I Did make it!  Unfortunately my heel caught in the tread of the tire, and I proceeded to fall backwards and hit my head and back on the concrete – OUCH!

I heard a collective gasp, and everyone started asking me if I was OK?

No problem, the concrete is fine!  I said.

I finished my talk, but afterwards I had to sit down for a bit to allow my mild concussion to recede =)

Then we all headed up to the cafeteria for lunch, where I am happy to report that the kids (and adults =) were carefully scrutinizing their plates to see if they fell within the rules I had laid out for nutrition.  I was told this went on for the rest of the week.  It is great to have your message sink in and make a difference in people’s lives!

I got a thank you note from one of the young ladies at camp:

Mr. Hoffmaster,

My name is Stefanie, I was the one who volunteered to show the lunges, inch worm, etc when you came to RYLA. I appreciate you taking the time to come and speak to us, you were my favorite speaker that we had come through the week. You made many great points and I loved what you said about real foods and that they don’t have ingredients.

I hope the best for you, your book and your new gym. I hope i can continue to stay healthy and work out, and with what you said about foods I hope that I can follow your guidelines to what I eat.
Thanks Again!! -Stefanie

So cool that she took the time to write me!

I hope you found this interesting, and that you will become personally involved in improving the local community.  Developing life long leadership, health, and fitness habits in the youth is critical if America is going to overcome the obesity epidemic that it (and the rest of the world) is facing.

Please contact me if I can help your group or organization in anything related to health and fitness in the local area! Hendersonville, Flat Rock, Fletcher, Brevard, Mills River, and Asheville are all easy for me to get to.  I have set aside Tuesdays and Thursdays to help out my local community however I can.