Looking at this sporty family from Fife you might be wondering just how coach Emma Forster manages to get her kids to keep as fit as they do.
But the truth of the matter is, she doesn’t have to try.
Being active isn’t a chore for her four children – Jess,17, Belle, 15, Mac, 13, and 10-year-old Molly – they all love taking part in fitness activities.
Emma is a qualified nutritionist and personal trainer and has coached children’s sports for more than 20 years.
For the past four years she has run the Crossfit-affiliated gym Peacefit in the grounds of the family farm in Wormit.
The custom-made facility offers workout programmes for adults, parents and their children as well as gym sessions for teenagers.
The 42-year-old fitness coach believes exercise is not only good for children’s physical health. But that it is also beneficial for their mental health.
Here, she explains how she got her own kids to take an interest in sport and fitness.
Encouraging exercise activities from an early age
Emma and her husband Ross, 45 – who owns their family farm Peacehill Farming and helps her run the gym – are both quite sporty.
As a result, it felt very natural for them to involve their children in exercise activities from when they were really young.
“I have always encouraged it,” she tells me.
“We took them to baby gymnastics classes and we would always be outside in the fresh air with them doing something active.
“We are very lucky living on the farm because we have a lot of outdoor space, so we have always encouraged them to be outside.
“And it didn’t matter if they got dirty – I always thought it they came in filthy it was a sign of a good day!
“We decided to expose our kids to as many different things as possible, like swimming clubs, gymnastics, football and rugby.
“And this allowed them to choose what activities they liked.
“We thought this was the best approach to take.”
She continues: “I felt having them try as many different sports and activities – biking, running, just anything so they could be active – has helped them to discover what their passion is as they have got older.
“I never wanted to be that pushy parent who was pushing them into things they didn’t want to do.”
Being a role model
Emma felt it was important to set an example for her children.
She says: “I think it is important to be a role model.
“One of the best ways you can encourage your children to exercise is for you not to be sitting inside with the TV on 24/7.
“To show that you are getting up, going outside and being active.
“Children are always watching and listening.
“So subconsciously I think they will also take on those behaviours if they see you doing it.
“Role modelling that active behaviour is huge.”
She continues: “For example, when Jess was studying for her Highers I didn’t really have to blackmail her or force her to get up and go outside during study breaks.
“She would study and then go for a walk. Or she would study and then go to the gym for an hour so it was always broken up.
“It became natural for her to study that way and not to stay stuck inside every day.
“This is what she saw Ross and I doing. We might be in the office working but I will take the time to go for a run around the farm.
“Or we will both use the gym, so I do think a lot of it is about setting an example or role modelling.”
Exercising together as a family
The Forsters regularly workout as a family too.
Sometimes this can involve them all taking part in Crossfit classes.
Crossfit is a mixture of different kinds of exercise which includes cardio, gymnastics and common weightlifting movements which include cleans, presses and deadlifts.
But Emma reveals her children also create workouts for them all to do together.
“Sometimes what the kids like to do is not do the workout that I have written, but rather they want to do their own!” she explains.
“Using the white board we have in the gym, they will programme their own workout, which lasts around an hour, and then we will all do it as a family.
“Jess, Belle, Mac and Molly will pick an exercise each and then we will put it into the session.
“Jess loves a barbell so will add in cleans or front squats, while Belle loves core so probably weighted sit-ups or something.
“Mac loves a deadlift or a wallball and he is also very fast at running.
“And Molly is 100 per cent gymnastics so will suggest handstand push-ups or pull-ups on the rig.”
Working out with peers in a positive environment
Emma thinks it is important for children to get into a sports club, an activity or a hobby as this can ‘make or break their teenage years’.
“Being part of something and being accountable to a team or club is huge and having that peer group motivates them,” she says.
“Whereas if they aren’t involved in a sport or an activity and your peer group is out at nights doing all the things they shouldn’t do, it can be a negative downward spiral.
“Kids will all grow up and do silly things at different times – nobody is perfect, my children included.
“But I think the environment they are in has a really huge influence on their mental and physical wellbeing.”
Emma says having the Peacefit gym in their back garden provides a place where all her children can come together.
“They have all gradually found their own things they enjoy,” she says.
“But I think having the gym here unites them all.
“The way we coach and the Crossfit aspect of it is very much a team mentality.
“So as my kids are getting older they are coming along to train in an adult environment where they feel included and everyone is supporting each other.
“I have heard my kids talk about how another member has supported them with their back squat or whatever if I am not coaching.
“So just exposing them to that positive environment is so important because it’s not then just your parents encouraging and motivating you.”
Working out should be fun!
Emma believes another way to encourage kids to exercise is to make it fun.
The Peacefit gym has a lot of equipment which older children can enjoy playing with.
This includes climbing the rig and hanging upside down, climbing the rope, throwing wall balls and doing box jumps.
“If I am running a kids’ class, I get them to write their name on the white board so they can make friends,” Emma explains.
“And sometimes we have a theme for the kids’ classes, but the most important thing is to make it fun.
“You have to be able to have a laugh, nothing is ever super-serious.”
What do Emma’s kids think?
Jess says her brother and two sisters have all been using the gym since it was built and they all enjoy going to Crossfit classes.
She says: “We all love coming to work out here.
“I enjoy using the weights but I also like that you come to exercise as well as socialise with people who have the same interests as you.
“It’s more of a community than working out by yourself.”
While Molly says she enjoys doing gymnastics and Mac loves running, using the bikes and the other machines.
Belle adds: “I like coming to the classes because with Crossfit you never know what you are going to be doing because every day it is different.
“It’s very varied and I enjoy doing all of it.”
Peacefit gym is based in the grounds of Peacehill Farm in Wormit.
It is an indoor Crossfit affiliate gym which also features an outdoor space which can be included in classes and 1:1 sessions.
The gym is open seven days a week from 6am.
For more information, visit the Peacefit website.
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