Most bodybuilders started their journey in their early teens or close to adulthood. Recently, the fitness world has seen an influx of talent as early as 3-years-old, and as old as people in the late 80s and early 90s. A few months back, a three-year-old boy went viral for hitting the gym after being inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now, a father-son duo has caught the attention of bodybuilding enthusiasts. The bodybuilding father is former NFL James Townsend who started training his son at the young age of 2.

The fitness influencer strives to make his kids brave. He believes braving the hurdles in the gym will prepare them to face the hardships of the world outside those four walls. Here’s what the CrossFit athlete has to say about training young kids.

James Townsend and his 2-year-old trainee

James Townsend, pays much importance to living a confident and healthy life. He uses his gym, The Brave One Gym, and his social media with over 85.2k followers, to instill that confidence in young minds. Before bodybuilding, he played football in college and was briefly associated with the Chicago Bears. When he transitioned to CrossFit, with daycare being expensive in his region, Townsend had to bring his daughter to his workouts.

It was there where he first saw the strength little kids can hold. Soon, he started posting videos of his little daughter working out “for fun.” Little did he know, that the videos would take bodybuilding fans by storm. Since then he made it his mission to pass down his knowledge to not just his daughters and 2-year-old son, but other young minds too. That’s when he opened his gym named The Brave One Gym.

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Townsend reveals he wants to make his kids brave. Irrespective of whether they are inside or outside the gym. While sharing his story with In the Know, he reasoned, “Because the world is a beast, and that’s where you need to be brave the most.”

Born with a blueprint for physical fitness

James Townsend believes every human being is born with an inbuilt “blueprint for peak physical fitness.” This is something he observed while training his 2-year-old son. Therefore, he believes such a tendency should be nurtured from a young age. This way, one can ensure that the innate capabilities do not go to waste by the time one reaches adulthood.

He believes, “Kids are born with a natural ability the natural form.” He cited the example of a kid squatting for hours before a TV without much difficulty to support his point. However, without training the ability is lost by the time one grows up. Working on the form and keeping the kids active, Townsend thinks, will help America achieve a better shape.

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Looking at James Townsend train his 2-year-old, and the reason behind his actions serves as an inspiration for many to hit the gym.