Kids just want to have fun. Exercise isn't usually on the "fun list," but the lure of modern, high-tech workout equipment along with input from active, electrolyte-chugging parents, has been changing some young minds.
The second-fastest-growing demographic among health club members is ages 6-17, according to the trade group International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. Only fitness-minded baby boomers beat out the kids in membership growth.
"Parents are bringing children to the health club, and a lot of the newer equipment is from video gaming and virtual fitness," says Rosemary Lavery, spokeswoman for the Boston-based IHRSA.
"That makes the activities fun."
Yes, generally speaking, American children and their parents are too fat and inactive, but isn't the news encouraging?
Unfortunately, most of the news about young people and exercise is bad. A new study, which tracked children in the United States for six years (2000-06), was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Among findings: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds exercise a couple of hours most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do the same.
What's the secret to convincing more teens and 'tweens to get active?
Alex Van Dyke's Going Vertical training facility in Sacramento has a kid magnet – the CYBEX Trazer reaction trainer, which transports clients to an interactive virtual world where power, balance, speed and reaction time work the muscles.
"It's you and the screen controlling the program," says Van Dyke, a former NFL player. "Young and old enjoy it. It's animated, like a game, and it's fun."
Gyms hoping to lure teenagers and young children are purchasing Trazers and Expresso stationary bikes, which have virtual road course workouts via a monitor.
Active videogames from Nintendo's Wii system, which lured youngsters and adults off the couch at home, also have infiltrated gyms. Health clubs have been eager to offer workouts to popular dance videogames like "Dance Dance Revolution" and "In The Groove," which have modes for calorie burning on their dance pads.
"The trend among the suppliers to the industry is integrating entertainment and technology into the health club," Lavery says.
But there's nothing like good old parental role-modeling to lure kids into the active lifestyle, according to Dr. Victoria Akins. Active, gym-rat parents create active children, says the Kaiser Permanente pediatrician and founder of Sacramento's Mustard Seed Spin charity bike ride.
"It's the ticket," Akins says about active parents. "If you're out there and going hiking with them, it makes a huge difference. It shows where your priorities are and that your priorities are really fun."
Akins, an avid cyclist, says children are naturally active until the first or second grade. After that, they conform to the activity levels of their parents.
The American Council on Exercise agrees with Akins. Young children, according to ACE's chief exercise physiologist Cedric X. Bryant, are likely to respond favorably to exercise if they see mom and dad breaking a sweat on the bike trail.
Instead of watching TV and sitting in movie theaters, Bryant encourages parents to take kids, "hiking, dancing, sledding, in-line skating and biking."
"I had a kid who was 12 who didn't even know how to ride a bike," says Van Dyke. "He had never played any sports, but he had the courage to take on a certain task. In this case, it was riding a bike. Now he's a high school volleyball player."
Akins says moms are most often the catalyst for change.
"If the mother isn't on board, it ain't happening," she says. "I've noticed that when the mother makes the commitment, it gets done. She grocery shops, cooks and makes the rules. If she goes to the gym, she takes her kids – and a lot of gyms are catering to the family situation."
She recommends these family activities: riding bikes, hiking, martial arts and team sports.
"Riding bikes is one of the very best things, you can always make it into an adventure," Akins says. 'Let's ride to the river, go fishing and ride home' and they're onboard."
Akins made her children earn their TV time. A half-hour of activity, earned a half-hour of TV.
"Parents are allowed to say, 'no,' she says.
Call The Bee's Dan Vierria, (916) 321-1119.
