Like many parents, Diana Ennen had trouble getting her daughter to exercise.
So two years ago, Ennen decided that her daughter Amber was coming to the health club. Now age 10, Amber is using the stair-stepper, lifting hand weights and doing sit-ups on a stability ball.
"She's lost some weight," said Ennen, who lives in Margate, Fla. "Her clothes fit better. You can tell she's firmer."
It may sound like a grown-up routine, but many parents are enrolling their children in fitness centers or buying child-size equipment for a workout more grueling than ballet or Little League but cheaper than hiring a personal trainer.
Last year, 1.3 million children ages 6 to 11 belonged to a health club, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. And as of April, one-fourth of IHRSA member clubs surveyed had children's programs.
At Action Kids Fitness Center, with two locations in Southern California, children can do a 40- to 45-minute circuit training workout with resistance machines and cardio stations, including stationary bikes that connect to PlayStation 2. The center also has hip-hop dance, yoga, karate and monthly nutrition classes.
"We really pride ourselves on the energy and excitement we put into making fitness fun," said Steve Ewing, the center's co-founder. "We don't want them to be thinking they are overweight and obese. We want them to acknowledge that moving is fun."
The circuit workout at Funfit Family Fitness Center in Rockville, Md., has a tot-size exercise bike, an air stepper and hydraulic strength training equipment. Kids and parents can also use personal trainers together or take classes, including yoga for tots.
Such workouts are a long way from riding bikes and playing tag.
But in an era of rising childhood obesity, schools' physical education cutbacks and a more sedentary lifestyle, children's gyms make sense, said Rosemary Lavery, an IHRSA spokeswoman.
Home play has also gotten a jolt from video games such as the Wii Fit. With an electronic device called the Gamercize, children can play video games as long as they are stepping or cycling – if you stop stepping, the video game stops.
Kids become so plugged in to the games, they forget they are exercising, said Terry Grim, director of business development for KickStart Fitness, the U.S. distributor of the Gamercize. He said about 3,000 Gamercize devices were sold in the last quarter.
Stephanie Ochoa, 32, of San Antonio bought the Wii after noticing that her children would rather play video games than ride bikes.
"At first, I limited play time and forced them to be active," she said. "It did not seem right, so I settled on a Wii. I purchased a Wii Fit for myself, and my kids use it more than I do. It really gets their heart rates up."
Video games make teens believe fitness is "hip and cool," said Alyson Stoner, a 15-year-old actress who stars in the "Get Fit With Alyson" Web series and the Wii Fit's "Get Wii Fit With Alyson."
"It's something that inspires young kids to take what they have always loved to do, which is video games, and puts a new spin on it," she said.
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