Created: 11/26/2009 8:23:01 AM 
Winston-Salem, NC - On Thanksgiving, all diets are off! Eat guilt-free and enjoy. But as you get back to your fitness routine on Friday, you may see many more children at the gym. The Fit Kids program is helping to keep children healthy and in shape. Just one look at the Fit Kids gym and you can tell the facility is a little more than average. It's got all the same equipment and free weights as any other workout facility, but this one is specifically for kids. "We stretch, do some different speed and agility stuff, some general weight training. All of our equipment is especially designed for smaller and growing bodies," said Fit Kids Director Travis Fitzgerald. Eleven-year-old Jon Morphis comes to Fit Kids three times a week to help him reach a big goal. "It will help me become a better soccer player. It'll make me stronger and more fit," said Morphis. In fact, all the kids who participate set individual goals. "I want to get more muscle," said nine-year-old Meaghan Brown. The circuit training program gives kids seven through high school a total body workout. They rotate machines every minute so they work all muscle groups. "A lot of people say it's trying to battle childhood obesity, but I try to battle childhood inactivity," said Fitzgerald. "Kids don't play anymore, they don't go outside and play so lets try to find something and reintroduce play." Kids are tested on their progress every two months. Fitzgerald says he sees the difference in every child. "The biggest change you see right away is definitely the self-confidence. People come in with a little higher head, clothes starting to change, hair is starting to be pulled back, maybe the fingernail polish isn't black," he says. "So the biggest thing really and the most immediate change is how they see themselves." Fit Kids classes are offered inside the Salem Gymnastics Center in Winston-Salem. Along with the workouts, Fit Kids also offers a nutrition program through a partnership with KidSmart, a program of Forsyth Medical Center's Sara Lee Center for Women's Health. Fit Kids classes run Mon-Fri from 4:00-8:00 plus Sat 10:00-1:00. The cost for enrollment is $41/month for one workout each week, $57/month for two workouts weekly, and $73/month for three workouts weekly. Classes run month to month with no long term contracts. You can find the Salem Gymnastics Center on the web by clicking here or call them at (336) 765-4668.
