Life Time Fitness Offers Winter Workouts For Kids

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Spring and summer sports are now long gone for kids. One of the toughest things about winters is keeping kids active, especially in cold weather.

"It's important to keep your kids active because it helps them regulate their stress levels, they perform better in school and feel better about themselves," Crosstown Life Time Fitness member services department head Sarah Johnson said.

Sure, there's snow-tubing, skiing and sledding. But how often can you hit the slopes? Without that much need energy outlet, kids can really suffer.

One potential solution is to enroll them in kids' fitness classes.

About a year and a half ago, Life Time Fitness at the Crosstown in Bloomington launched a new program for kids. They took typically adult classes and changed them specifically for kids.

"My kids love to do Zumba, yoga.  They participate in gymnastics," Life Time member and parent Christie Schweiger said.

Instructors modify classes for little students to appeal to their favorite things, such as toys. Group classes also offer fitness without the competition -- that means no winners, and no losers.

"They love it because it's not competitive and they really get to hang out with their friends and expel a lot of energy," Johnson said.

The reactions to kids' yoga and Zumba have been great, Life Time says. The children love running around with their friends, and parents love the program for its other benefits.

"When they come home they are tired. They are relaxed and ready to sleep well at night," Schweiger said.

You have to be a Life Time Fitness member for the kids' classes, but there are other gyms in the Twin Cities offering classes for kids, such as the YMCA.

WEB EXTRA: List Of Kids' Yoga & Zumbatomic Classes (.PDF)