Recently I wrote a review of Fit Fix for the Huffington Post. Fit Fix is a personal training studio in the Yonge & Eglinton neighbourhood of Toronto owned by husband and wife team, Jonathan and Tania Skelcher. Their clientele range in age from kids to seniors, however, they recently expanded their business to include FitFix Junior, which provides specialized fitness programs, camps and birthday parties for children aged 18 months to 12 years.
Following my first visit, Jonathan generously offered to have me bring the girls to check out their new facility and do a private class with Michelle Deremo, manager of Fit Fix Junior. We booked our visit for this past Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Little A had a major meltdown 5 minutes after we arrived and stubbornly continued to sulk, cry, scream, kick her legs and whine the entire time we were there. Just what you want from your child when people are meeting her for the first time! Needless to say she ended up not participating in the class at all and completely mortified me.
Big A, however, was wonderful. She was not at all intimidated to do the class as a one-on-one session with Michelle - a certified ECE and personal trainer - and followed direction very well. She had an amazing time and was very disappointed when the class was over. She begged me to bring her back. Adam and I are discussing whether to sign her up for their March Break camp or replace her gymnastics with a Saturday class next year, or enroll her in their summer camp for a week this summer. Somehow we'll have to get her back, because she absolutely LOVED it!
The focus in these classes is not on playing a sport, but on mastering various aspects of fitness, appropriate to kids developmental stage, and to educate them about physical activity and health. Obviously I LOVE THAT!!!! Michelle put A through a cardio warm-up, then did a series of strength activities with her, followed by some cardio and some hand/eye coordination drills. It was the coordination drills that really impressed me. Given what a poor athlete I was with a kid - and paid the price because of it in a competitive, althetically-oriented school - something like this class would have been perfect for me. Michelle also did some balance drills with her on the BOSU ball, some stretching, and some climbing on their climbing wall. Big A got a great workout, but more importantly, she had FUN. Michelle did an amazing job of using analagies that Big A could relate to, to explain how to perform various exercises and movements. I also love the fact that the focus in these classes on on fitness and fun and not on winning or losing. It's also not about competition, and for some kids, thats ideal.
Unfortunately, I spent the entire class trying to keep Little A from disrupting everything. Her tantrum began because she didn't like the particular water bottle I brought for her from home. After about 30 straight minutes screaming about that, she just began to scream that she wanted to go home 'RIGHT NOW'. It was really embarrassing! She continued to be a monster after we left, while we were in the health food store down the street getting them a snack, and during the whole walk to the bus stop. Then, a few minutes after we boarded the bus, it was like a switch, and she was her delightful, happy, alter ego. Grr!
In any case, families living in the neighbourhood are really lucky to have such a wonderful facility. Even though we don't live nearby, Big A had such a great time, that we're going to have to find a way to get her to a class or camp very soon! If you live in Toronto, check it out!
Fit Fix: 2409 Yonge St. Suite 201. Toronto, Ontario M4P 2E7 (416) 322-6770
Comments
Post a Comment