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STAMFORD, Conn. It's not just adults who need to be active and stay in shape children should also adopt a workout routine, say trainers Melissa Lewin and Claudia Pacifico. That is why they started Kids Do Work at CrossFit Stamford.
Kids dont take the opportunity to run around and be kids, Lewin said. Children tend to plant themselves in front of video and computer screens, she said, and widespread childhood obesity is the result.
Each class incorporates functional activities that children do regularly while playing, such as running, pulling and jumping, and are meant to build basic skills such as hand-eye-coordination, Pacifico said. The trainers turn the workouts into games by keeping their pupils entertained and motivated.
Its not a job, like adults make it, Pacifico said. In the kids classes, the participants are constantly laughing, joking and smiling.
This is going to be fun, 12-year-old Arianna said as she prepared to do the obstacle course Pacifico had set up.
The classes are designed for children of different athletic abilities. Lewin and Pacifico spend more time and go slower with the kids who need it and push the more advanced ones harder. They also stress maintaining a positive atmosphere in the classes by having the kids cheer on each other.
The two have plenty of experience with kids. Both work as special education teachers during the day Lewin in a kindergarten class at Westover Magnet Elementary School in Stamford, and Pacifico at Fox Lane Middle School in Bedford, N.Y.
Lewin runs a weekly class for 4- to 6-year-olds from 4 to 5 p.m. Mondays. Pacifico has a class for 7- to 12-year-olds from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays. The two also run a class for children of all ages from 5 to 6 p.m. Fridays. They are hoping to expand the program to include birthday parties.
CrossFit Stamford is at 75 Selleck St. on Stamfords West Side. For more information about the Kids Do Work program, contact Lewin and Pacifico by calling 203-569-2906 or by email at kidsdoworkCFS@gmail.com.
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