The Experience is Virtual, the Exercise is Real

By Abigail Leichman, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.

Jan. 10–The thermometer showed a mere 13 degrees on the December morning that John Magaraci took 22 first-graders out for a workout.

Their destination: The Energy Factory, Tenafly’s new indoor electronic fitness center for kids.

Rather than dodge ball or lap running, the children exercise by playing interactive video games.

“It was phenomenal,” said Magaraci, the gym teacher at Bergenfield’s Hoover School. “The kids got an unbelievable workout that was fun and not competitive.”

The brainchild of Tenafly native Alex Ehrlich, The Energy Factory is the first center of its kind in the country. Don’t expect it to be the last.

Software engineers and game designers are the new warriors in the battle against childhood obesity and inactivity. The National Institutes of Health even is funding video-game research projects as part of its anti-obesity efforts.

The Hoover School, which does not have its own gymnasium, used a federal grant to pay for its visits to The Energy Factory. Grades 1 to 5 each stayed one hour, with seven minutes at every station.

Aside from getting kids moving, Ehrlich wanted to offer them the kind of social environment video games don’t often foster.

“We wanted a place for kids from kindergarten through high school who are non-competitive and otherwise wouldn’t be getting off the couch,” Ehrlich said. “But athletic kids also enjoy it. Here the two can interact socially, and our instructors are good at helping the kids make friends.”

Steven Sussman, a Tenafly Middle School eighth-grader, was breaking a sweat while playing a game with instructor Jamal Burke, a former pro football player.

The two were throwing weighted balls against a wall of blinking lights to tap out the tune to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The faster they hit the targets, the quicker the tempo.

“If I weren’t here, I’d be sitting at home watching TV,” Steven said. Never a very active kid, he’d half-heartedly agreed to his parents’ suggestion to check out the September opening of The Energy Factory.

Now he comes twice a week and has made several new buddies. He favors the climbing wall and the popular Dance Dance Revolution game.

Like the other options here, DDR shifts control of the onscreen action from a traditional hand-held device to the participant’s own body.

The player steps into squares that light up with the music. The faster you set the music, the more challenging the workout.

“This hones foot-eye coordination and also provides an aerobic workout,” said program director Lisa Witherspoon, a former physical education teacher and All-American basketball player.

Kids who use DDR and similar games get their heart rates up and reap the benefits of a traditional aerobic regimen, says Energy Factory consultant George Graham, a Penn State University professor and author of 15 books on teaching children physical activity.

“If you tell kids to exercise, they don’t see it as fun,” Graham said. “They see video games as fun. The idea is to use an activity kids find enjoyable to motivate them to exercise.”

Among the other gizmos here are a pair of Cateye GameBikes. The player pedals the stationary cycle to propel an onscreen bike, car or jet ski, alone or in competition with up to eight other players.

Dr. Mehmet Oz of Cliffside Park, a heart surgeon and best-selling co-author of “You: The Owner’s Manual,” has donated Cateye bikes to several schools through his Health Corps project.

“I believe these may be the best approach to making sports fun in urban environments,” said Oz. “Everyone can compete and the local terrain is irrelevant. We can even measure … how much their overall capacity is increasing as they exercise.”

Witherspoon demonstrated some of the center’s other playthings:

–Trazer virtual reality games. As simple as jumping under a line of bubbles to prevent them from falling, or as challenging as kick-boxing with hands or feet. Reaction time, acceleration, speed, power and balance all drive the onscreen action. Try it online at cybextrazer.com.

–Jackie Chan Studio Fitness games. Standing on a mat and using wireless controllers, kids can box, bat, swing, lunge, jump, dance, walk or run to increase speed, endurance and reflexes.

–Everlast climbing wall with flashing lights and sounds (like a dog barking) so kids can work toward specific goals. They can climb up and down or right to left, or through hoops as a vertical obstacle course.

–EyeToy, Sony’s new game series offering everything from a guided workout for teens to a preschool game where participants jump and point to assemble a virtual sandwich. The player’s image is embedded onscreen.

A high-functioning autistic child was playing an EyeToy game requiring him to jump faster and faster to knock out bricks on the screen.

“Many of the games here help children with sensory deprivation issues, developmental delays and attention deficit disorders,” said Ehrlich.

“We make sure all the kids are successful by having many different levels available.”

The center also offers low-tech equipment like pogo sticks, stilts, juggling balls, pedal boards and jump ropes to round out the children’s 50-minute sessions.

Ehrlich plans to add teen nights and parent-child days. Information: (201) 399-0020.

SPECIAL NEEDS FITNESS PROGRAM

“Kids need movement… For some parents, the goal is simply to tire the child out so they’ll sleep well at night.”

–Denise Yost, pediatric occupational therapist and fitness instructor at One Body Wellness Center, Ridgewood

One Body Wellness Center in Ridgewood recently began a Special Needs Fitness Program for ages 3 to 21, two afternoons a week.

“We hope the program will provide an opportunity to break through the boundaries of presumed limits” for ambulatory participants with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities, said One Body President James Napolitano.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, pediatric occupational therapist and fitness instructor Denise Yost was showing 13-year-old Ari Landolfi of Rochelle Park how to bounce on a stability ball to the beat of Jackson Five classics.

During the course of the hour, she incorporated aspects of aerobics, rhythm and movement, obstacle courses, bilateral coordination, motor planning, sensory integration and strength training.

Ari’s mother, Kelly, said she joined in his first class. “I could not keep up. I was sore for three days,” she said. “I knew he was having a good time and now I also think he’s getting very fit.”

Yost said she structures activities to each participant’s interests, developmental level and cognitive abilities.

“Kids need movement,” she said. But she doesn’t aim for specific outcomes like weight loss or speed. “For some parents, the goal is simply to tire the child out so they’ll sleep well at night.”

A recent study at the State University of New York at Buffalo demonstrated that exercise significantly improved the behavior of children between the ages of 5 and 12 who have been diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Children with oppositional behavior showed the greatest improvements with exercise.

Fitness programs for children and teens with special needs also are offered by:

–The New Jersey Daredevils Youth Hockey Club, (973) 669-1331, and Sled Hockey Club, (201) 207-2271.

–YWCA of Bergen County, Ridgewood, (201) 444-5600, ext. 336. Bowling in Fair Lawn, ages 8 and up; swimming, ages 6 months and up; Special Kids Sports Variety Pack, ages 4 to 8.

–Bergen County Y-JCC, Washington Township, (201) 666-6610, ext. 268. Therapeutic martial arts for ambulatory and non-ambulatory autistic and special-needs children ages 6 and up begins Feb. 1. In the spring, more classes for special-needs children are planned.

–JCC on the Palisades, Tenafly, (201) 569-7900, ext. 302. Healthy Me, 14- to 18-year-olds; karate, ages 7 to 17; Lovin’ to Live yoga/music/sports program, autistic 14- to 20-year-olds; On Our Own yoga/karate/ swimming/life skills class, teens with moderate cognitive impairment; Project Pals swimming/ yoga/cooking, autistic teens; “Specially for You” movement/sports/music, physically disabled 15- to 21-year-olds; Sports Time, ages 13 to 20; Sunday FunDay for autistic kids ages 3 to 12 including dance therapy and gym segments; swimming, ages 13 to 20.

–Meadowlands Area YMCA, Rutherford, (201) 955-5300, ext. 24. Swimming.

–YM-YWHA of North Jersey, Wayne, (973) 595-0100, ext. 233. Special Needs Sports Buffet, ages 5 to 7.

–Wyckoff Family YMCA, (201) 891-2081, ext. 123. Shining Star Express program includes yoga, ages 13 and up; jazz/hip-hop workshop, ages 13 and up; swimming, ages 6 and up. Can set up individual fitness programs following assessment.

–Bowler City, Hackensack, (201) 343-3545, Debbie. A special league starts in February.

–Center for Modern Dance Education, Hackensack, (201) 342-2989. Dance classes for children and teens with disabilities, dance company for teens.

FIT KIDS CURRICULUM

You can hire a personal trainer for your child at several gyms and community centers.

You can sign them up for hospital and camp programs that combine nutrition classes with phys ed.

And now you can get all that in one package.

Bill Parisi of Parisi Sports Clubs got the idea for his new Fit Kids curriculum from pediatricians and school nurses looking for one-on-one programs for non-athletic, overweight children.

“We were not connecting with some of those kids who truly need our services,” said Parisi, whose “speed school” trains budding athletes from the age of 7.

Fit Kids is for children ages 7 to 18 who have trouble moving or are very timid, pre-diabetic or seriously out of condition.

Twice-weekly one-hour sessions ($675 for six weeks) include sessions with a certified personal trainer, as well as nutrition counseling with registered dietician Heather Campanile.

“We chose to make the program twofold because many others focus on exercise and forget the nutrition component, which is more important in the end,” said Campanile. “You can exercise six days a week but won’t get the results you want if you aren’t eating right.”

Campanile works with child and parents to learn how to read nutrition labels and choose healthier foods, control portion sizes and prepare balanced meals and junk-free snacks.

“Our trainers create a fitness program that is both realistic and fun,” said Parisi. Participants learn how to do the exercises and activities at home.

If the program catches on, Parisi may offer it in his Morris Plains and Wyckoff branches as well.

A similar option will likely be offered this spring at the Bergen County Y-JCC in Washington Township, said Peter Kofitsas, the new health and wellness director.

A health coach, licensed physical therapist and nutritionist, Kofitsas plans to oversee the one-on-one integration of nutrition, fitness and body awareness for each participant.

Information: parisischool.com or (201) 794-1555; peterkfitness.com or (201) 666-6610, ext. 245.

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