No kidding around: new approaches to fitness empower our nation's youth

The aerobics craze of the '80s may have gotton parents off the couch, but kids are still as sedentary as they were a decade ago--if not more so. The MTV, fast-food generation gets 20 minutes of vigorous P.E. activity a week on the national average. Illinois is the only state that mandates daily physical activity. Although an epidemic of inactivity still plagues today's youth, innovative ideas are forging on the youth fitness front. At a handful of schools across the nation, new approaches are sparking kids' interest in fitness. The goal of these programs, which stress self-sufficiency, is to get kids moving and keep them moving the rest of their lives.

The first step in this seemingly impossible task is to excite kids about P.E., which to some is as pleasant as a trip to the dentist. "A workout should be fun," says John Burstein, otherwise known as "Slim Goodbody," a pioneer in youth fitness who has hosted his own TV show for kids for 15 years. "I became disturbed by people taking their adult workouts and superimposing them on children," adds Burstein, who received the Charles Bucher award in 1993 for his dedication to youth fitness. "Exercise should be play or kids are turned off."

Chicago P.E. teacher Debbie Ban-Pillarella, M.Ed., agrees. "A children's exercise program has to have creativity and animation," she says. "My program is cooperative. We work with teams, buddies, partners."

Programs like Kidz Step, designed by Ban-Pillarella, give participants a sense of power they can transfer into adult life. Classes are led by "Edutainers" (educators and entertainers). "I survey kids in my classes and they give me their top 10 favorite songs," she says. "They also self-select their movements from the basic moves I teach them. From there they become empowered. A student will lead the class and the teacher becomes a part of the class."

Input is key. Parents and educators need to tune in to what kids want in order to motivate them or have any impact on their lives, according to Ban-Pillarella. "It's important to ask for feedback so we can key in to what their environment's all about," she says. "I use props and toys for younger kids, but the older crowd won't get into this. Wearing a hat to class backward might be cool, though."

Like Kidz Step, "Moving with Rudy Benton," a San Francisco-based TV show, has kids exercising to their own beat. Kids are encouraged to make up routines on the spot. Benton, who has been a P.E. instructor for 31 years, takes a nurturing approach by mixing learning with play. Instead of counting "1-2-3," kids might say "I will never smoke" or "this is my clavicle." "My whole purpose in this career is to motivate kids to take care of themselves and others," he says. "Maybe when they're 90 years old they'll be walking or square dancing or taking a yoga class. I want them to have a quality life 'til way after 100."

The Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) program inspires healthy lifestyle with a self-management class. Children are rewarded for being active after school and on weekends with 'SPARK dollars,' used toward things such as T-shirts and water bottles. After a while the rewards become intrinsic, according to Paul Rosengard, head teacher and consultant for the program, who has watched it take shape over the past five years.

SPARK began in 1989 when a team of researchers and educators from San Diego State University were given a grant to create and implement a program to increase children's activity levels. It may one day be used as a nationwide model. "We have revamped old-style P.E.," says Rosengard. "Kids spend less time standing and listening to the coach and more time moving." In a SPARK class, kids might play games such as "mini-softball" with only five people per team so everyone can hit and throw more frequently and improve their skills. In most traditional P.E. softball games, a child may only get one chance at bat the entire period.

In Alabama's Huntsville City School District, choice is the keyword. Kids are offered a variety of activities throughout the year--a skating day in February, a jingle bell run, an autumn chase run (the largest fun run in the country, with over 3,000 participants), a kite week and bowling day. "I like to start something as soon as I get the first group of kids," says Doris McHugh, manager of special activities and director of physical education for the district. "I don't like to have kids standing around waiting for the rest of the class to arrive."

Non-competitiveness plays an important role for many kids in the youth fitness equation-especially when P.E. may represent "physical embarrassment" for some. Traditional team sport activities often create feelings of inadequacy for those picked last to be on a team or who fail to score a goal. New programs de-emphasize competition to provide non-threatening opportunities for vigorous, heart-healthy physical activity. "Personal struggle to attain is where victory lies," says Benton. "Being first doesn't make a difference. We should give gold medals to those who struggle."