TIFFIN, Ohio — A free program at the Tiffin YMCA aims to get kids out of the house with fun exercise activities.
Gym Class Heroes is held every Tuesday and Thursday through April 20 from 5:30-6:15 p.m. and helps youths create healthy lifestyles and fitness habits.
Program organizer Conor Sukel said they realized how beneficial exercise is for the mind and body and they want to make sure kids in the area have the same experiences.
"There's a big problem today with kids playing too many video games, watching too much tv, watching too much Tik Tok," instructor Oliver Kelleher said. "We want them to have fun exercising and fall in love with it."
Sukel and Kelleher said there has been a drop in the number of physical education classes over the past decade. They are trying to change that, not only for the kids' health but for the multiple benefits of exercise.
"It helps them focus more in classes and stuff like that. It's a huge benefit. We're not telling them all of that," Sukel said. "All we're doing is presenting games and showing up with a good attitude and positive energy. We're transferring that to them, it's transferring right back and we're having a good time."
The class starts with a warm-up and moves to an agility block. After that, there are some games and then circuit training.
The coaches want the kids to have fun, interact with other people and have the right influences around them.
"When I was a little kid, I was misguided and I was not well-behaved," Kelleher said. "Once I got into sports and exercise and training that kind of set me straight. I want to do the same for these kids and send them on the right path."
While the program and activities are new to some of the kids, they've already gotten better with encouragement.
"The first week we had a kid who was scared to stand on his one leg for balance purposes," Sukel said. "The next week, he was excited to do that same exercise because he knew that he could do it. It's those little things like that that make it fulfilling for me."
Sukel hopes to spread the program to more YMCAs and eventually schools in the area.