Daily News column for August 3 edition
IT WAS A PURE delight to watch "Coach Beth" Kligerman and "Coach Matt" Jaffe work out with 3-year-olds on their Fit Kidz Bus, an innovative way to bring fitness to kids.
Besides being the proud parents of a beautiful son, Jaxson, 18 months, Kligerman, 41, and her business and life partner, Jaffe, 37, are cutting-edge innovators in children's fitness.
Their bus - filled with mats and exercise equipment - simply pulls up in front of day care centers and schools, and the children are escorted directly onto it for half-hour classes that combine games, movement, songs and more traditional exercise. The couple also do birthday parties.
Kligerman, a Wyndmoor native, is a fitness powerhouse with more than 13 years of industry experience. She teaches aerobics, does personal training and coordinates aerobic programming for several health clubs. She began her career in fashion, but soon realized that fitness was where her true passions lie.
"Coach Matt," as the children affectionately call him, was a bodybuilding and power-lifting competitor at age 16. He was a collegiate athlete and has a bachelor's degree in physical education from Glassboro State University.
After college, Jaffe began a personal training business working with adults. Over the last five years, he's concentrated more on kids' fitness, developing a mobile fitness program he took to day care centers and schools.
Within the last six months, though, he decided to customize a gym bus - the Fit Kidz Mobile Gym - that could move from facility to facility.
Kligerman - aka "Coach Beth" - leads classes with him.
A few weeks ago I met with the dynamic duo at the Kids Academy in Cherry Hill to talk about fitness, kids and entrepreneurship.
Q: What inspired you both to pursue fitness for kids?
Jaffe: [Having kids] "has inspired me to instill a healthy lifestyle not only in my own children but in other children as well. Children are so pure, they have no ulterior motives. What you see is what you get."
Klingerman: "Matt is incredible with all of the kids. He can get right down to their level, he makes them laugh and his knowledge of fitness is adaptable to all ages. He works incredibly hard for that half-hour class, making sure everyone has a good time."
Q: Where did you get the idea to do fitness with kids on a bus?
J: "I had the opportunity to work on a mobile gym, which led me to purchase the converted school bus. The idea originated in Europe with an Olympic athlete who saw the need to promote fitness in schools."
Q: That's cool. What's the latest research on kid fitness and health?
K: "Kids today are too inactive. Technology has taken children away from being physical."
Q: You're absolutely right. I mean, the nation is in the grips of an obesity epidemic and our children are in trouble. About 15 percent of children are obese and 30 percent of children are overweight - and those numbers are steadily climbing. We can no longer ignore these numbers, right?
K: "We sure can't ignore it anymore. Children should be encouraged to exercise daily. We closely monitor them on the bus, especially when they're engaged in any strenuous activities."
Q: How do you keep their attention? How do the kids respond?
K: "The kids get so excited about climbing onto the blue bus. When we arrive at the centers we usually hear in the background - 'The bus is here, the bus is here' - they love it."
Q: What age range can participate and how many children can train on the bus at one time?
K: The children's age ranges are 2 to 12, and the bus accommodates 15 kids at a time.
Q: That's really cool. How long is each class?
K: Classes are 30 minutes. Birthday parties are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Q: What are the three biggest fitness and nutritional mistakes parents make with their kids?
K: "One, not exercising as a family unit. Two, allowing children to eat what and whenever they want. And three, allowing children to veg out in front of the TV, computer and video games."
Q: What is your next project?
K: "Most importantly, being able to reach children that may otherwise not have access to this type of program, enabling them to have fun and exercise. To expand the business, adding more buses."
Q: What's the next trend in kids' fitness?
K: "Getting the entire family to work out/exercise as a unit so that everyone is physically active."
Q: Hear, hear! I second that motion. Fitness and family go hand in hand. How can people reach you for more information and what is your Web address?
K: E-mail Baklig@aol.com or call 856-237-6850.
Comments (2)
Great article on Matt and Beth. I know them both personally and this new venue is perfect for them. I was at a kid's party a month ago and couldn't help but notice approx. 75 percent of the kids were overweight. The kids looked bored and mostly ate and played video games. It would have been nice to see Matt and Beth pull up in their bus to give these kids some fun and exercise.
Posted by Sabrina | August 7, 2005 1:49 PM
Posted on August 7, 2005 13:49
love what i read would like to learn more I have a daycare
Posted by ros | February 4, 2006 7:52 AM
Posted on February 4, 2006 07:52