Fitness teacher offers program to stimulate children

BRIDGEWATER -- Donna Morrissey, who opened Express Fitness for Women in Winter Place Plaza two years ago, says a children's exercise program she plans to launch this month is unlike any other offered in New England.

Morrissey said her 30-minute workout for 5- to 12-year-old girls and boys blends the high-energy games of traditional children's programs with the use of adjustable hydraulic resistance machines.

Morrissey, the mother of a 14-year-old boy, said she became interested in developing a children's program after helping a couple of young teens lose weight at her gym. She said too much junk food and a sedentary lifestyle are combining to make a lot of young children obese.

''Many of them just work on the computer or watch TV," she said. And Bridgewater children aren't getting much exercise in school anymore, either, Morrissey said, with physical education classes eliminated or substantially reduced in all of the town's schools because of budget problems.

Morrissey, 45, said she has always been interested in fitness. While in her 20s, she was an aerobics instructor at a women's gym. She was introduced to the use of hydraulic resistance equipment after battling several maladies of her own, including scoliosis, bulging disks in her back, and degenerative arthritis.

''The hydraulic equipment is used for physical therapy," she said. The women's fitness regime that Morrissey offers alternates the use of several hydraulic machines designed by California fitness expert Rande LaDue with short intervals of aerobic exercise.

Each machine works two major muscle groups and can be adjusted to six levels of difficulty. Users get a good workout without the soreness that can result from lifting weights, she said.

Morrissey said her program has proven popular with women in the area. ''I've trained over 1,500 women during the last two years," she said.

The children's program at Fitness Express will be similar to the adult program, alternating aerobics with exercises using equipment that LaDue designed for use by children.

''Hydraulic resistance is like submerging in water," Morrissey said. ''The machines are safe, and the program is nonintimidating. It's basically teaching the kids to enjoy exercise at a young age." She said the children will be closely supervised.

Dr. Lyle Micheli, director of the sports medicine division at Children's Hospital Boston, said he would give Morrissey's program ''two thumbs up."

''From about a half-dozen studies we can properly conclude it is quite safe and kids do get stronger" by performing such exercises, he said. He noted that hydraulic resistance equipment is a good tool because ''it's safer and can be adjusted in small gradients." Also, there is no chance of dropping a heavy weight on one's foot.

Micheli said that even young children can see gains in strength with such training, but added that about 6 years of age should be the starting point. ''That's the age when they can do things in a systematic fashion," he said.

Micheli said there have been naysayers on strength training for younger children. ''I've run into some pediatricians who are against it. But they haven't kept up with the field," he said.

Dr. Christopher Rynne, a Weymouth orthopedic surgeon who works with high school athletes and is affiliated with South Shore Hospital, said little research has been done on weight training at Morrissey's targeted age level.

''But in my experience, I don't see any injuries attributed to weight training," he said. ''Hydraulic machines are safer because you can vary the force easily.

''I think kids are less susceptible to injury than adults because they are smarter," he said. ''If they start to get sore, they'll quit or scale back. I think as long as it's supervised, it's safe."

Rynne, who is team physician for the Xaverian Brothers High School football squad, coach of the St. Sebastian's School sailing team, and founder and director of Ski East, a Greater Boston high school ski league, said he applauds Morrissey's goal of getting kids off the couch.

''If her goal is to get them active and fit, then it's got to be fun," he said. ''The challenge will be to make it fun and keep it fun. Back off to avoid burnout, and allow them to quit if they want to."

Morrissey said she will offer parents some free time in the adult workout room while their children exercise.

''All most health clubs have for kids while their parents work out is a baby-sitting room," she said.