Dina_Lieberman
New User
/ Moderator
Nov 14, 2007, 11:35 AM
Post #1 of 1
(2392 views)
|
|
MobilizeYouth Summer Boot Camp 2007
|
Can't Post
|
|
By Dina Lieberman – Founder – MobilizeYouth Day Camp
In our second annual MobilizeYouth Get Fit! Summer Boot Camp, we achieved in the short term what we set out to do: create a tough challenge for out of shape, overweight youth and teens to get really fit, feel the difference physically, achieve greater stamina, gain confidence and develop higher awareness of food choices. Increasing the daily cardio (daily weight training, hiking, field sports, swimming, cardio circuit) came with initial complaints. So we pushed the fitness level even higher with city-wide hikes in Toronto to the Beaches and Centre and Wards Islands; hiking with the Bruce Trail Association, sweating it out in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and shooting baskets under a professional eye at HoopDome. There was little option: the kids were either in it or out. On the healthy eating end, coaches hovered when lunches were opened, reinforcing good meal choices and why, throwing juice bottles out. Reward came in the form of collage-making at the end of the day.
The heat and added weight affected participants’ performance and enthusiasm when it came to outdoor activities. A chorus of “I don’t like to be outdoors when it’s hot”, or, “I don’t do hiking” or, “I only like air conditioning in the summer – like my overnight summer camp” evoked the response “what kid doesn’t want to be outdoors?”, or, “this is a spoiled generation with little tolerance for discomfort - sheesh”. Personality, cultural differences led to fights which had to be sorted out. By the third week, the overriding experience for all participants was one of exhilaration: swimming like little kids in Lake Ontario on a brutally hot sunny day, slurping yogurt on Wards Island after a long walk from Center Island, playing volleyball and lengthy swimming in the four pools at the Beaches, achieving a 2 & 1/2 hour hike with the Bruce Trail Association’s geriatric set leading the way. The great feeling going through a heightened experience together, surviving it and feeling in command will surface one day.
Weight and other measurements were assessed at the outset and then at the end of the month: the outcomes were uplifting for the kids. To a participant, there was weight loss (up to five lbs) and three to five waist inches; with muscle mass increasing on legs and arms. Our poster boy, Adrian, 12, came to us late June at 318lbs, attended the Boot Camp, gained about ten pounds of muscle at first, and then lost 12 pounds between August to late September. He is now at 311 with 9 circumference inches less.
So we raise the tough question: how many are really continuing to maintain this level of fitness and work towards weight loss goals? How many are playing sports, walking or biking regularly or even continuing with the MobilizeYouth after school and weekend fitness and nutrition program? Adrian is still with us – the only one. It’s hard to know what everyone else is doing, but we do know that several were quite overweight and without daily exercise and parental responsibility in ensuring lean, balanced eating in the home, whatever progress was made will be lost and another year will go by. Weight loss does not go away on its own. It takes a whole support system and a mindset geared to success for the long haul.
Visit: MobilizeYouth
Dina Lieberman has participated in many creative pursuits from Director of Development at Opera Atelier - Toronto, Ontario - and with Diabetes and Transplant Campaigns. A filmmaker, she produced and directed Canada's first breast cancer documentary at the National Film Board. Dina's indepth experience in health care, organizational development, and fundraising provide the impetus and background for her new venture - MobilizeYouth.
---
(This post was edited by Dina_Lieberman on Nov 15, 2007, 9:43 AM)
|
