Pickle Barrel
My six-year-old son doesn’t like team sports. We signed him up for soccer. He was excited at first, but, once he hit the field, he was more interested on lolling on the grass than keeping up with the ball.
OK, let’s be honest, my son is lazy. Exertion for him is getting up to pee during his favorite TV show.
I was intrigued by an invitation to visit Bulldog Interactive Fitness, the first fitness facility designed exclusively for youth. Using interactive video games, personalized programs and equipment specifically designed for youth, Bulldog claims they can help kids become active and fit. It sounded perfect for my son.
As soon as we walked into the space, my son took off exploring. Within minutes, my once shy boy was trying to master the Treadwall — a vertical climbing wall that functions much like a treadmill so the climber never reaches the top and can climb continuously.
Then he raced over to the Cat Eye Bikes, exercise bikes that combine interactive video games with a good workout. Using his pedalling power, Josh was able to play racing car games, but they only work when he does. The kid beside him challenged him to a race. Sweat was forming on his brow.
Next, he hopped over to the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) pads and tried to keep up with the non-stop dance steps flashing on the screen in front of him. At this point, he was huffing and puffing. And I was one happy mummy.
Bulldog Interactive Fitness was created in Halifax by Holly Bond because of her experience with an inactive son.
“Love is blind,” she says. “I just thought Matthew would grow out of his baby fat. It was my husband who said outright: He’s overweight.”
Her son is part of the “Xbox generation,” kids who spend too much time in front of computers and television and not enough exercising. To motivate her son, they sourced cool workout gear for their basement, like DDR pads and an interactive stationary bike. Once he got into it, his friends starting coming over to use the equipment.
“I knew I was onto something when I had to call down to them to stop working out after seven hours,” she says.
Without changing his diet, over a two-year period, Matthew melted down from 193 pounds to 173 pounds while growing a foot taller.
“He’s stunning now and so proud of himself.”
Holly found herself with a new career. She and her husband sourced out the best interactive equipment on the market to fit kids’ frames and opened their first location in Halifax.
At Bulldog, the very video games that are blamed for making kids overweight are what Holly is using to get them moving. She balances the high-tech toys with classes to teach kids classic games like dodge ball and red rover. The concept is taking off, and this is Holly’s ninth location to open.
“Our place is for the kids who don’t make the team — the shy ones, overweight, marginalized in some way. We work on self-esteem and the by-product is fitness.”
I watched my son scamper around, his cheeks flushed, sweat on his forehead and a smile on his face. I have to agree. Holly is definitely onto something.
Bulldog Interactive Fitness is open at 109 Vanderhoof Avenue in Leaside. Memberships are available as well as drop-in classes. A Thornhill location on Clark Street will be opening next month.
Yummy finds If your kids are on the computer a lot, you need Internet Safety, a DVD created by John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted, and Julie Clarke, founder of the Baby Einstein Company. It’s a kid-friendly walk through the world of e-mail, downloads, pop-ups and chat rooms that looks at the serious issues that can arise. It’s fun to watch and relevant for our computer-savvy kids!
Most parents want their kids to play an instrument. The challenge is how to make learning fun for the little ones. The I Can Play Piano, by Fisher Price ($119.00), plugs into your TV, and the three-octave piano becomes an interactive video game. The “learning magic” lies within the proprietary Piano Wizard method used in the song and game cartridges. Suggested ages are four to eight, but my husband loved playing it, too! 
Post columnist Erica Ehm is one of Canada’s most recognized personalities. As the first female MuchMusic host, she was the voice of her generation. Now she’s become a voice of a new generation: yummy mummies. Visit her new website, at www.yummymummysite.com.
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