Laughter, friendly competition, and plain old fun characterize the Fit Kids Summer Camp that began June 1 and continues 8:45-9:30 a.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays mostly at Dye Hards Gym through July 1.
Five of the eight children enrolled this summer made it to the gym Saturday, June 17, after a planned workout at the school track got rained out. Carrie Hatfield, personal trainer, camp founder and mom, said this is the camp's third year. She said it's set up for children ages 5 through 12, but this year, most of the campers are between 7 and 10 years old.
Hatfield, who generates a friendly, calm and quiet energy, led the campers through warm-up exercises before moving them into more challenging tasks. She ended the camp with a rousing game of dodgeball.
"They all love it, and if we don't end with it, we do something else, like playing pass with a balloon using only our heads or only our feet."
"I try to make it fun for them, try to add something new every time."
Hatfield is a full-time personal trainer and works with individuals in the Wal-Mart Fitness Center, two locations in Bella Vista, Dye Hards Gym in Pea Ridge and people's homes.
Her love for what she does glows from her. She laughed frequently with the children, offered sincere encouragement and kept up the momentum seamlessly.
"I love it. It's nice to help people, to get them happy, healthy and feeling good about themselves."
She showed the campers exercise moves, talked them through the motions, and then monitored each child in a good-natured, easy-going way that left everyone feeling like he or she was doing well and was okay.
She also cautioned them against hurting themselves and watched out for them while still pushing them to work harder or do a move more effectively.
On this day's work out, the children, including Hatfield's 3-year-old daughter Paige, did leg lifts, leg overs, the Superman, sit ups, pushups (twice, at different times), planks, squats, jumping jacks and paired plank slaps.
Hatfield said she likes having them do paired work because they can "encourage each other and get to know each other."
From there, they moved into paired ball-pass sit ups and partner ball slams. Next came pull ups using two kinds of equipment before moving into the second set of pushups and then aerobic work using a device called a ladder, which is laid on the floor and used to develop quickness, timing and coordination. Dodgeball gave everyone a chance to run a bit and move however they wished. The work out lasted about 40 minutes.
Present at the Saturday session were Hatfield's children Dillon, 7, and Paige, 3; Gannon Dye, 7, and Jace Dye, 10, brothers and sons of Dye Hards Gym owners Johnny and B.J. Dye; and Joe Woods, 9.
Campers shared their favorite activities: Jace likes the pull up bars "because they increase your strength."
Joe likes dodgeball because "you get to aim, and it's just really fun."
Dillon also likes dodgeball because "I get to throw balls at people!" He laughed and his mom shook her head and rolled her eyes while smiling along with everyone else.
Gannon likes the ladder best because "you get to run in it."
And Paige also like the ladder because "I am good at bunny hops."
The cost of the month-long camp was $95 for early bird enrollees, $100 afterward, with $25 per additional child from the same family. Hatfield said she knows this cost might be daunting for some, but she said she is flexible and works with parents who would like to pay half up front and half later or at the end, or whatever payment arrangement works best.
Hatfield has a degree in kinesiology from Missouri Southern State University in Springfield, Mo. She graduated in 2005 and has been working as a personal trainer ever since. She said she originally wanted to become a physical therapist, but when she discovered the school and training take a total of seven years, she said to herself, "I might as well become a doctor."
She said she looked at other options and "discovered a degree in kinesiology is highly versatile" and was a good "middle ground" that could lead in lots of directions, including coaching. She said the degree has worked well for her because she has always been athletic and loves working out and staying fit, and she still gets to help people but in a different way than she would have through physical therapy.
Hatfield and her family live in Rocky Comfort, Mo., near where Hatfield grew up.
Dye Hards Gym, 1978 Slack St., Pea Ridge, is a 24-hour-access workout facility with locations in Pea Ridge, Bentonville, Rogers, Bella Vista, Centerton, and Lowell.
Business on 06/21/2017