A Little Bit About Me...

I realized that I should probably provide a little bit about my background and how it influenced the development of PowerUp Fitness™.

I grew up very involved in sports and different activities, summers were spent outside, and although we had "TV time" restrictions, it was a rule that RARELY had to be enforced.   I was a gymnast for several years but it was actually an injury that led me to the field of Exercise Science.

A Vol for Life, I completed my Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science at the University of Tennessee and decided to stay at UT for my Master's degree in Kinesiology (specializing in pediatric exercise physiology).  Throughout school I worked at two fitness centers as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor in the Knoxville area but also became involved in research in the Pediatric Exercise Science lab.

In the Pediatric lab, I worked on studies ranging from physical activity on preschool playgrounds to an obesity intervention/summer camp program.  For my thesis work, I was interested in the aerobic fitness levels of 10-15 year olds and tested over 100 awesome volunteers using the PACER test (a school based shuttle run/fitness test).

I love working with kids (who doesn't like to have fun all day) but it is sad to see video games and TV replace roller blading and capture the flag, I couldn't just sit back and watch.  Throughout the different programs and fitness centers I was involved with, I realized there weren't many opportunities for kid's to learn and participate in fitness classes.  Community sports programs and PE have their place, but sports have seasons and PE is only twice a week at best.

PowerUp Fitness classes and PowerUp Your School motivate kids to become more active through making fitness fun.  For fitness centers, PowerUp classes are group fitness classes for kid's.  A fun, safe way to learn next exercises and an ACTIVE alternative to fitness center child care.  PowerUp Your School is an extracurricular program (morning or afternoon) designed to PowerUp bodies and brains!  All of our games and exercises are aligned with common core curriculum so not only our we improving fitness, but we're making it educational too!

Have you noticed yet?  I believe in exercise, education, and helping the next generation PowerUp their health by making fitness fun!

Stacy