A Healthy Start: Preventive Healthcare in Form of Free Teen Gym Membership

“Gainesville Health & Fitness Centers (http://www.ghfc.com) is again offering its Free Summer Teen Membership program from June 15 to August 15 for Alachua County 13- to 17-year-olds. More than 1,700 teens took part in the inaugural program last year, which grants the teens free access to the Gainesville, Fla. gym's three locations.Christine Lehnick, a 10-year gym member and a mother of four, including a 16- and 13-year-old, said she is looking forward to the program's start so her children can learn the proper ways to exercise from the staff at the health clubs. ‘My 16-year-old wants me to let him stay after school so he can hang out and lift weights at the school's weight room, but I won't let him because he hasn't been shown the proper way,’ Lehnick said. ‘I want him to (take part in the free teen program) so the properly trained staff can show him how to do it the right way.’ Originally intended to combat teen obesity and further the gym's mission of ‘keeping Gainesville the healthiest community in America,’ the free teen gym memberships (http://www.ghfc.com/teens) also became a way to ensure that all teens in the area had access to summer recreational activities in spite of the state of the economy, said Joe Cirulli, the health club's owner.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/prweb2418154.htm