Want your little one to be active from a very young age? Then head to My First Gym, a new centre in the city providing noncompetitive exercises, music, dance, yoga sport and more. Words Angela Beitz.
Watching a seven month old baby swing from a mini trapeze isn’t something you see every day, but it’s common practice at My First Gym, a recently opened family fitness club in Abu Dhabi. They run programmes which they claim develop a child’s intellect, imagination and creativity as well as physical ability and social skills – all while having fun.
The gym is run by co-owner Bianca Belghith, who leads the team and manages the facility. Bianca has a degree in Early Childhood Education from Phoenix University, USA, and has worked in a similar gym in Florida for six years. She’s been based in Abu Dhabi for three years and had always dreamt of setting up a children’s facility. We sent along babies Poppy and Samantha to try it out.
What classes do you offer, Bianca?
We host different gym sessions for children plus adult yoga classes; prenatal, vinyasa and hatha yoga. We also run dance classes such as salsa and belly dancing.
How does it benefit children?
We help develop gross and fine motor skills, cognitive development, spatial awareness, balance, agility, grip and team building – all while having fun. Children develop these skills through games, rides, yoga and gymnastics poses, songs and dancing. Younger kids will work side-by-side with their parents to help develop skills and socialise with other children. Mums also love coming. They enjoy a safe, fun and structured environment with their child and can meet other mums.
Why would you recommend it?
Our mission is to create facilities, programmes, and services that empower youngsters by helping them acquire the skills, confidence, and positive self-image needed to become healthy young adults. We are committed to nurturing the mind, body, and soul of our community, treating individuals with understanding and positive reinforcement, maintaining a noncompetitive atmosphere, while making learning fun and exciting.
What activities do the kids do?
Each class has a warm-up, plus games, yoga and gymnastics skills sessions. We also have a ‘ride of the week’ which reinforces a yoga pose or physical developmental skill. We give our younger students at our Mommy and Me classes a ‘show and tell’, which is an activity they can do together at home.
What about for older nippers?
For our older classes (which we call independent gym) we give our students homework to practise nightly before they go to bed, such as 10 sit-ups and calf raises. We also teach our students a warm-up which can easily be repeated at home with their parents or independently. My First Gym is also in the process of making DVDs of our warm-ups, songs, dances and other activities for parents to use at home.
What made you want to set up this sort of thing here in Abu Dhabi?
Abu Dhabi was in need for something to offer children. There was no place to go where they could enjoy fun, structured activities in a safe, indoor facility. I was a kindergarten teacher for three years and parents would ask me what I would recommend for an after- school programme. I too was frustrated trying to find activities for my two children to do. After being asked this one too many times I decided to research what Abu Dhabi really offered and there wasn’t much of a selection.
How did your previous experience in the US help when setting up the new centre?
Having a background teaching gymnastics and being an early childhood education major, I decided to put my knowledge into developing a company and a concept that can benefit everyone. My First Gym is a one-stop place for the whole family – couples can dance to salsa, mums can relax and take a yoga class while their little ones take an independent gym or yoga class. Mums can put their babies to sleep, let Daddy babysit and head out to take a zumba session or belly dancing class. New mums even have the opportunity to work out with their baby in our Momercise class: no guilt, no stress, just a fun workout for mummy with some help from their little bundle of joy.
Do the kids love it?
The majority of the children fall in love with us at first sight. Some take time to get use to the place and the new faces. We normally give children three classes to warm up and understand the routine.
Dhs400 for four weeks (two classes a week), Delma Street, Opposite Zayed Educational Camp, Al Mamoura, www.myfirstgymuae.com (02 444 3560).
