naturalheroes Myers and Martinez Help NYC Kids Get Focused on Fitness and Nutrition
By Tom Citrano
This month’s Natural Heroes are Goldin Martinez and Yusuf Myers. Together they are the lifeblood of Get Focused Fitness. Established in 2008, Get Focused Fitness is a not-for-profit, New York City-based organization, dedicated to introducing inner-city youth to the fundamentals of exercise and healthy eating habits. Chief Executive Officer and Get Focused Founder, Yusuf Myers, explains his hopes for the group, “My vision for Get Focused Fitness is to provide leadership in the fight against obesity that is threatening to destroy the lives of our youth, by introducing them to a better, healthier way to live.”
Martinez and Myers are both established certified professional trainers. Currently working from their Washington Heights/Inwood base, Get Focused provides free age-appropriate fitness classes and nutritional programs in a safe and fun-filled environment, where they can also build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and interact with their peers.
Executive Director, Goldin Martinez, shares the root of his very personal mission at Get Focused. “Growing up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, I’ve witnessed the lack of leadership for our youth. It’s an epidemic in this neighborhood. The result is a lack of healthy choices for our children. Because of my personal experience, I’m determined to provide New York City children with the healthy choices they deserve.”
Yusuf Myers highlights the path that lead him to create Get Focused Fitness, “I’ve been actively involved in athletics and fitness since the age of six. I know from my personal struggle with weight gain and self-esteem issues, the difference fitness and healthy-living can make. I also realized the need for a group like Get Focused Fitness to the youth of Washington Heights, where I was raised.”
Get Focused caters to the fitness needs of young people across the New York City area. They provide a number of no-cost services, including group fitness training, specialized nutritional plans, personalized fitness journals, educational fitness workshops, motivational speaking, leadership training, health fairs, innovative obstacle courses and one on one consultations.
The Get Focused program is comprised of five points of success. They are: endurance, muscle fitness, flexibility, body composition, and nutrition. Get Focused has implemented an incentive program called the Get Focused Point System. It’s an incentive-based system, designed to encourage young people joining and staying in the program. Academic and athletic success merits points that can lead to prizes, ranging from t-shirts to Yankee tickets and I-pods.
Get Focused is on the fast track to becoming the gold standard for young people’s physical education programs in New York City. The group has collaborated with other non-profits including Health Corps, Alianza Dominica, NYC Parks and Recreation and Harlem Children’s Zone to consult in the creation of fitness programs and health fairs, bringing their message of innovative, fun fitness to young people across the city.
Get Focused operates after school, five afternoons a week (Monday-Friday), in neighborhood recreation centers and school gymnasiums. The classes are limited to 25 students and are offered in three gender-specific age groups; 5-8 year olds, 8-12 year olds and 14-18 year olds. Specific times and locations of classes are available at their website: getfocusedfitness.org.
Goldin and Yusuf will never forget the first student who ventured into their first Get Focused class, even if he ended up there by mistake. Jorge Hernandez was that first student and he remembers that first day, “I went to the recreation center for a job. When I walked into the gym I asked the manager if they were hiring and he said no, but Goldin jumped into the conversation and told me he was a trainer who wanted to teach kids how to exercise.
I took a look around and saw there was no one else in the gym. I asked him how many people were in the program. He said, ‘If you join, then there will be one.’ That’s when my life changed for the better. I walked into that center in hope of a job and today I am one of the Get Focused trainers. I am now a healthy role model and look forward to a bright future with Get Focused!”
Get Focused Fitness is looking for additional fitness professionals to donate time at the Washington Heights and new additional fitness outposts. They are also looking for volunteers to help with fund-raising and other important Get Focused activities. If you are interested in learning more about Get Focused Fitness, visit their website at getfocusedfitness.org.
If you have a Natural Hero in your life, send an email to: heroes@nugreencity.com and tell us about that special someone who is making our city and the planet a better place.
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