Health Clubs Look to Kids to Bulk Up Membership

Linda Hom takes her kids to the gym when she works out -- and they get a workout of their own.

Ms. Hom, a free-lance fashion designer from South Orange, N.J., signed up Matthew, 7 years old, and Sydnie, 9, for Tae Kwon Do classes at Motion Fitness Club, the health club where she has been a member since 2004.

The kids take a 45-minute class three times a week. And, says Sydnie, "the adults don't really bother us because we're doing our own thing and they're doing theirs."

Having the kids join the health club, says Ms. Hom, 42, "was a way for me to not tell, but show them that I work out, too, to be healthy." She adds that "it's a nice combination for a busy parent to have that option of working out at the same time."