Extreme Response
Life Skills & Livelihood Training
L327-Fitness
The L327-Fitness Program builds confidence, physical fitness and character in youth and young adults in Cape Town.
Extreme Response’s desire to build godly men and women led to the creation of L327-Fitness. The name is derived from Lamentations 3:27 – “It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.” At-risk young adults from local communities in the Cape Town area will participate. The program uses functional fitness to mold young people into new creations.
Program
Goals
L327-Fitness Trains Youth in Cape Town
L327-Fitness was launched with the goal for all participants to grow spiritually, improve their physical health, and learn life skills relating to exercise, nutrition coaching and teaching. The program is for at risk young adults ages 13-18 years old from local communities in the Cape Town area. Youth in this age range face pressures to join gangs, drop out of school, abuse drugs or alcohol or get pregnant. Most of these kids cannot even imagine another option.
L327-Fitness provides an outlet and role models for a different and better direction in life. Everything is done based around the philosophy found in 1 Timothy 4:8 – “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promises for both the present life and the life to come.”
Two programs, the basic program, and the intensive apprenticeship program, are run concurrently, with the basic program feeding participants to the apprenticeship program.
The basic program helps area sports teams supplement their sport-specific programs with functional fitness. ER has partnered with Caracals Fitness, a local gym, to use its facilities to help train these teams. Each workout starts with a targeted devotional from scripture and includes teaching on proper weightlifting techniques. Of course, we include a block of time for participants to start sweating!
The apprenticeship program runs on one-year continuous cycles, which includes graduation for the students. Current participants have chosen “The Silverbacks” as their nickname. Throughout the apprenticeship program, participants take on three challenges: a physical challenge, an intellectual challenge and a spiritual challenge. Through it all, they are training to be qualified to teach fitness techniques and run classes themselves.
In addition, participants are being prepared to take the Level 1 CrossFit Certification course so they can become trainers themselves.
Want to help provide pathways of hope for at-risk youth? Click here and designate your gift “L327-Fitness”.
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