Children that keep an active and fit lifestyle are more likely to follow that through into their adult life, thus giving them a better chance in life. Therefore it's important to motivate your child to keep active, which can be achieved in many ways. Liam plays football, every Sunday and Tuesday, Jacob has swimming lessons every Monday, but Lewis we cannot find a sport he likes or sticks at. He is a fairly active child, plays out on his bike with his mates etc.. but we have tried to get him into a club for a few years now with not much success - currently he has done judo, swimming, rugby and horse riding, but never stuck at any. So when we were offered to go along to experience Virgin's Active Crew, I jumped at the chance, and also Lewis was keen.

Virgin Active have recently launched the 'Active Crew', an afterschool club to help children develop those much needed healthy fitness habits for life.

We went along last weekend to an introductory class and were blown away with how fun, and engaging the session was. The class is developed by Virgin Active and world leaders in children's development and movement, and the sessions contain several components from ZUU chimps, to SAQ (Speed, Agility and Quickness) training.

ZUU: Kids are encouraged to embrace primal movements and move like a gorilla, bear, frog or iguana, using cutting edge equipment - Sandbells, ViPR, TRX and Fitlights. All designed in a way that they don't realise they are really exercising.

SAQ: A special programme designed for kids to teach them the skills for life: How to run, catch, throw, and jump, helping them to develop coordination, balance and confidence in movement, a programme that has been used by a variety of sports stars from Andy Murry to Manchester United football team.

Both Lewis and Taylor had a great time. It was loads of fun, very interactive, and engaging. There was a lot of fun sportsmanship and a team element, which made it much more enjoyable for them, and they learnt a little as well.  It was all positive feedback from Lewis and Taylor and they are interested in following it up.

Active Crew is fully launching nationwide this January in its 120 clubs across the UK, and if you would like to get your children involved, then why don't you see if there is a class near you.

The Active Crew afterschool club runs term-time and is design for kids aged between the ages of 8 - 16.  

The cost ranges between £77 to £135. Participants must also be club members which is a £15 a month cost in addition.