Germantown, Tennessee--11/5/2021--Entering into the doors of the Dogwood gym, one can find students with drumsticks in hand. However, this is not a music lesson; it is DrumFIT. DrumFIT is a cardio drumming
program that combines the mental health benefits of drumming
with the overall health benefits of physical fitness for a full body
workout. Dogwood Elementary School started a DrumFit program just this year but it has
been around since 2006. It is fun, easy to learn, and a challenging workout for
all fitness levels and abilities. Additionally, there is no learning curve. Physical education teacher Angela Martin says, "Everyone can drum and it is non-competitive."
In addition to being a
great source of physical activity, DrumFIT provides
essential ‘Brain Fitness’ components such as fine motor skills,
coordination, reflexes, cross lateral movement, bilateral
movement, spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, unilateral
movement and cognitive association. Elementary school children have an excellent time working their bodies while making rhythmic beats on their “drums”.