Trainer Elise UmBarger, left, partners up with eighth-grader Emma Levy in an ab throw-down exercise. Students at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School are participating in the after school Smart Strength program. by Kevin Anderson

If success is measured in push-ups, then Liberty Memorial Central Middle School sixth-grader Talima Harjo is making some great progress.

Less than two months ago, Harjo struggled through five pushups.

“Now I can do 11 or 12,” she said.

Harjo is among the 40 to 50 middle school students who voluntarily and cheerfully participate in the middle school’s after-school fitness program, Smart Strength.

And, according to the teachers who lunge, jump and run along side them, this is no recess.

“I’m usually tired after the warm-up,” principal Anna Stubblefield said.

The program, in its third year, started with a collaboration between Michel Loomis, an English teacher who formerly taught physical education, and her personal trainer, Chad Richards, owner of Next Level Sports Performance. Concerned with the country’s obesity epidemic, the two devised a program to teach children about eating right and being fit.

Chad Richards, center, demonstrates a stretch to the students at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School who are participating in the after school Smart Strength program. Richards helped devise the program that aims to teach children how to eat right and be fit. by Kevin Anderson

For 90 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, students show up to the gym dressed and ready to work out. Earlier this week the workout session began with a series of plyometrics, such as lunges, slides and squats. Then came the real workout which involved jumping on top of stacked mats, weaving through cones, push-ups and an ab exercise that required students to lift their legs in the air. The sessions usually begin with a healthy snack and end with a fun game or relay.

Guiding the students through the workout are a group of personal trainers from Next Level.

“We want to focus on progression, getting better every week,” trainer Matt Scanlon said.

And among the areas the trainers see improvement are the attitude of the students, who tend to stop complaining about the workouts after the first couple of weeks.

“We get them to buy into it. And they see improvement and feel better about themselves as they improve,” Scanlon said.

Before they can join, the students have to sign a contract that they will come twice a week dressed to work out, do their best and encourage others.

“And for the most part, they have absolutely done that,” Loomis said.

Loomis stresses the program isn’t geared toward athletes, although many of them are in the program. It’s clear from a look around the gym that the students participating come in all shapes and sizes and athletic abilities.

“It’s for kids to understand what being fit is,” Loomis said.

Khalila Binns, a teacher at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, works out with groups of students also participating in the after school Smart Strength program. by Kevin Anderson

Throughout the year students raise money, it cost about $6,400 this year, to fund the program. Since the program started in 2009, it has grown in popularity with the number of students participating nearly doubling to 40 or 50.

Sixth-grader Travis Barfield keeps coming back because it’s fun, even the most grueling parts like pushing five of his classmates on a mat.

“I felt stronger,” Barfield said. “I could run faster and I could do everything better than what I could do when I first started.” Stubblefield hopes those lessons will have staying power.

“It’s providing them with life-long skills and habits that will benefit them for the rest of their life,” she said.