Sometimes, you may not want your kids climbing on things, but there's a place in Brooklyn where it's actually encouraged. NY1's Roger Clark reports on Brooklyn Boulders as part of Fit Kids February. 

Helen Fernandez is only 11 years old, but she's already a climbing veteran. For her, there's nothing like the tough trip up the rock wall, and then a satisfying descent.  

"I feel like, 'Oh, I've completed something and now I'm fit and I've worked out,'" she said.

Brooklyn Boulders, an indoor rock climbing wall paradise in Gowanus, has been giving adults and young people an alternative to the gym or team sports since 2009. For kids, there are after-school and weekend programs. In rock-climbing terms, you can have someone belay for you - basically a spotter on the other end of the rope - or you can try an auto belay device, where you don't need a partner.    

"I think one of the best things about climbing when it comes to fitness is that when you're climbing, you never feel like you're working out," said Ashton Horton of Brooklyn Boulders. "You just feel like you're having a ton of fun, and then when you get home, you are really, really sore and you have no idea that you were really working out." 

It didn't take me long to figure out I was working out. I could feel the soreness coming on. But it's a good sore, knowing you exercised hard and used a lot of muscles. Plus, there's a brain workout involved, too.   . 

"The kids are always climbing on top of things. So here, they can do that and then kind of strategize," said David Ameijeiras of Brooklyn Boulders. "It's also a mental excercise where they have to think logically in the way they're moving their body." 

The kids say there's a great payoff at the end. 

"I feel really determined to get to the top," said Asa Bry, a rock wall climber. "And if I don't, I feel determined to do it again." 

"After I finish a wall, I feel like, yes. I feel really determined. I feel like I've just finished the best thing in the world," said Maddox Ingle, a rock wall climber. "I feel really good." 

For more information on all of the kids programs at Brooklyn Boulders, head to their website, brooklynboulders.com.