With an empty gym and no sign of the pandemic easing, YMCA Gym Manager Donna Ayre grabbed her smartphone, ventured into the garden and began filming some home workouts. When asked how it felt teaching classes in front of a camera, Donna responded
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first, especially trying to create a professional fitness video with my phone propped on a pile of books. I’m sure the unexpected contributions from my dog and children made things pretty entertaining for the viewers though.”
Since this initial online workout, The whole YMCA gym team have done their bit by recording classes from their living rooms, making them as versatile as possible by encouraging participants to grab tins of vegetables to use as weights and designing workouts that can be done in small spaces.
You can now access a whole host of online videos by visiting www.ymcagym.co.uk/at-home and from Monday, existing gym members can even start booking free one to one sessions. Donna will be going live on Facebook this evening to provide further information on this.
Going Retro
Although modern technology has allowed YMCA Gym to share these fantastic online classes, not everyone can access the internet as easily as others. This became particularly apparent with those who regularly attended the Healthy Hearts classes, so to avoid anyone missing out, the gym team went old school and began burning recordings of the classes onto DVD’s which were then safely hand posted by Donna.
The Healthy Hearts participants were extremely grateful that they could continue joining in with the classes and that YMCA Gym had gone above and beyond to improve their health and wellbeing.
Right now, our staff are giving their time to bring health and wellbeing to the local community.
Please donate here. And help us change the lives of vulnerable young people.
Read more news stories:
Sir Alan Campbell, MP for Tynemouth met with local young people in recognition of the work of YMCA North Tyneside on the charity’s 178th birthday
10th of June marked the 178th anniversary of YMCA and in honour of the vital work being done locally, Sir Alan Campbell visited YMCA North Tyneside. Sir Alan met with young people, volunteers and YMCA staff to hear their stories and work on creating a brighter future...
Trustee Raises Money for YMCA North Tyneside
Royal Jubilations at Café 1879
The Platinum Jubilee Celebrations saw the launch of Cafe 1879’s Afternoon Teas and they were extremely well received by all. Karen and the kitchen team whipped up some amazing tiers of treats, from dainty finger sandwiches to hot quiches, freshly baked scones and...
Case Study: Amber
"I was so scared to leave him, he used to threaten that he would kill himself. I also had nowhere else to go, and I was afraid I would have to sleep on the streets. It was partly because of my fear of becoming homeless that I didn't leave straight away. I was so...
Case Study: The Trouble with Trevor
YMCA Teesdale has long played a vital role within its local community, and although the charity focuses on helping young people; given the demographics of Cockfield, the Teesdale branch also provides a number of activities for older generations too. One of these...