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:
YWCA-YMCA Week of Prayer 2022
The 13 - 19th November is the World YWCA and World YMCA Week of Prayer. These sibling organisations, among other things, organise opportunities to unite their local associations around the world on important issues. In light of this week, Ian Pearson, shares a story...
YMCA Announces New Outdoor Space For Residents
YMCA recently celebrated the opening of a redeveloped outdoor space for the young people who live under our roof in North Shields. What was previously an unused and unloved space has undergone a major transformation and is now a vibrant and welcoming outdoor area for...
YMCA Opens Residential Unit in Berwick-upon-Tweed
On 11th October 2022 the Bishop of Berwick, The Right Reverend Mark Wroe officially opened YMCA North Tyneside’s first supported housing project in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Commisioned by Northumberland Council Council, Henderson Court, which is adjacent to Tweedmouth...
Our Impact
Each year, YMCA North Tyneside takes time to reflect on the successes of the previous 12 months and celebrates the results of its charitable work. 2021 - 2022 was a challenging year… As we emerged from lockdowns and the COVID pandemic, it wasn’t simply a return to...
Fundraising at The Great North Run 2022
On Sunday 11th September 2022, seven enthusiastic runners completed the Great North Run in support of YMCA North Tyneside. In total they raised over £2,000 to help YMCA deliver much needed youth activities in areas of North and South Tyneside.One of the runners,...