To many members at the North Lexington Family YMCA and the Whitaker Family YMCA, they are simply known as “Corey” and “Amber”. Corey Donohoo is “North’s” membership and healthy living director, and Amber Serres is “Whitaker’s” membership and healthy living operations director.
Last month Corey, Amber and some other staff got together to bring to life the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s virtual classes for members while we all work to remain “healthy-at-home” due to COVID-19.
We thought we’d ask them a few questions about the different programming, scheduling, incorporating family time, along with a few other questions.
“Relying on virtual classes for daily workouts are new for everyone, instructors and participants alike,” said Amber. “Is it ideal? No. But our instructors love seeing members live on our big screen TV we have on during the live classes.
“It’s inspiring to see you exercise in your living room, with family members in many cases,” she added.
Amber also noted that the members who complete the on-demand workouts often share sweaty pictures on social media, and tag the lead instructor, creating a community on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
“Simply put, our members are amazing, and we love that
they’ve stayed with us during this time,” Serres said.
“Everyone understands these are not the best circumstances, but we continue to hear how much each person appreciates the options that the Y is creating for members to stay involved and active.”
Donohoo commented that the Y staff, instructors and members have learned some tips and tricks to enhance the at-home workout experience over the past few weeks. “Improving your internet connection is the key element in improving your experience,” he shared. “If a member can hardline into the modem, that’s fantastic.
“If not, try to stay as near to your Wi-Fi router as possible and limit other devices that might compete for the bandwidth during the class.
“Also, we love it when members share their video with us, so please set up your camera in a good viewing spot,” Corey said. “It helps everyone feel like they are more a part of a class, and less alone working out by their fireplace or in their basement.”
Many members are on conference calls, in Zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings, or are homeschooling the kids while the classes are in session online. What other options are there for members who want to take advantage of the technology, but the timing of the live sessions does not work for their schedules?
“The YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) is offering what they call, ‘YMCA 360’. This library of content provides options for various levels of fitness, as well as a variety of class styles so nearly any exerciser can find something that works well for them,” Serres said. “Unfortunately, at this time we aren’t recording our live classes, but YMCA 360 choices enable you to work out on your own time that fits with your busy life. Many of these classes are very similar to what you’ll find in our live streaming sessions.”
Many members have been looking for specific instructors or classes since the doors to their local Ys were closed. “Yes, we are all looking for our favorite instructor or class,” Donohoo commented. “But during this time, some of the staff have decided to stay at home with their families. We have worked hard to schedule a variety of classes for all levels to best accommodate home workouts.
“We are relying on participants to evaluate and provide feedback on a regular basis, so we can continue to improve the product, offerings and overall experience. We will continue to make changes as warranted,” he said.
Some of these changes have included improving family offerings. “We have classes each week specifically for kids and their parents,” Corey shared. “Class formats have varied from an Easter egg hunt to Disney songs; wiggling and twisting like animals might moves. In fact, ballet is in the plans.
“We also have some recorded videos in our on-demand library for kids that include Shaolin Kung Fu for children, STEM activities, how to make friendship bracelets and books to read in English and Spanish.”
Amber turned to a more serious subject about how to best manage the stressful time with exercise and the Commonwealth’s stay-at-home restrictions.
“This is probably not the best time to complicate things,” she shared. “Keep it simple. Take advantage of the nice weather when we have it by walking, running, cycling or even doing yard work.
“We’ve all been forced by COVID-19 to change our routines and try different things, new things, due to the unavailability of our local Y’s facilities and equipment.”
She even shared the example of one Y member’s adaptability by working in a daily yoga session, instead of the pre-coronavirus daily workout of heavy weightlifting!
Even though we all know the answer, we thought we’d ask the question of when these classes may transition back to the Ys, when the doors might once again open for workouts, classes, swimming and just the YMCA of Central Kentucky’s famous free morning coffee.
Corey just smiled and gave one of his straight and to-the-point responses he’s best known for - “As soon as Andy says we can, we’ll do it.”