When I joined the YMCA, my main intention was to work out on my own. I quickly learned I was not accountable to myself and only went a few times the first month. When I did work out, I stuck to what I knew–treadmills and a few weight machines. I eventually tried a few group classes, but never made it a priority to attend on a regular basis. I started looking into personal training to become more confident with the machines, be able to generate personal work out plans, and for accountability. I came across the Y-Lose It program online, and honestly thought it would be like a boot camp where they gave us a work out and we did the work outs at our own level. I assumed I would probably hate it, but could force myself to commit for 12 weeks to build the habit of going to the gym regularly, so I signed up.
Fast forward 12 weeks, what did I learn? The groups are small, 5-6 people plus a trainer(s). You meet twice a week to do workouts designed and led by a trainer. As a team, we continuously discussed what we liked, what we wanted to learn more about, and our personal goals. Due to this, the sessions offered variety and personal style, all while providing an excellent social environment. My teammates became friends, I looked forward to each session, I pushed myself harder to be accountable to them, and we shared tips/tricks along the way. The weigh-ins were not nearly as bad as I thought. We weighed weekly in front of the trainer who converted them to percentages for reporting. Each week we could see where our team stood, along with individual results by first name. There was no judgement, everyone had a bad week but having the motivation of a team on rough weeks kept me on track.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! Not only did I gain the confidence to work out on my own and build a plan, I lost weight, I toned up, my strength and endurance increased, but most importantly I gained a support system. - Lindsey, Y-Lose It past participant
The next Y-Lose It session begins May 24. Learn more about the Y-Lose It program here.