Fitness in the Parks

This summer, I signed up to help a fellow instructor teach a bootcamp class (Saturdays, 10-11am, Buffalo RiverWorks) as part of the Fitness in the Parks program through the YMCA. I’d heard about it last summer, but didn’t know about the program early enough to volunteer.

Local friends: be sure to check out the schedule at the link and try a class at one of the many, MANY locations (like 18!) in the area. Classes include bootcamp, Zumba, yoga and more. Classes are free and open to the public.

This morning, Renae, had us doing all sorts of interval workouts (like pause training, tabata and sprints) with different moves (walking lunges, skaters, burpees, etc…) for an hour.

As a helper, I basically did the advanced form of the move in the front, while another helper did modified moves and Renae was able to move around the group to help instruct.

Our class happens to take place in a brand-spankin’ new facility, called Buffalo RiverWorks.

It’s a beautiful area they’ve spruced up downtown near the water with ice skating rinks (obviously not in the summer, which is where our class is), a restaurant overlooking the river, a place to rent kayaks and more. Thankfully it’s easy to get to from the Y and has plenty of parking, and we’re in the shade with plenty of air flow.

Come see me every Saturday this summer at 10 am!

I opened the gym

Not really; it’s not like I have keys to the building or anything. But I DO sub 7 a.m. Saturday cycle classes every once in awhile (I think I’m the only one who will take them…it always seems like such a good idea until Friday night, btw). Members congregate in the lobby anywhere from 30 minutes prior to opening, literally chomping at the bit, waiting to get to their favorite routine. It’s rather comical, really.

However, because the cycle studio is downstairs, I never get to see this peaceful scene:

It was almost zen-like. The shadows. The quiet. The absolute motionlessness of it all, in such stark contrast to its usual buzz of noise and activity. It was beautiful.

This Saturday, I was subbing a STEP class. I am not a step instructor. Not even close. I knew this when I offered to teach the class. (We can ‘tweak’ our formats a bit when subbing; i.e. as long as it was cardio, it’s OK.) However, that doesn’t mean the people taking the class would be OK with a sub-par step workout.

So, I did what any other rhythm-challenged person would do. I took an existing routine and added moves with the step. In fact, I used the same workout I did this Wednesday in my body conditioning class and modified it to use the step. For example, instead of jumping jacks, I had the class do step-ups. Instead of regular lunges, we did Bulgarian lunges with one foot behind us on the step.

Thankfully, I got good feedback from the members who attended. And I was finished with my workout by 8 a.m. Nice.