Meryl WilliamsWith the increasing measures being introduced to keep the population isolated in order to hinder the spread of COVID-19, many are facing unique challenges as a result. One hurdle, however, can be cleared thanks to local businesses adapting quickly: Staying active while cooped up is an attainable goal, thanks to a buffet of online and streaming classes led by local fitness instructors.
Stephanie Sanderson, owner of Stephanie Sanderson Fitness, saw a need for online classes earlier this month and made two available for purchase: A 60-minute barre class and a 60-minute dance fitness video.
“Both can be used unlimited for 2 months,” said Sanderson. “I plan to record a few more at a later time.”
Sanderson is also offering a complimentary streaming class for parents with young children. “The only class I’m currently offering is Generation Pound [a kids’ Pound class] and it’s free to live stream with me,” she said. “I decided to make it free because I know how hard it is to practice social distancing for my children, so I wanted to offer an outlet.”
Sanderson was also cognizant of the fact that not everyone will be able to afford to pay for fitness classes and wanted to make sure a free option was available.
While she has always offered personal training via Skype, she did not previously offer online classes prior to the current health crisis but moved quickly to make hers available.
Sanderson’s advice for those who wish to stay active during their downtime is to reduce screen time as much as possible. “It’s very easy to sit on the couch and get sucked into Facebook,” she said.
Her other advice is to make exercise fun. “If you have kids, have races, make obstacle courses, ride bikes or walk your dogs,” Sanderson said. “And finally, get outside! Enjoy the fresh air, pull weeds, go for a walk or jog, and use the trail systems in our beautiful town.”
Stacy Houser, personal trainer and founder of Temple Challenge, has started doing a weekly, free live workout from home at 10 a.m. on Saturdays — the first of which was this past weekend. These workouts can be streamed online on either Facebook Live (Temple Challenge page) or Instagram (@stacy_houser03). The weekly sessions are in addition to the online 30-minute Temple Challenge videos Houser makes available for purchase daily.
“Get the family involved or call a friend to FaceTime to exercise with you so they will keep you accountable.”
Stacy Houser
“I offer online TC videos every day for $5 a video, or one can buy a month’s worth [for $40],” said Houser.
Houser’s advice for people for staying active while cooped up is to be creative. “Think about the exercises we do at TC, or you do at the gym, and simulate them,” she said. “You need little space to be active, you can use your body as a weight.”
She recommends getting a remote accountability buddy. “Get the family involved or call a friend to FaceTime to exercise with you so they will keep you accountable,” she said. “Don’t eat everything in the refrigerator. Track all that you consume.”
Rachel Burnham, one of the owners of Rockstar Wellness LLC, said their business is offering a wide range of online interactive classes at this time, including yoga, Pound, Veraflow, Zumba, Barre Above, Strong By Zumba, Floor Barre, AMPD Resistance and kickboxing.
“We are adding some family classes to our line-up this week as well including Generation POUND and Family Yoga,” said Burnham.
Burnham’s advice for staying active during this time is to stay connected with those who support your fitness goals. “Connect with others that will encourage you to exercise every day,” she said. “Take a virtual class at the same time as a friend or make exercise a family activity. Having a support system is extremely important.”
MOVement Fitness and Rec Center spent this past weekend getting things in place to begin offering online group fitness classes.
“These will be free to the public and hopefully [we will] offer a variety of different types of classes,” said Brant Whited, owner. “We hope to have at least one a day and post to our Facebook, or allow members to join live. As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts and we’re doing what we can to keep up with everything.”
Brant said it is important to MOVement that the classes offered will involve minimal equipment so more people can participate.
“I hope people are taking this time to reconnect with their family, pets, and friends,” he said. “We all have those lists of things we want to do if we had extra time, and bows the time to check some of those off. Whether they be chores around the house, spending time with children, calling old friends, read some books.”
Online Offerings from Local Fitness Businesses
- A 60-minute barre video ($15 for two months’ use)
- A 60-minute dance fitness video ($15 for two months’ use)
- FREE: Generation Pound, kids and adults, streaming
- Daily 30-minute HIIT class ($5 for one week’s use)
- Month’s worth of 30-minute HITT classes ($40 for one month)
- FREE: Saturday morning 60-minute HIIT class, streaming
- Several class options available including yoga, Pound, Veraflow, Zumba, Barre Above, Strong By Zumba, Floor Barre, AMPD Resistance and kickboxing ($6 per class per family)
- Coming soon: Generation Pound and Family Yoga
MOVement Fitness and Rec Center:
- Coming soon: FREE online classes once per day, via Facebook
- Coming soon, virtual yoga classes
Advice from Trainers
“A quick way to burn calories at a high intensity is by using TABATA, which is 20 seconds of an exercise. Alternate these with 10 seconds of rest for four minutes. You can mix bodyweight exercises or just pick one.” –Stacy Houser, personal trainer and founder of Temple Challenge
“Connect with others that will encourage you to exercise every day. Take a virtual class at the same time as a friend or make exercise a family activity. Having a support system is extremely important.” –Rachel Burnham, one of the owners of Rockstar Wellness LLC
“If I could offer any advice about staying active during this time, one, I’d cut electronic time! It’s very easy to sit on the couch and get sucked into Facebook. Two, make it fun! If you have kids, have races, make obstacle courses, ride bikes or walk your dogs. And finally, get outside! Enjoy the fresh air, pull weeds, go for a walk or jog, and use the trail systems in our beautiful town.” –Stephanie Sanderson, owner of Stephanie Sanderson Fitness
“I hope people are taking this time to reconnect with their family, pets, and friends. We all have those lists of things we want to do if we had extra time, and bows the time to check some of those off. Whether they be chores around the house, spending time with children, calling old friends, read some books.” –Brant Whited, owner of MOVement Fitness and Rec Center