YMCA offers lunchtime workouts

Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

March 01, 2009 10:26 pm

— Kristyn Stinnette is a full-time student, holds down a job and is raising a 3- and 4-year-old.
The 26-year-old Lynchburg, Va., native and current Midway resident still managed the time to drop two dress sizes.
Linn Sheik, a certified aerobics instructor and fitness leader, heads Lunch-time Workouts at the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA. The 30-minute classes, of both mixed aerobics and cycling, are designed for people struggling to balance staying in shape with often-demanding work and family responsibilities.
“You have to take the time out for yourself,” Sheik said. “This is one thing you can stop and do for yourself.”
Classes begin at 12:15 p.m. and end at 12:45 p.m. That was done to give people enough time to leave work at noon, then arrive back before 1 p.m. On Mondays and Wednesdays, classes consist of cycling, and mixed forms of aerobic exercise like kickboxing and step aerobics are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays. She noted the Y has facilities for changing clothes and grooming for the return to work.
Sheik said the classes are free for YMCA members, but they are also available to non-members for a fee. Those joining the class must be 13 or older. Getting permission from a physician before undertaking this or any other diet/exercise routine is recommended.
Often, people will say they plan to work out sometime after work or during the weekend, Sheik said. However, the afternoon is also when other commitments — especially for people who have children in extracurricular activities — arise. Those hours are also situated when children are in school, but the YMCA has day care facilities for parents of younger children.
Working out at lunchtime, Sheik noted, also tends help people maintain their focus during the afternoon workday — if not improve it.
“If you just take the time to breathe and work out, you may be able to find those items that have been missing all day,” she said.
Sheik, also the director of Mountain State University’s Spectrum general education program, noted those undertaking the workouts can also earn physical education credit hours from the university. This has attracted several college students who often battle to not gain huge amounts of weight — especially during their freshman year.
“Your habits really change then,” she said. “When you’re spending more time doing homework or on the computer, you find yourself snacking more to stay focused.”
The workouts have attracted practically everyone — people of both genders, all ages and all walks of life.
“It’s a total mix,” Sheik said. “We have first-year college students, business people, older people. We have both men and women and people from 18 years old to their late 50s.”
Lunchtime Workouts cater to people of all fitness levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced, Sheik said.
“Even if you’ve never been to any class before, beginners can do either class,” she said. “At the same time, advanced people can still get a really good workout.”
Noting some in the Lunchtime Workouts groups are Weight Watchers members, Sheik said some in the class have already lost 25 pounds since October. But even if someone does not need to lose weight, she believes exercise is important for everyone because of conditions that are not always visible. For example, exercise strengthens the heart. The workouts also provide social outlets.
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Stinnette knew she wanted to get back into a regular exercise routine, but time was always a factor. The junior at MSU then signed up to do Lunchtime Workouts for credit hours.
“I signed up for a class that I had paid for, so I was definitely going to be here,” she said.
Stinnette normally wears a size 11-12, but she is working to fit into a size 9 before her April 2 birthday. Already, she can fit into some size 10 clothes. But another major concern for her is health problems like diabetes and heart disease, which can be staved off with exercise. While some people cite raising children as a reason they do not make the time for working out, she believes being a parent is the reason time should be made.
“If nothing else, your health is important, especially if you have children,” she said. “You want to live longer and be there to watch them grow up.”
Beckley resident Ellen Sawyers works full-time as a payroll assistant at MSU. Noting she began Weight Watchers with Lunchtime Workouts in October, Sawyers has lost 25 pounds.
“My clothes are too big and I have nothing to wear — and it’s a good feeling. I’ve worked hard for that.
“I was just tired of being overweight. You don’t feel as good as you could. You don’t look as good as you could. You can’t wear cute clothes.”
Sawyers said she works out after work sometimes, but the lunchtime routine is best for her. Often, she is busy in the evening, and she has a daughter in high school. The class’ intensity level also works well for her.
“It’s at a convenient time and it’s an easy class,” she said. “It’s intense, but it doesn’t kill you.”
Glen Daniel resident Maxine Willis, a full-time accounts payable manager at MSU, has returned to the class after an absence. This month, she will go on a Disney cruise with her 12-year-old daughter.
“I didn’t want to look so fat in a bathing suit,” she quipped.
Both of Willis’ daughters are involved in Girl Scouts, and she noted she lives in a rural area where traveling back-and-forth between home and facilities in Beckley just isn’t feasible. After a day at work, she doesn’t feel like working more.
“When I get home, I just want to sit, relax and do nothing but be with my girls,” she said.
Kathy Hitt, an administrative secretary at MSU, is also a full-time student who anticipates finishing her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies by the year’s end. She wants to celebrate even more by having lost 20 pounds by then, too.
“Once I get in the car after work, I want to go home,” she said. “You get in the mode that all you want to do is be at home. This is convenient and it breaks up the work day. It’s a win, win, win. It really is.”
Hitt said she has already seen an immediate boost to her self-esteem, and having others with her rather than trying to work out on her own is major help. Both her children and her husband of 23 years support her “100 percent.”
“It may be hard, but get your butt off the couch and do it,” she said.
— E-mail:
apridemore@register-herald.com

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