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Apr 3

Gym and fitness leaders in the region offer tips to stay active and healthy at home – Southernminn.com

Fitness Comments Off on Gym and fitness leaders in the region offer tips to stay active and healthy at home – Southernminn.com

Although the governor ordered fitness clubs to close statewide March 17 through May 4, during the COVID-19 pandemic, personal trainers are still helping people stay active and healthy with online classes and at home workouts.

Faribault Parks and Recreation

The city of Faribault Parks and Recreation Director Paul Peanasky encourages walking on trails or sidewalks. Parks are also open, but playgrounds are all closed in the city. The Parks and Recreation Office also offers online classes in yoga, pilates, barre, group exercise, tai chi and meditation.

Zumba class participants see their reflection in mirror working out at the city of Faribault Fitness Center. (Photo courtesy of Paul Peanasky)

Holding classes online is a little awkward, as staff is putting together videos with no patrons, Peanasky said. He added, Usually they also spend a little time correcting patrons who need help. Cant do that by video.

However, response to the online classes has been very good, according to Peanasky. Patrons and community members call and email additional programs they would like to see.

Taught by Faribault Parks and Recreation Certified instructors, they can be seen on computers. and the local cable TV station (FCTV) plays them occasionally as well.

The Faribault Parks and Rec. Facebook page features this online yoga class which can be found on YouTube. (Photo courtesy of Paul Peanasky)

There is no cost for the classes.

We feel like everyone still needs some opportunities to get some exercise while being cooped up, Peanasky said. This is very difficult for everyone. We need to find ways to continue to feel good, and exercise is one of those ways.

Pulse Fitness Center

Pulse Fitness Center in St. Peter is among the gyms that offer online classes. Owner Rachel More, along with instructors at The Pulse and MoreFit (formerly CrossFit), teach the classes.

I started a new Facebook page for our current members to tune into for Facebook Live classes and workouts that we post as options for them to do when it works for their schedule, More said. There is a new class added daily Monday through Saturday. They can watch them live or anytime after the video is posted. We have done a variety of strength, interval and HIIT [workouts), mobility, yoga and pilates live classes, which they can view on any device.

Videographer Ella Wiebusch tapes online classes with Sally Morrow (right) and Rachel More, owner of The Pulse Fitness Center in St. Peter. (Photo courtesy of Rachel More)

Its going well.

So far the response has been very positive, More said. We are able to give members classes in formats that they like and are familiar with. Our videographer communicates with them if they are watching Live, which brings in the sense of community and that we are doing this together.

Comparing the online individual classes with in-person group classes, she noted, When you are working out with a group, there is a higher sense of accountability. Therefore, you show up, you work harder, you complain together, you celebrate together and say See you tomorrow when youre done. With online classes, the participant is alone in their house and can easily get side tracked or distracted. I believe during this time, though, because we have no choice, its different. My members are showing up (checking in) to class, saying Hi, still complaining together and still celebrating together. One perk, yoga in PJs.

For the general populace, unable to get to a gym right now, More recommends getting outside and getting up inside.

Everyone needs some fresh air, so getting outside when they can, More said. Aiming for your 10,000 steps. We all need to move our bodies with some kind of exercise, a variety is best. Try to get in both strength training and cardio. Many people may be sitting more since we are not leaving our homes as much, so getting up throughout the day to do some stretches and mobility exercises is also important. Maybe set a mini-goal for April, it might be as easy as 20 minutes of activity every day. Then write it down on your calendar so you can keep yourself accountable, that will give you motivation to stick with it.

We are all in this together. Everyone is being affected in one way or another. So have compassion for your neighbor, have patience with those you work with and those you are home with, and continue to support one another however you can.

Your Time Fitness

Kris Krause, owner and personal trainer at Your Time Fitness in Le Sueur and the Silver Sneakers instructor at the Le Sueur Community Center, teaches all the live online classes.

Kris Krause, owner of Your Time Fitness in Le Sueur teaches online workout classes. (Photo courtesy of Kris Krause)

Krause said there are many options to exercise and feel better.

Just getting outside to take a walk is so important, she said. There are many options out there online for all abilities and ages for exercise workouts. You should have no excuse now for not getting that workout done. From 10 to 15 minutes is better than nothing. Exercise is also important for boosting your immune system and decreasing stress levels.

She added, This is a tough time for all of us, but we have the make the best of it. Going online for me was very scary, but in order to keep my business going, I had to change with the times.

Krause offers online classes at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 8 a.m. Saturdays. She uses the video application Zoom for all classes and her personal training clients.

Members are glad to have the option, Krause said. Its the connection of being able to see and chat with everyone before we start class that we all appreciate and enjoy. There of course have been some learning curves along the way, but we just continue to learn and grow.

Your Time Fitness workout classes can be seen online twice a day Mondays through Thursdays and once on Saturdays. (Photo courtesy of Kris Krause)

For the most part online classes are run in the same fashion as in-person group classes. The only difference is the loss in connection.

We are only offering two classes a day, and they are the same format, Krause said. We can all see each other while doing the class, so we get the sense of connection, but classes in studio are more personal.

Just About You Fitness

Owner Jennifer Fisher, one of three personal trainers at Just About You Life Fitness & Personal Training Center in Owatonna, said people can exercise many ways during the pandemic for their mind and body.

Fisher, who teaches the majority of the classes and training, recommends five minutes of purposeful stretches, yoga, meditation, marching in place, using items around your home to improvise for the lack of exercise equipment, walk up and down your front steps or back deck steps. So many pretty easy-to-do exercises can be done during the minutes of each TV commercial.

Just About You Life Fitness & Personal Training Center in Owatonna offers a dynamic variety of fitness techniques for men and women of all ages. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Fisher)

She continued, Get the family involved in the previous mentioned movements, make a game out of it or even challenge each other with a fun, non-food related, family reward when its safe again to socialize, travel, etc. There are thousands of ideas I throw at people every week, including my own family. Its imperative to keep moving with intention to stay healthy. The 12 systems that make up our body all connect. When is not working properly or efficiently, the other systems get the hit. That opens the door to our immunity system being compromised.

Asked about the response to online classes, Fisher said, its been positive with a seasoning of relief from many. We have been receiving notes, messages, cards, and personal calls thanking us for working so hard to get things set up and continue to offer the classes. I created spreadsheets of what devices people had and what exercise equipment they had available (no machines) based on their responses to email inquiries sent the very same day the governor put out the order.

According to Fisher, online live streamed classes definitely outrank videos, in terms of popularity. People are watching the classes using different devices from their phone, tablet, iPad, to computers, and laptops. With the warmer turn of weather, some are taking their devices outside, along with their equipment and following along with the workout.

Much of the time, people attend classes, because they cant motivate themselves to workout by themselves with a video or YouTube. Its just not the same is the comment we often hear.

But Fisher noted there are also opportunities associated with these challenging times.

As terrible as this crisis is, there are so many things we can learn from it and the effects it is having on everyone, she said. Despite this being an unprecedented and dangerous event globally, what a good time to also reflect upon how healthy or unhealthy we have been living our lives.

The business is lacking revenue right now, but Fisher wants access to help with healthy living to be as open as possible.

Financially, this is devastating to my business, Fisher said. However, I never opened a studio with the intent of it being anything less than about you. The people, like me when I was morbidly obese, had nowhere to go to ask questions, to work with people that could offer more than sympathy (at best), to show us how to move correctly while receiving educated and skilled advice while we were trying to becoming a better, more healthier version of ourselves.

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Gym and fitness leaders in the region offer tips to stay active and healthy at home - Southernminn.com

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