After 12 weeks of training, YMCA Challenge participants see big boost in overall health
They have more energy. Their muscles are stronger. Their blood pressure and resting heart rates are down. They’re leaner of body and lighter of spirit – and ready to carry forward lessons learned about fitness, nutrition and health.
They’re the 14 participants of the Northern Alberta YMCA Community Health Challenge, and they just finished 12 weeks of supervised training, along with a dietary overhaul. Now comes a new challenge: transitioning back to real life, where they’ll have to motivate themselves and be responsible for their own choices.
All are well-equipped to handle it, says YMCA adult fitness and lifestyle coordinator Jenna Buckley, who has been training four of the 14 at the Jamie Platz Family YMCA.
“I think if they schedule their fitness into their weekly calendar, the way they did when they were working with me in the challenge, they’ll see the most success,” she says.
Challenger Lorne Dach, who currently serves as an MLA for the riding of Edmonton-McClung, plans on doing exactly that, adding workouts to his packed calendar as meetings with himself.
“If your health isn’t a priority, there’s something wrong with your planning,” he says.
Dach began the fitness challenge with the goal of reversing a recent weight gain and improving his overall fitness, and says he is “thrilled” to have achieved both. He dropped 17 pounds over the 12 weeks, and now has the energy to keep up with his three grandsons under the age of five. So he has every reason to keep working out three times a week.
“There’s a gym at the federal building and one at the legislature, as well as the YMCA, so there’s no excuse. It’s just a matter of making it happen,” he says. “I actually look forward to it now.”
Workout buddies can help with motivation, too, says Buckley. Over the course of the challenge, her group of four challengers (Dach, Stephen Keppler, Mark Hill and Christopher Petrie) at the Jamie Platz Y proved that to be true. They bonded and encouraged one another – in person, in group text messages and on social media – to achieve their goals, jokingly dubbing themselves the Monday Knights, after their Monday night training sessions with Buckley.
“They worked together as a group to help each other through the challenge. There was a real sense ofcamaraderie among the guys. It was fun to watch their relationship develop,” she says.
Buckley tried to make the workouts as varied as possible, so the group would get to know what they liked and disliked.
“They really sampled everything in our workouts, from boot camp to group fitness classes to crossfit,” says Buckley. “Now they know what they hate, they know what they love and they can go forward and choose what works best for them.”
Keppler, a drivetime host on FRESH 92.5 FM, says he was surprised to find he enjoyed group classes, especially the YMCA’s Body Pump weight workout.
“I always thought I was too cool for classes, but it was an intimidation factor,” he says. “Now I can go into that with the confidence of knowing exactly what I’m going to be doing.”
Keppler has lost 10 pounds since starting the challenge, and increased his muscle mass by about three per cent. He says his wife has noticed a difference in his appearance as well as his mood.
“She says I’m less down on myself and I’m a lot more confident,” he says. “Exercising is a great way to battle depression.”
It’s also a great way to improve heart health, notes Buckley, who documented a reduction in resting heart rate in all of her trainees.
“The heart is a muscle just like your quads or any other in your body,” she says. “As your fitness improves, it’s able to push more blood with each beat, so it doesn’t have to beat as many times per minute. This adds up quite significantly over time and can add years to your life.”
Keppler’s strategy for maintaining his fitness momentum will be to continue setting achievable, shortterm goals. For instance: getting his fivekilometre run time under 28 minutes, and working up to running 10 kilometres.
“Setting small goals for yourself is important. It’s great to have a threemonth goal, but you also need to have a two- or three-week goals, always,” he says.
Buckley hopes the participants will go forth and inspire others in their communities to get out and get fit, too.
“That’s something we at the YMCA hoped to see happen with this Community Health Challenge,” she says. “Not just individuals getting healthy, but whole families making overall lifestyle changes.”
“That’s something we at the YMCA hoped to see happen with this Community Health Challenge. Not just individuals getting healthy, but whole families making overall lifestyle changes.”