Taking it up a Notch
With a teenage son at home and one in college, Sara Waskin( far left in above photo) is at a different phase of motherhood and career, but she shares Allison’ s desire to do something meaningful for her overall fitness. She made the commitment to join the twice-a-week class at 6:00 a. m.“ It can be a pain to get up that early, but it’ s such a great feeling to be done exercising at 7:00 a. m. and ready to go about your day.” Sarah responded to many aspects of the training, including food journaling to focus on clean eating, sharing accomplishments with others, and encouraging change by designing an inspiration board that remains where she sees it every day.
“ To be able to measure results at the end was huge for me,” she adds.“ I’ m seeing shape in my arms so I love wearing sleeveless shirts again. I recently put on a skirt I haven’ t worn in four years, and all of my clothes fit so much better,” she notes.“ I’ ve been active at the Weinstein JCC for a long time, so I can say as someone very invested here that this has notched up the level of programming for the Center. It was the best commitment I’ ve ever made to my well-being."
Keeping it Going
Just as the Weinstein JCC itself is a collaborative community, the class depends upon an environment of mutual support as the participants work together to do more than they could alone. Our group of busy women ranged in age from 29 to 60, but despite our different backgrounds and goals, we found commonality in the time we spent together. Through this collective encouragement and the guidance of instructors Allison Snyder and Amy Buckberg, we began making
simple but powerful improvements in our eating, cooking, activity levels and other parts of our everyday routines.
By the final fitness challenge, when we compared our accomplishments to what we could do when we started, we saw impressive results. And as a group, we had lost 129 pounds and 98 inches while increasing endurance, strength, flexibility and overall fitness levels. Said instructor Amy Buckberg,“ Not only did they achieve specific, measurable goals in fitness and weight loss, but their increase in self-confidence and " can do " attitude was most exciting to watch.” Clearly, the group had achieved more than a one-time fitness goal; it had moved towards the larger— and long-lasting— goal of balanced wellness.
Since class ended and she returned to work, Allison Krumpe continues her healthy outlook with an assortment of fitness classes, running, and keeping up with a now-crawling baby. She has also maintained the attitude and habit changes instilled by the nutrition emphasis and group discussions.“ Instead of meeting my girlfriends for wine now, we meet for exercise.” This lasting focus on balanced wellness has Allison convinced that she can maintain her healthy lifestyle.
For Sara, keeping up with the progress she made in the program means“ fitting in fitness” throughout her busy life, from adding a running component to her 3-mile walks several times a week to doing four minutes of arm exercises while watching the Today Show. And because the program involves making lifestyle changes rather than dieting, Sara doesn’ t beat herself up when she does succumb to her sweet tooth or love of salty foods. She knows that an ongoing commitment to clean eating is more powerful than temporary changes to reach a goal weight or activities that she can’ t sustain long term.
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