Visit the Virtual YMCA in Charlotte during COVID-19, with barre, boot camps and yoga
The extended national social distancing guidelines, effective through April 30, mean more than just less time spent with friends — they also impact your gym time. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend you exercise regularly to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress.
While you can’t visit the gym, you can bring the gym into your home with the YMCA. Through the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and the Upper Palmetto YMCA, both members and non-members can access a variety of Virtual Y classes to help manage stress and prevent illness.
Laurie Pace, Association Director of Group Fitness for YMCA of Greater Charlotte, knew that when the Y doors closed, members would be looking for opportunities to stay healthy and strong.
“Immediately, we began providing ideas on quick workout opportunities and followed that with virtual personal training to our current clients who would be unable to visit with their trainers in person,” Pace said. “That grew into private live workouts with our small group training clients. As of Monday, we are now able to provide our members with 30-minute workout recordings that they can do in the comfort and safety of their own homes with some of their favorite Charlotte Y instructors.”
Pace said the teams have rallied during this time, and that the group exercise instructors jumped at the opportunity to record content to share with their regular members from home.
“The messaging our members are leaving within their recording says it all,” Pace said. She shared one message that said: “I am so proud to be a part of such a fantastic organization that supports its staff, its members and its community within our walls and beyond.”
Pace said she posted two workouts March 23 that had 448 views as of Tuesday. The workout she posted Friday was up to 246 views.
The team began posting the 30-minute workouts on the mobile app and on the web schedule, and her class is already up to 155 views.
But the offerings extend beyond just workout classes:
“We also are adding class content such as cooking healthy, kids teaching kids to cook, and sports skills you can work on at home for the entire family to utilize the Y outside our walls,” Pace said.
Ready to sweat? Here are a few options to get active through the Y, and you can find more virtual workouts with our roundup of Charlotte gyms’ offerings.
Y360
YMCA 360 is an on-demand video platform where you can stream group exercise classes, youth sports classes, wellbeing classes and more. This option is being offered to the Charlotte community at no charge for a limited time, and you don’t need to be a YMCA member to access the videos.
Current categories include: yoga, kids’ activities, boot camp, barre, programs for active older adults, weightlifting, tai chi, boxing and youth sports performance. Try everything from a 5-minute challenge to a full-fledged workout from the comfort of your own home.
MOSSA
Stream your favorite YMCA classes via MOSSA for the next 60 days (normally $7.99/mo). Similar to programming offered at Charlotte YMCA classes, these 30-minute workouts turn up the intensity. Look for options like Group Power, Ride, Centergy and Fight & Core, as well as additional classes that encompass athletic conditioning, step and CardioFunk. Sign up to start sweating.
Training on Demand
Get your workouts directly to your inbox with Training on Demand through the YMCA. Gain flexibility and balance with yoga. Break a sweat with short, high-energy boot camps. Improve your powerlifting form. Or engage in tai-chi and light aerobics through Silver Circuit. When you fill out the form, you’ll receive a different class in your inbox each day. Classes range from 2-minute videos to almost a half hour to keep you active.
Virtual Personal Trainer
If you’re someone who prefers one-on-one fitness instruction, you can work with a personal trainer virtually, so you can practice social distancing and still get in a sweat session. Connect with a Virtual Personal Trainer to get your own unique fitness plan, as well as a healthy dose of accountability. Pricing for members begins at $180/mo for four 30-minute sessions, though you can also increase the times and sessions depending upon your preference. Fill out the form to get started.
Family Activities
Traditionally, the YMCA provides community programs to help build healthy spirits, bodies and minds. However, it’s recently pivoted to bring these programs to you and your family virtually. Right now, the website offers academic resources like READ Charlotte, NASA Kids’ Club, Scholastic Learning and more through its partnerships. Teens can check out a list of activities to beat boredom, and families can explore activities to experience together (compiled by Y-USA). The site even has ideas to keep kids active at home with drills and games for all types of sports.
YMCA of Greater Charlotte Mobile App
You can always access additional fitness content through the YMCA of Greater Charlotte mobile app. Build and track your best workouts and set goals based on your personal fitness lifestyle. Then sync the app with your personal fitness tracker and share your progress with friends.
