Before COVID-19 orders forced the Santa Maria Valley YMCA to temporarily close its doors, it was more than just a gym. “The Y,” as it’s often dubbed, was a place for people of all fitness levels to gather and get to know one another.
“It’s a community at the Y,” said Julie Cruse, fitness director at the Santa Maria Valley YMCA. “It’s not like other gyms.”
But Cruse didn’t let the Y’s physical closure stop this community from continuing to thrive. The organization’s new Facebook group allows everyone—even those who have never stepped foot in the YMCA before—to begin their fitness journey from the safety of their home, and at zero cost.
With six or seven virtual classes every week, the Y is offering something for every age, skill level, and workout-length preference. The Y-30—a 30-minute full-body workout—is the bread and butter of the Y’s near-daily offerings.
Each Y-30 session is different from the last, and Cruse said the workout is fully modifiable for all fitness levels. For those who want to break a longer sweat, Cruse and her team are also throwing some 45- and 55-minute classes into the mix. Classes typically begin at 9 a.m. each day, live on Facebook, and videos of each class are also uploaded to YouTube to make the program as accessible as possible.
“We’re trying to get all of our age groups, from kids to working people of all ages, tools to maintain some sort of connection and normalcy, and maybe even establish a new normal,” Cruse said. “We’re trying to roll with the punches and fill the need for physical movement.”
Cruse said the Y is particularly working to reach the older populations in Santa Maria to keep them moving through an uncertain and daunting time.
“That was our population that really utilized the YMCA as a community,” Cruse said. “That’s our most vulnerable population right now with the coronavirus, so we’re trying to bridge the gap with that.”
She also emphasized the importance of keeping families active, since school closures have drastically altered schedules for both parents and their children.
“We’re trying to get families to do something physical, some sort of engagement that way, because they’re home, they’re probably home schooling, they’re probably pulling out their hair,” Cruse said with a laugh. “So we’re trying to get them to take care of their physical health as well as their mental health because this is such a hard time for people.”
While virtual workouts have their downfalls—such as teachers being unable to give advice or corrections to their individual participants—the benefit is that they can reach even farther than the local community.
“I wanted to branch out because we really are all in this together,” Cruse said. “We have people in our group from Florida, from Arizona, from Alabama, all parts of California—it’s just such a cool connection.”
But perhaps the best perk of a virtual workout is for those who have felt fitness fear in the past.
“Some people were even afraid to come to the Y or come to any gym. It’s intimidating,” Cruse said. “Now, we can spin this positively and say, ‘Look, no one’s going to see you! The workout is on your own terms.’ What a wonderful silver lining: That you can start now and not only take care of your health, but build that confidence. … It can be a seed planted for them.”
Highlights
• Fresh produce grower Gold Coast Packing is partnering with Costa de Oro to offer produce boxes available for pickup. Central Coast residents can pick up an $18 box filled with locally grown vegetables including salad spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, broccoli slaw, and cilantro. A drive-through system allows for proper social distancing in the pickup process. Place orders at (805) 922-1468 by Wednesday for pickup on Friday and Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.
• The city of Santa Maria announced a new website that will help residents decide where to grab their next take-out meal. The guide includes resource maps that mark which eateries are still open for orders, posted at cityofsantamaria.org/restaurants and at cityofsantamaria.org/maps. The guide already features more than 70 restaurants, and the city is welcoming eateries to submit requests to be added. Any questions can be directed to Mark van de Kamp at (805) 925-0951, Ext. 2372.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 16-23, 2020.