Healthy Living • Y Stories • YMCA Health and Fitness
Jill’s journey to better health
05 October 2016 - by YMCA of Greater Toronto
Growing concern for her health and wellbeing prompted Jill’s doctor to encourage her to become more active. But within a few short months, Jill no longer needed to be pushed to work out: she had become a self-motivated fitness enthusiast. She went from visiting the gym once a week, to hiring a personal trainer, running marathons, tackling obstacle courses, and even inspiring her husband to join her on her journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Here’s Jill’s Y Story:
About a year and a half ago, I had a bit of a health scare and my doctor told me I needed to lose at least ten pounds. That was my wake-up call: I knew I needed to do more.
I set out with a goal of losing five pounds a month and started trying a few different fitness classes and activities I thought would help. Once I felt I had started heading in the right direction, I immediately wanted more — something to challenge me.
That’s when I discovered the Brampton Y’s Kettlebell class. I’d tried countless fitness programs at a bunch of different gyms, but this was the first time that an instructor actually came up to me afterwards to ask if I’d enjoyed the class and give me some encouragement. I went home so excited and convinced my husband to come to the Y to try another class with me next time.
After experimenting with a few more programs, we finally joined the Brampton Y. Not only did we love the variety of activities we’d participated in, we were also so excited about the instructors, staff, and other members we’d met already. Working out was made so much easier by all the friendly faces we knew would be there to greet us!
Just a few months ago, we got to take our workout routine to the next level: we started working with Ashley, a personal trainer. With her knowledge and expertise, we could really start to dig in to some more difficult exercises. Ashley pushed us to challenge ourselves and motivated us to set the bar high, so we had something to work towards. As a result, my husband and I have started to challenge ourselves with 5k runs and obstacles courses — activities that we never would have thought of doing in the past!
In the last year, we didn’t just meet our weight loss goals — we actually surpassed them. We’re so much healthier now, and that’s thanks to the Brampton Y. Everyone we’ve met here — the staff, instructors, volunteers, and other members — are so friendly and are a big part of how we managed to stay motivated and on track towards a healthier lifestyle.
About a year and a half ago, I had a bit of a health scare and my doctor told me I needed to lose at least ten pounds. That was my wake-up call: I knew I needed to do more.
I set out with a goal of losing five pounds a month and started trying a few different fitness classes and activities I thought would help. Once I felt I had started heading in the right direction, I immediately wanted more — something to challenge me.
That’s when I discovered the Brampton Y’s Kettlebell class. I’d tried countless fitness programs at a bunch of different gyms, but this was the first time that an instructor actually came up to me afterwards to ask if I’d enjoyed the class and give me some encouragement. I went home so excited and convinced my husband to come to the Y to try another class with me next time.
After experimenting with a few more programs, we finally joined the Brampton Y. Not only did we love the variety of activities we’d participated in, we were also so excited about the instructors, staff, and other members we’d met already. Working out was made so much easier by all the friendly faces we knew would be there to greet us!
Just a few months ago, we got to take our workout routine to the next level: we started working with Ashley, a personal trainer. With her knowledge and expertise, we could really start to dig in to some more difficult exercises. Ashley pushed us to challenge ourselves and motivated us to set the bar high, so we had something to work towards. As a result, my husband and I have started to challenge ourselves with 5k runs and obstacles courses — activities that we never would have thought of doing in the past!
In the last year, we didn’t just meet our weight loss goals — we actually surpassed them. We’re so much healthier now, and that’s thanks to the Brampton Y. Everyone we’ve met here — the staff, instructors, volunteers, and other members — are so friendly and are a big part of how we managed to stay motivated and on track towards a healthier lifestyle.
