I've been trying to focus on my fitness and well-being since late last year. I've made good progress. Nice gains. As the COVID-19 crisis developed around us, there were many things to be concerned about. While the health of my family, our friends, the team at CounterPath and our partners topped my list of concerns, forward progress on my fitness goals was also heavy on my mind. Attending bootcamp with Tyson Sunnerberg, my trainer at the South Shore YMCA in Hanover, Massachusetts, has been a lifesaver during this time.
I'm not sure how it is for everyone else, but I very much enjoy group classes. I also like running, biking, and other solo pursuits, but something about the commitment, checking in, and camaraderie of a group class draws me in. Bootcamp also fits my schedule. SUPER early fitness classes also mean my schedule is clear to help get our kids up and ready, and still allow for an early start at work.
One March morning at 5.30am, as we saw that closures were imminent for so many businesses, including the Y, I asked Tyson whether he had a plan for continuing the program online. We/I needed a contingency! As we needed to work on social distancing to protect everyone's health, we also wanted to preserve our fitness.
Over the next half hour, between runner's stretches, inch-worms, bear crawls, and push-ups, we had sorted a plan out. Tyson would try CounterPath's Bria Solo Free and conduct bootcamp online when the time came. If things allowed, he'd do outdoor workouts at local tracks and parks.
It didn't take long. The next Tuesday, 10-12 people joined Tyson for the first online workout at 6 am. The community moved from the studio to an online format with people logging in to our virtual meeting room from their garages, basements, and living rooms.
It works brilliantly. It offers that same group class feeling, but safely, given the situation we're in today. For me, there were some unexpected wins. The 'commute' is shorter, and I've upped my workouts from two to three per week to six.
Recently, Tyson and I sat down after a workout, to talk about the transition.
If you are not a current Bria user, CounterPath offers free trials of Bria Solo and Bria Teams on our website. Both trials include virtual meeting rooms, and the solutions can also be integrated with your call server/PBX or VoIP service to make calls outside of Bria.
