'YMCA Express' to offer quick fitness routine for tweens, busy adults
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) The Whitley County Family YMCA celebrated the grand opening of the new YMCA Express Thursday afternoon. Above, from left, is Steven Kuhn - sports and aquatics director, Amy Shaw - member services director, Erica Miller - executive director, Danielle Ziliak - health and wellness director and Don Greulich - maintenance director. Not present was Jacie Stahl - childcare director. Below, members utilize the new equipment. Later this year, special classes will be created to allow 8-11 year-olds to use the machines.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Ensuring healthy opportunities for individuals of all ages is of the utmost importance to those at the Whitley County Family YMCA. Ample activities exist through their programming, yet the fitness center has remained a place reserved primarily for adults in the community. 
The Dekko Foundation provided the YMCA with a grant for their greatest need.
With the rising epidemic of childhood obesity impacting children today, executive director Erica Miller and the board of the Whitley County YMCA felt it was crucial to begin offering services in the facility for children ages 8-11.
“We decided that youths age 8-11 were our greatest need,” Miller said. “We felt this was an area where we could make an impact while still offering something new to our current members.”
On Thursday afternoon, a project several months in the making, was officially unveiled though it won’t be completely available to their intended audience until early fall.
Called the YMCA Express, located in the corner of the existing fitness center is a room with soaring floor to ceiling windows that houses new express workout equipment designed to give a full workout in just 30 minutes.
“Time is a constraint for a lot of people,” said Miller, citing busy moms and seniors of all fitness levels who will be attracted to a quick, thorough workout.
“It’s nice because all of our members can use it,” Miller added. The equipment offers a variety of resistance-based, cardiovascular fitness equipment. A participant uses each of 13 stations for 45 seconds with a 15 second intervals to move between Life Fitness Series machines. Participants are encouraged to go through the circuit twice and to spend 5-10 minutes walking on the treadmill. 
“We’ve had some great reviews on the access and ease of use for it so far,” Miller said.
For adults wanting to use the machines, Miller said YMCA wellness attendants will be glad to explain the machines and help first-timers get started on their road to physical fitness.
The intended audience, 8-11 year-olds, will have the opportunity to begin utilizing the equipment during supervised, structured classes in the fall.