GALION — Participants in a new fitness class at the Galion Community Center-YMCA are beating to a different drum.
They’re pounding away on neon-green drumsticks – actually lightly weighted rip sticks – in a fast-paced hour-long session that’s set to music and packed with cardio and strength training. They’re taking the “POUND” class.
“I think the biggest thing that makes it different is the fun of the rip sticks,” said Desiree Glass, a certified POUND instructor who teaches the Y class. “With this, I feel it’s a nice, effective workout combining the cardio with the strengthening.”
The class, which meets three times a week, is inspired by “the energizing, infectious and sweat-dripping fun of playing the drums.” Squats, jumps, lunges and Pilates-inspired movements are also part of the full-body workout.
“It’s really a well-rounded class,” said Crystal LaCroix, an Ontario resident who takes a spin class at the Y first, then heads upstairs to the small gym to pound away. “I consider myself in fairly good shape and it’s still a workout to do it.”
LaCroix said she first heard of the POUND sensation a few years ago when she was living in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area. She enrolled in her first class a year ago in Lexington, then jumped on the bandwagon when the Galion Y introduced it this January.
“It’s a great workout. It’s a cardio workout, but you can be a beginner too. Anybody can be in the class,” LaCroix said. “To me, it’s fun. It keeps you in shape, that’s for sure.”
Research shows that the heart-pumping workout, which was actually created by two female drummers, was gaining in popularity, so it became a number one priority for the Y’s January session, according to executive director Terry Gribble.
“We’re always looking for new and innovative classes and programs to help jump start people’s health and wellness,” Gribble said. “In fact, it’s one of six new exercise classes making their debut this year.”
Glass said not everyone gets a high from increasing their weights on a bench press or upping their speed on a treadmill. POUND offers Y members an alternative – a class with music and drumming that not only burns calories but also makes the time fly by.
In addition to the Y class, Glass invites community residents to “rock” with her at another POUND session she leads at the First United Church of Christ in Galion. More information on the exercise/drumming sensation is available at poundfit.com.