We’ve all been there- car won’t start, meeting ran late, kids couldn’t get ready in time – resulting in you running late and missing your workout class. Rather than miss out on achieving your fitness goals all together, The J’s new group fitness class is designed especially for days like this.
SWITCH is a circuit training class at The J taught by personal trainer and group fitness instructor, Mat Shalenko. The class is designed to be completely customizable around your schedule and fitness level.
“The best benefit of SWITCH is the convenience of it,” Shalenko said. “You don’t have to get there right when the class starts. You can get there whenever you can and hop in whenever the next circuit starts.”
The class consists of 10 stations, where participants spend three minutes at each doing a mixture of strength training and cardio exercises before moving on to the next when Shalenko yells, “SWITCH!” Because of the flexibility, you can spend 30-minutes working out if you’re pressed for time, or on days when you’re more available you can spend 90-minutes in the class.
“You’re going to get a good work out in,” Shalenko said. “Some stations might be one exercise for the whole three minutes, some could be a circuit within a circuit so you might have a station where you do three exercises and just do as many rounds as you can,”
The circuits are varied, some focusing on strength training, some on cardio. But all of them can be modified to make them easier or harder. Participants can expect to do loaded carries, arm work, ab work- really a little bit of everything.
“SWITCH offers variety,” Shalenko said. “If someone is a little intimidated by Boot Camp, SWITCH is a good start to do some of the same movements. But, being at a station for three minutes at a time, you can work at your own pace.”
In general, The J is a great place to work out because it’s not an intimidating gym to exercise in but it has everything you need for beginners to experienced lifters. Keeping with that theme, each time you stop by SWITCH, there will be something new. Whether that be a new face or a new circuit, your class is sure not to be stagnant.
“It’s a really cool class,” Shalenko said. “It’s great to see everybody at the different stations all working out on their own but in a class together working hard. It’s a really cool vibe in there.
SWITCH, a free group fitness class, is offered on Mondays at 6 a.m. in the Lower Gym and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in the Upper Gym.