BUFFALO, N.Y. — We know that Western New York is resilient, so it's no surprise that as gyms remain closed that many people have found new ways to exercise.
The JCC of Greater Buffalo is offering both virtual and socially distanced outdoor classes at their Amherst and Buffalo locations.
"We offered some outdoor classes in past years when the weather was really nice and people didn't want to be indoors and we had them outside, so we have some familiarity with it and it's very likely we will continue doing this even after we are allowed to reopen" said Executive Director Rick Zakalik.
Jill Daddario is a certified personal trainer and the founder of Go Further Fitness. Like many personal trainers, she had to find new ways to help her clients meet their fitness goals outside the gym.
"Getting creative with workouts and a lot of times the gym helps people be consistent and it gets them to go to a certain location where their mindset is in working out" Daddario said. "So that transition, helping people find the motivation at home and stay consistent with it is something us as trainers have had to help our clients with."
Daddario has also hosted socially distanced outdoor workouts at Ellicott Creek Park in Tonawanda to help make working out fun while gyms are closed.
"We just promoted it on Facebook and Instagram and a lot of people were interested because of the lack of gyms open and workout classes and we had a great turn out and a great time" she said.
The YMCA Buffalo/Niagara is offering outdoor fitness classes,limited outdoor pool access and virtual classes for members.
Also, this week Independent Health and the YMCA brought back Fitness in the Parks. An event eight years running that offers outdoor fitness classes across the region. This year there will be some new safety measures.
"We are going to limit the class size just so we can stay six feet apart and keep that safe space between all of the participants so the classes will be capped at 30 participants and that will be on a first come first serve basis" said Michelle Carbery, the Sr. Corporate Wellness Specialist for Independent Health.