Meet Erica Winship, Graphic Designer at Elite Sports Clubs. Like many of you, she spends many hours of her day in front of a computer. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Erica had been regularly taking group exercise classes like spin, BodyPump, and boot camp. When the pandemic struck, her routine had been disrupted and she found it difficult to resume. Now she is embarking on a 100-class journey to regain her fitness. We sat down with Erica to find out more about the Elite 100 Challenge.
1. What is the Elite 100 Challenge?
The Elite website states that we have over 100 class offerings. So I came up with this crazy idea to see if there was a way that I could take that many! Before the pandemic hit, I would exercise about 4 hours a week, usually by doing cardio or weight-lifting workouts. During COVID times when Elite was closed, I probably only exercised about 5 times if I had to guess. Needless to say, I fell off the bandwagon. My goal is to document what 100 classes at Elite can do for you and how easy it is to do, and also highlight the hangups and snags that I will run into as I embark on this journey in fitness.
2. Why did you decide to undertake such a challenge? What are your end goals?
I decided to create this challenge to prove to myself that I could get back into shape in a timely manner, but at a realistic pace. I’m a graphic designer that sits at a desk pretty much all day outside of working out, so I think my “active time” is so important if you want to live a long and healthy life. Ultimately, my goal is to become healthier. Originally it was to lose weight, and that MAY be a plus, but I also understand muscle gain is definitely a thing. I weighed myself once at the beginning and I am here for the surprise and whatever that may or may not look like at the end.
3. How are you tracking your progress?
I’m very old-school. I made a checklist in my notebook with number 1-100 and I “check” it off and write the class next to it that I took.
4. What types of classes will you be taking?
All kinds! So far I’ve taken my usual favorites (such as yoga). I’ve recently found a liking to Pilates! When I feel too sore, that’s when I take a stretch class or something low-impact (but moving is STILL moving, right?). I’ve also tried CS60 for the first time, which killed me at first but I believe it will get easier as time goes on and I attempt to get stronger every day.
5. Are you doing this all on your own? Are you getting help from a personal trainer?
I had an initial meeting with a personal trainer to address my lifestyle habits, which was informative, but I am not utilizing personal training services. I also want to get measured by a personal trainer because I am an amateur and I don’t know what to look for when it means to measure myself.
6. What challenges do you anticipate and how might you overcome them?
Time is my biggest issue, I am a very busy woman who wears many hats. Some days I miss taking a class, but the Virtual Studio has really helped me with this as some classes are only 30 minutes and some exercise is better than none. It also really helps that they are on-demand, you can literally take these classes in your pajamas if you really wanted, no one is watching (except viewers that may be watching me! Stay tuned!)