Your cupboards are filled with exercise equipment!

Virtual group fitness classes are underway as Galter LifeCenter continues adjusting to the new normal amid the COVID-19 outbreak. We hope you have had a chance to check out the more than 30 group fitness classes that we are hosting through Zoom. Members and nonmembers are all invited!

And while the state of Illinois cautiously moves to reopen businesses and public spaces, Galter is doing the same, now offering one-on-one sessions, such as personal training, Pilates and massage. But nobody can predict how soon group fitness classes will resume – and what they will look like.

For the foreseeable future, virtual classes are here to stay.

So, in that spirit, we wanted to share a few tricks to help you participate to the fullest in the some of the strength-training workouts that are on the schedule – which include Group Power and Group Active, Boot Camp and Stretch and Tone. You don’t necessarily need a professional weight set to get a great strength-training burn!

From wine bottles to cast iron skillets, a little imagination and ingenuity will help get you “muscle strong and movement strong,” and we’ve drawn up a cheat sheet so you can track how much weight you’re lifting. (Click on the image to the right.)

For example, 1-lb cans or water bottles can be used for reverse flys and lateral raises. Two 3.5-lb wine bottles are perfect weights for bicep curls and tricep kickbacks. And heavier items, such as 8-lb milk jugs and 5.5-lbs laundry detergent bottles can be used for squats and overhead presses. 

A 7-lb cast iron skillet has a natural handle for a creative kettle bell workout! And bags of rice, flour and other heavy items in your pantry, or a backpack filled with books, become instant weights for your next strength-training workout.

We hope you’ve signed up for our virtual classes. (If not, check out the link here.) Our schedule is evolving all the time, so be on the lookout for more classes and more times.

Today marks the 3^rd month that Galter LifeCenter closed its doors to the public in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. And we cannot underscore enough how much we miss seeing you. Until we can safely be together again, let’s keep moving together, but at home!

ehostelter@schosp.org