Volunteer Spotlight, Jackie | GiGi Fit
We have another amazing Volunteer to share with you all. Jackie McClenthan has been helping GiGi’s in one capacity or another since day one. Her spunk, energy and strong belief in all individuals inspires us. We are so thankful of the way she is using her interests and gifts to help the GiGi’s community be it’s very best! Let’s hand the mic to Jackie…..
About 2 years ago I had a vision of offering a crossfit class to individuals with various developmental disabilities as I saw a need for more individualized programming for this population. I approached Ryan, a coach at Crossfit 315 and he was on board so we got the ball rolling. Ryan is the co-owner of Crossfit 315 and has a bachelor of exercise science, level one crossfit certification, and is a licensed doctor of chiropractic.
After recruiting the participants for our first session Ryan and I worked to program exercises that challenged the group and exposed them to several new movements that they may otherwise not have had to chance to learn, and also modified each exercise appropriately to match the specific needs of each individual. GiGiFit is an egaging fitness class that focuses on combining cardio with functional strength exercises to achieve health and wellness goals specific to each individual.
The immediate response was incredible and the participants were so eager to learn new things and meet their fitness goals. By the end of our first session we had an individual doing a pull-up! As the class has progressed so have all of our participants. The progress in every one of them is inspiring. Whether they’ve been with us since the first session or they only joined us for one, every individual that participated in a 6 week session achieved challenging goals related to fitness and nutrition- some they didn’t even realize the could do!
Two of our class participants, Danae and Mike have been with us from the start and are prime examples of hard work paying off. When Danae first started her body weight squat was just a slight bend in the knees. Today Danae can do a complete body weight squat and is getting herself lower and lower each session. Danae has lost weight, gotten faster, and improved her overall mobility as a result of her hard work from the start. Mike has always had a personal drive to become stronger and knew a crossfit class would be perfect to help him reach his goals. In addition to hard work put in at the YMCA on his own time, Mike has lost over 100 pounds and started to build strength as a result of commitment to his weekly crossfit sessions.
GiGiFit is a great option for anyone looking to improve their overall fitness, to reach fitness goals, to increase their strength, to become more flexible or just to participate in a social workout class and have fun with new friends! It’s been a pleasure to watch our current participants progress and I look forward to working with new participants.
Join us for our summer session from June 30-July 22 on Thursdays from 10:30-11:30 at crossfit 315 in Cicero. Please email Heather at hrodriguez@gigisplayhouse.org to claim your spot. Spots are limited so do not delay on snagging yours!
Thank you Jackie for being such a fabulous example of Generation G & for helping people push to give their #bestofall
educate. inspire. believe.
Jackie, WOW! Crossfit! Benchmarks! You recognized a Greater Potential. We use the term Self Advocate. Losing 100 pounds? Hypotonia…doing a pull up? Meeting a regiment, setting and attaining goals? This is inspiring Advocacy…much beyond self. I will generate a new energy at my water aerobics class. Richard Reilly – The Grandparent Connection.