Tucked behind the rows of cardio equipment and strength machines, there’s a field of green, bristly turf in Beacon Health & Fitness’s Granger location. What happens here? The answer is written on the walls: We make stronger athletes. We make faster athletes. We make smarter athletes. We make better athletes.
Beyond the turf lies equipment in wait – tried-and-true dumbbells, sure, but also multiple squat racks, barbells, and weight plates. You might be able to talk a runner like me into a chest press or a weighted squat, but it would be rarer to find me with a medicine ball in hand, or a sand bag slung across my shoulder, or a sled positioned before me, poised and waiting.
And who am I to do these things anyway? You’ll find me behind the desk in Granger’s membership office five days a week. And I’m a writer – also a desk job. Sure, I do get out from behind the desk and run. I have a couple of marathons under my belt, and I plan on running my first ultramarathon – a 50k – this October (Covid-permitting, of course). But I promise, I’m no superhuman.
So moving from the track and the treadmill to the turf – to Beacon Sports Performance – is a big step for me. “Same,” said Kris Ohlson, one of Beacon Health & Fitness’s wellness coaches and a new participant in Women & Weights, a six-week specialized training program. The program is designed to improve overall fitness and strength, as well as provide education regarding weight training.
Kris first learned about the benefits of Women & Weights – knowledge and camaraderie topping the list – from one of the members of her January Jumpstart group. It’s a good reminder of the advantages of listening to one another, a reminder that we are better together.
And so every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m., Kris finds herself stepping into Beacon Sports Performance and leaving her fears on the edge of that green turf. And now, I do too, as I join her on a journey to experience physical improvements and to shake the limitations we impose on ourselves.
Stronger. Faster. Smarter. Better.
Athletes.
Kris and I, along with the other women in our 10 a.m. class, are athletes every time we step on that turf. And, together, we add one more quality to the traits that adorn the walls:
Fearless.
By Natalie Weiss
