by Kelli Warner
The LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program has consistently had a waitlist since it began in 2016. When the pandemic hit, the Eugene Family YMCA suspended its specialized exercise program for cancer survivors. The program is set to resume in-person classes in January 2022. Until then and ongoing, cancer survivors can now benefit from a new resource created by instructors that allows more people to participate, and from the comfort of their own home.
“Even before the pandemic, we were looking at how to expand what our program offers. How do we serve more people? We saw a big need that we wanted to step up and fill,” says Kimberly Miller, Eugene Family YMCA director of health and wellness.
To help fill the need, the Y created the online Reclaim Cancer Exercise Video Series—designed to help participants improve their strength and physical fitness, while easing the side effects of cancer treatments. The Eugene Family YMCA plans to offer the video series to other YMCAs across the country, giving more people access to this resource.
“There might be side effects, like fatigue, neuropathy, or lymphedema,” says LIVESTRONG at the YMCA instructor Lisa Milton. “Sometimes, participants experience a lack of range of motion, so we really wanted to focus on our motto, which is ‘start low and go slow’ and really meet people right where they are.”
Instructors combined the evidence-based principles of the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program along with their own expertise to create the six-video series, which lead participants through:
- Warm up and cool down
- Balance, flexibility and range of motion exercises
- Strength training
- Low-impact cardio and dance workouts
- Lymphatic exercises
- Guided meditations
“We realize that not everyone has a full gym at home, so we tried to keep it simple with hand weights or resistance tubes, really accessible equipment,” Kimberly says. The videos also include household items that can be used in the workouts, such as a chair for added stability.
“These videos are another tool in our toolbelt,” Kimberly says. “It’s something we can offer to folks now who are on the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program waitlist, as well as share with cancer survivors in other parts of the country who don’t have access to a YMCA in their communities.”
The reclaim videos series was made possible through a grant from Texas 4000 and was produced locally by Turell Group. Cancer survivors can access all six videos at no cost at EugeneYMCA.org.