Sue Rauschert, of Royal Oak, works out on the shoulder press that is part of the South Oakland Family YMCA's new EGYM equipment.
ROYAL OAK — A new way to work out has given South Oakland Family YMCA members the motivation needed to continue their New Year’s workout resolutions into the rest of the year.
South Oakland Family YMCA, 1016 W. 11 Mile Road in Royal Oak, has seen an influx of people getting memberships and working out in the gym, according to Tricia Hamzik, vice president of operations.
But this is not only because of the “new year, new me” crowd. People are coming to the South Oakland YMCA for the new 11-piece EGYM equipment set.
“It’s extremely popular. It’s the only one in Michigan, not just in a Y, but in general,” Hamzik said. “There’s no other place you can find it.”
The EGYM tracks and logs the user’s progress and automatically sets up to the user's abilities or goals with the swipe of a bracelet.
“It sets up the machine so there is no guesswork,” Hamzik said. “You sit down, once you’ve been oriented, you swipe your bracelet, it knows exactly where you should sit, what program you’re on. It’s almost like a personal trainer without a person.”
Before being able to work out with the machine, the user has to set up an appointment with a YMCA staff member to do a fitness assessment that records the user’s health status to create a tailored workout experience, specifically the user’s “BioAge.”
“BioAge” is the measurement of how quickly a body is aging, based on measurements of strength, flexibility, metabolism and cardio, according to egym.com.
“To calculate the BioAge, EGYM uses a sophisticated analysis of various scientifically proven factors that directly relate to physical performance, health, and immune system status,” egym.com states.
“I think that what excites me the most is that it programs to everyone,” Hamzik said. “There isn’t a specific age group that we bought this equipment for. We bought it for anybody that can use it and that can use it safely.”
The EGYM provides a variety of workout options, including beginner, weight loss, muscle building, athletic, general fitness, rehab fit, body toning, metabolic fit and immunity boost, according to ymcadetroit.org/programs/wellness/egym.
John Davids, a member of the YMCA and husband of Royal Oak Communications Engagement Specialist Judy Davids, said he began going to the gym frequently at the beginning of January. Davids said the efficiency of the program helps him stay motivated to come into the gym.
“Once you log in and do the strength test, it automatically adjusts to you, so it knows how much you lift. You don’t have to change any machines ever,” Davids said.
The EGYM has 11 stations, and it is set up in a circuit format — each person does an exercise and then moves on to the next station. Each station takes 90 seconds to complete, and the machines do a variety of exercises for different muscle groups.
“You kind of all move in unison — it’s honestly really fast — and it’s also more fun because it has a graphic interface that you can kind of watch as you lift, and you can trace your progress on a screen,” Davids said. “It’s really good for tracking progress. If you don’t have this system, it takes a lot of time to do that yourself, to do all of the figuring on what you lifted and how much. This is all automatic.”
The system has a gamelike component that gives the user digital coins as they progress, which can make it more of a fun experience while promoting correct form and reducing injury.
“If you are doing a shoulder press, you’re knocking down coins, but you’re trying to go full range of motion, and you get coins as you go,” Hamzik said. “It really personalizes it, but you’re using it safely, because you have to move in order to knock the coins down. You want to go full range of motion and at the speed that is safe for you while doing shoulder presses.”
One of the most compelling features of the EGYM is the secrecy. Because the machines instantly change the weight to the user's specific abilities, other people will never know if you are lifting 5 pounds or 600 pounds, according to Hamzik.
“It’s daunting to pull out that yellow clip and decide which weight and where you should be at,” Hamzik said. “You get instant results each time you go on the machine. It pushes you about every three times to go harder or to change it up. It’s never stagnant and it’s encouraging.”
Hamzik said that since they got the EGYM in October, she has seen noticeable progress in people who have been consistent on the machines.
“We found people that their BioAge has dropped like 10 years off of them. It’s really cool,” she said.
The goal is to get the EGYM into more YMCA locations in Michigan, according to Hamzik.
“We were able to pilot this at our branch; we are one of seven (associated YMCA branches in metro Detroit),” she said. “We piloted it here for probably a lot of reasons, but we wanted to have an opportunity to see if it would take off, and it certainly has taken off.”
For more information or to schedule an orientation on the EGYM equipment, visit the South Oakland Family YMCA at ymcadetroit.org/south-oakland.