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New equipment at YMCA gives total workout

The YMCA's new Queenax Funcitiona Trainingl Rig workout station allows for multiple exercises.

One of the Butler YMCA's newest pieces of equipment brings a whole new meaning to full-body workout.

“As soon as you touch anything on the rig, any of the pieces of equipment, your core engages,” said Sandy Ihlenfeld, executive director of the Butler YMCA. “All of your muscles tighten up and they become active.”

On Friday, Ihlenfeld oversaw some of the gym's trainers as they worked with members to try out the Queenax Functional Training Rig.

“(It) is for super functional training,” she said. “They kind of move around a little bit and say 'I feel that.”

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The rig looks like a rectangular box with pegs and holes along its thick, metal frame. There are also a set of bi-level climbing bars that run along the length of the top portion. “I've not seen this before,” said Pam Ponce, formerly of Butler. “This is definitely a cool piece of equipment.”

Ponce now lives in Orlando, Fla., and had been visiting her family for Thanksgiving.

She said she wanted to stick to her fitness regime, and stopped by the YMCA where she saw some trainers guiding members through demonstrations.

A trainer attached a metal platform to the frame. The platform gave the user just enough room to stand with feet shoulder width apart.

The trainer then showed Ponce how to stand with one foot on the platform and one foot off. She put a weight in Ponce's right hand, the same side where Ponce's leg hung off the platform.Ponce then did one-legged squats on the leg on the platform while the rest of her body kept her from toppling over. After a few sways, she found a groove of stability.“This is actually pretty cool to be able to do a ton of exercises in a ton of different ways with more strength and stability,” Ponce said. “It mixes it up a little bit.”Ihlenfeld said everyday people use their whole body for many routine tasks. She said the rig helps simulate and stimulate that aspect of fitness.“It engages all of the muscles at the same time making it really efficient with time and efficient with the body in the way it's used everyday,” she said. “If I want to pick up groceries or a child, or I'm working with a sweeper, I'm moving all of my body at the same time.”

Joshua Denny is another former Butler resident who stopped by the YMCA during his holiday visit home. He said the variety of exercises pushes people in ways they may not have felt before.“They're different for me,” Denny said. “They're definitely outside my comfort zone, but I always think that's a good thing too.”As Denny stepped up to the rig, a trainer placed two dangling straps from the top of the rig and connected them with a metal bar placed just below the level of Denny's chest.With instruction, Denny leaned into the bar, stretching out the straps and declining his body in a way that held him at about a 45 degree angle with the floor. He then completed a set of push-ups at the inclined angle.“You're working against your own body,” he said. “It's very natural.”For the first half of the set, his repetitions smoothly glided from one to the next, but as he reached the later portion of the set, it was not only his arms shaking but his whole body.

Denny said it is a testament the rig's focus on multiple muscle groups.“It's transferable,” he said. “I think it's very functional for whatever you need to do in life.”Denny completed another task, this time leaning back and allowing the rig and its straps to support his weight. Then he began to pulled himself upright with the bar before settling back to his starting position again.He said none of the exercises appeared complicated with many having origins from other popular exercises typically completed with dumbbells, free weights or machines.“It's a little more appealing, and it looks a little more friendly,” Denny said. “I think it'll definitely attract some people who don't normally want to come to the gym.”Ihlenfeld said flexibility in intensity is another great aspect of the rig, which has suitable routines for beginners and others for the more advanced exerciser.

Another man walked up to the rig, inquiring with trainers about something more difficult.The trainers directed him to the monkey bars at the top of the rig.The man defied gravity, swinging from bar to bar. About halfway through, the bars were set higher, and he cleared those too. He made his way back and forth once, twice and partway through a third pass.The trainer then showed him how to swing back and forth with the straps and bar attachment.The motion resembled a playground swing, but instead of sitting on a leather seat, the participant swings while holding the bar with their hands.Once the trainer reached a sufficient height, she jumped to the monkey bars, demonstrating how to take the last exercise to the next level.

Ihlenfeld said the equipment is about function over fashion.This isn't about getting swole and adding bulk.“If I wanted to build mass, I would do less repetitions with more load,” Ihlenfeld said. “On something like a rig, I'm really only using my own body weight, but I use my own body weight in ways proportionate to how hard I want to make it. It makes it really functional, and there's no additional building of bulk.”Ihlenfeld said every piece of equipment the YMCA buys keeps their motto close at heart, making sure the equipment is usable by anybody of any skill or fitness level. “It's fun and it's efficient, and everybody smiles as soon as they get on,” Ihlenfeld said.

Elaine Gabal, above, tries out the new workout station at the Butler YMCA on Friday. Below, Paulina Wiest works out with trainer Jessica Michel.
Paulina Wiest works out with trainer Jessica Michel.
Hayden Stadtmiller, 12, of South Butler works out on the new Queenex Rig at the Butler YMCA, Monday, Dec. 2, 2019.
From left, trainer Jessica Michel and group instructor Barb Maxwell work out on the new equipment.

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