If waterways connect the community through paddling, then Downtown Fit connects the community through fitness.
That’s the mission of the popular Downtown Fit program, which returned to Gloucester Main Street for the 2019 season.
Presented by the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust and Riverside Health System, Downtown Fit sessions are taught by local instructors volunteering their time, and typically take place in the evening on the grassy field near the gazebo by the Gloucester Courthouse Circle at the intersection of Heron Cove Way and Main Street.
Through the latter part of the 2019 summer, classes will take place at the gyms and locations where the trainers come from.
Most sessions are free, and offer local residents a valuable opportunity to become more physically fit in a comfortable group setting using the latest fitness tools and techniques. Sessions include group workout and endurance activities such as INSANITY, PiYo, sandbells, Tai Chi, yoga, Zumba and more.
Certain event-based activities include a nominal fee.
“We were delighted by the enthusiastic response from the community during the first year of Downtown Fit in 2018, with so many people taking advantage of the value of this unique program,” said Jenny Crittenden, Executive Director of the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust. “Based on that excitement and community engagement, we have an even more impressive slate of events set up for this year.”
Fitness partners of the program include Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, Riverside Wellness & Fitness Center – Middle Peninsula, Gloucester Parks, Recreation & Tourism, Gloucester Family YMCA, Pivot Performance Gloucester, Anytime Fitness (Hayes, Va.) and Bethany Zoll, yoga teacher.
The full Downtown Fit event calendar, participant liability form and other details are available online at getdowntownfit.com.
Participants can also follow @getdowntownfit on Facebook and Instagram.
Planning to attend a class? Plan on a paddle after or before, too, and make it a cross training kind of day. Map out your Middle Peninsula paddle here.
Photo by Sara Harris Photography for Gloucester Main Street.