The fabulous
            Eastside Y
By Dave Harney

Connectivity, sharing, and motivation.  Not necessarily words you would relate to a health club or fitness center.  But these are exactly the words the staff at the new Eastside YMCA in Penfield uses to define their stunning new facility on Fairport Nine Mile Point Road.  Members and potential members see it as soon as they pull in the parking lot.  The building doesn't look like a health club.  It looks like a family lodge set in the great Northwest.  Then, after you walk in the door, you immediately see kids and families having fun in the pool, sharing each other's company, and enjoying the camaraderie of a highly social setting.

All this is part of a program called "membership by design," according to YMCA Executive Director Kevin Fitzpatrick and Membership Director Stephen Murphy.  And it is all part of an attempt to enhance the motivation of members to stay involved, thus achieving better fitness.  According to Murphy, the Y's mission is to engage its members, connect them, and help them stay committed to continued involvement in the association and their own health.  And it doesn't stop with psychological motivation.  The technology at the new Y is nothing short of amazing.  From Koko Smarttrainer Gyms you can schedule appointments with, to five big screen TVs and many personal viewing screens, this Y is built around technology.  In fact, technology may be the new underpinning of all fitness clubs.  This Y employs a system known as Fit Linxx, which lets members record and monitor their fitness activities on a regular basis.  Using it, they can even connect to their personal trainers by email.  And they can access it from their home computers.  Almost all of the aerobic equipment in the Eastside Y is somehow connected to this central “brain.”

 Over 20 years in the planning, this $15 million facility not only offers the latest in technology, it also builds on the knowledge gleaned from more than 100 years developing, designing, and managing community health facilities.  One of the primary understandings the YMCA has developed is that long-term connections are vital to helping people stay motivated.  That's why they encourage connectivity to all parts of the Y: coaches, trainers, even fellow exercisers.  Connectivity to management is called feedback.  Fitzpatrick and Murphy spend much of their time listening to members, including having focus groups. This allows them to create schedules, activities, and designs built around member needs.  Swimmers, for example, always have open lanes for lap swimming, even while open swim is happening elsewhere in the pool.  Or for those who may be more self-conscious about their bodies, there is a private area to work out so they can feel more comfortable.  Even the whirlpool is twice normal size to accommodate more members and connectivity.

From 12,000 pounds of free weights to the largest spinning facility in the area and a high tech environment that just won't quit, this Y is about availability, flexibility, and accommodation.  But even more than that, this new addition to the Rochester fitness scene is about people.  It's about a psychology that employs human dynamics and leading edge technology to enhance member’s lives by providing them with continued motivation and feedback to achieve good health.

ROCHESTER RESOURCE
Eastside Family YMCA
1835 Fairport Nine Mile Point Rd.
Penfield, NY 14526
(585) 341-4000