Suffolk Family Y gets early Christmas presents

Members of the Suffolk Family YMCA are getting an early Christmas present in their fitness center with new exercise machines this year.

The facility replaced 35 of its cardiovascular exercise machines with new equipment on Thursday.

Joe Sauerwald, the director of facilities and equipment for YMCA of South Hampton Roads, said the organization refreshes machines at its locations every three years.

“It keeps the equipment new and fresh,” he said. “Members like to see new equipment.”

Among the machines replaced were treadmills, elliptical machines, stair steppers and stationary bikes.

“This year, we’ve added Octane,” Sauerwald said. “Those are new pieces for the Y.”

Suffolk Family YMCA received two of the Octane elliptical machines.

The center also added 25 new spin bikes for its fitness center and its group exercise room.

Anna Guibas, the health and wellness director at Suffolk Family, said the members are very excited about the new additions.

“They have been waiting for it,” she said.

Guibas said she especially is excited about the spin bikes because they undergo a lot of wear and tear from being used so regularly.

Sauerwald said the employees and members won’t have to learn that much about the new machines because there aren’t any drastic changes like there were a couple of years ago when personal viewing stations were added to the machines.

He added the Suffolk Family YMCA members should be especially excited because over the course of the year the facility has gotten a total facelift, which included renovations and new TVs.

“The best thing about all this is seeing the members come in and see it,” he said. “It’s gotten a nice new look.”

Some of the machines at the Suffolk Y were not replaced because their leases have not run out, Sauerwald said.

On Thursday, Suffolk Family closed its fitness center for most of the day for the new additions but reopened later that day for members to try it out.

YMCA works with AllFit Inc., a company that specializes in delivery and installation of fitness equipment, to make the transition.

Sauerwald said the group not only delivers the new pieces, it also removes and buys back the old stuff.

“It was almost a piece-for-piece transfer,” he said.

Sauerwald said the hardest part of getting the new equipment is coordinating the effort to get new machines at every South Hampton Roads location in a two-week period.

“The logistics have to be in place to get 1,200 pieces of cardio,” he said.

Sauerwald said new equipment is always put in during December.

“Right before the big January push, it’s a big Christmas present,” he said.