Aug 18, 2006 10:52 AM
Arizona YMCA Improves Members’ Health Through Fitness Competition
AHWATUKEE, AZ—More than 80 members of the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA participated in a fitness competition to see who could lose the most weight and body fat and show the greatest improvement in flexibility, upper body strength, abdominal strength and recovery heart rate. Pati Hammer, a 48-year-old preschool teacher, won a $500 gift card for losing 17.5 pounds, changing her body composition by 33 percent and decreasing her resting heart rate from 60 to 49. The 147-pound, 5-foot, 6-inch mother of two also increased her ability to bench press 40 pounds from seven to 20 reps and increased the number of one-minute timed half situps from 28 to 44 reps. Since the competition ended, she has lost an additional two-and-a-half pounds and is continuing to work out at the YMCA.
