The Downtown Lansing YMCA is working on a 3,000 square foot expansion that, if all goes well, should be complete just in time to accommodate the January rush.
The YMCA is expanding its second floor exercise and fitness room space. The 3,000 square foot expansion will include a stretching room, a "mind, body and spirit" room for group yoga and pilates classes, and an area for 
suspension training and self-defense classes.
Suspension training is the latest in the group fitness trend. Participants use suspension straps that are hung from the ceiling to work various muscle groups. The straps allow them to use their body weight to increase their strength.
YMCA Assistant Executive Director, Ben Wheeler, says the expansion will accommodate growing fitness classes and give members access to a much-needed stretching space.
“It’s across the board that our classes are growing,” he says.
The expansion will also include a second floor bathroom. In 2007, the YMCA expanded the upstairs fitness area by 4,000 square feet. That expansion primarily included additional space for fitness machines and weights.
The Downtown YMCA is hoping to have the latest expansion opened by January.
Source: Ben Wheeler, YMCA
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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