April 7, 2020
On March 16th, the call that local personal trainer and fitness instructor Jenny Gusella had been expecting came through -- the gym where she coaches up to 100 people most days of the week, Orangetheory Fitness, was temporarily closing its doors to keep members safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Gusella, who also runs a personal training business, JKG Training, from her home in Hingham, had decided that weekend that she would put a hold on all personal training sessions as well.
Gusella described an immediate sense of loss knowing she wouldn’t be able to see her clients, but more importantly a sinking feeling that if the plug was pulled so quickly on her livelihood, many others were experiencing a similar shock and would undoubtedly need help. On the evening of March 16th Gusella organized a 10 day fundraising effort -- she would conduct virtual fitness consults and create a personalized at-home workout plan for anyone interested in exchange for $60 that she would donate to the Hingham Food Pantry. Over those 10 days, Gusella programmed 37 workouts for people in Hingham, the greater Massachusetts area, New York City, Washington DC, and even Singapore. On March 27th she cut the final check to the food pantry, totaling $2700.
“My husband and I moved to Hingham just three years ago, but because of my role as a fitness instructor I have had the unique opportunity to meet hundreds of people in and around town. One of the reasons I fell in love with Hingham was the tight-knit community. I realized quite quickly that if I value and benefit from the closeness of the community when times are good, then it is my responsibility to reach out and provide support when times are not good. I can’t imagine the burden this pandemic is placing on so many families around town, and I want them to not only feel supported but to actually benefit from the generosity given to programs like the food pantry,” said Gusella.
Now that there is a more complete picture of how long we’ll be spending at home, Gusella is still doing virtual consults and creating personalized written workouts as well as offering virtual training sessions. She will continue to donate a portion of all of her proceeds to local COVID-19 relief charities.
Gusella also hopes to use this time to be a beacon of truth and practicality in the fitness world via social media. “Now that every gym has turned online, the world quite literally is watching us. I believe we have a responsibility to help people navigate fitness content to find what works for them. It is currently an overwhelming space, with hundreds of ‘live workouts’ and free content being pumped out every hour,” she continues, “My clients will tell you that I am nothing if not honest with them. I always aim to bring that same realness to my social media. I hope people can come there to learn, to ask questions, and to have a good laugh. Laughing and sweating are probably my two favorite things.”
You can follow Jenny at @jkg_training on Instagram, and send her a message there if you are interested in at-home workouts.
Below, we've included a video for a short post-workout "glute burner" from Jenny!
Thank you Jenny !
WHAT A ROCKSTAR!