Sweet
Success
By Maggie Ryan, Greater Harrisburg Chorus, Region 19
Good things may come to those who wait, but really good things
come to those who act.
Central Coast Celebration Chorus has gained much by losing this year.
The chorus out of San Luis Obispo, Calif., lost an average of 19 pounds
per participant during the Sweet Adelines-Curves contest. They enhanced
their knowledge of fitness, received nutritional guidance and had
a heck of a good time, too.
“I love Curves,” said Diane McGrath. “It’s
the first exercise program I’ve consistently stuck with. Curves
is convenient, fast and I can work as hard as I want to.”
Working as hard as you want held a strong appeal for McGrath, and
is for many an embracing element of the Curves program. No toned and
oiled trainer cajoled her into exercise or met her at the door with
a soy-fiber-protein shake. Spandex and the latest moisture-wicking
athletic apparel? Please. Leave that to the hard bodies at the fitness
spas on TV. This is Curves, grown-up women in sweats and chorus T-shirts.
Six-pack abs? Come on. How about we start by reducing the jiggle in
our upper arms?
Can do!
The Sweet Adelines-Curves challenge offered members an open door to
a healthier life through exercise and nutritional guidance. The alignment
of the organizations was natural and exciting. In Sweet Adelines,
Curves found a pool of women who thrive in an atmosphere of friendship,
fun, effort and reward. In Curves, Central Coast Celebration members
found an organization for and about women.
“You can walk in the door and get chatting with the ladies,
and you’ll find they’re nice and friendly,” McGrath
said. “There is no pressure from the staff. They are there to
help. You take it as far as you want.”
Members of Central Coast Celebration began the Sweet Adelines-Curves
challenge in January. Some, like McGrath, already were Curves members
who saw the challenge as a way to re-ignite their fitness flame. Others
stepped into consistent exercise for the first time.
“I had lost some weight and gained some of it back, and I knew
that at the lower weight I was more comfortable,” McGrath said.
“I really wanted to keep up with the weight loss, but I had
lost my momentum.”
They spread out among three Curves centers around San Luis Obispo
and got to work. Some had workout buddies. Others went on their own
but kept in touch with chorus members via encouraging emails.
Central Coast Celebration is a small chorus, 19 members plus Director
Dani Avalos-Prigge (Chicago Fire, 1995). One-third of the group went
through the program. They knew they were on to something good when
chorus member Stacy Walker volunteered to coordinate their meals for
retreat.
“Stacy did a fabulous job of having low-carb food for us all
weekend,” McGrath said. “It was not hard at all to stay
with the program in the early stages, which is usually the hardest
time.”
Ah, yes, the early stages. You know them, don’t you?
It’s
kind of like those first, tentative steps into Sweet Adelines.
And look where you are today.
You walked into your first night of chorus overwhelmed by butterflies,
wanting to break for the door while somehow pushing yourself forward.
You wanted to sing more than anything else, but at that moment you
prayed no one could hear your voice. All around you were smiling,
happy women, involved in each other’s lives. You got a sense
that new things were possible. But first, you had to let go of those
nagging doubts.
That’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Letting go?
Relax, you’re among friends. You will land softly.
“I didn’t know if I would like it,” McGrath said
of combining exercise and nutritional guidance at Curves. “I
had tried a lot of things over the years, but I just told myself ‘See
if this will help.’ If just exercise is helpful, and it is,
what happens if I take the next step?”
That next step has been better health, and McGrath is still at it.
She has shed 10 more pounds since the challenge ended and hopes to
keep toning up. She has pretty significant incentive. McGrath and
Avalos-Prigge started a quartet in January. In March, they won the
Region 11 contest. In October, the quartet Rio will march onto the
International stage for the very first time.
“Our goal is to look better for that big screen in Calgary,”
McGrath said with a laugh.
So there it is, there’s the magic formula:
Need + incentive = achievement. Congratulations, ladies.
Releasing fears, stepping over self-induced boundaries, and finding
a new path have led the women of Central Coast Celebration Chorus
to the cover of The Pitch Pipe. Their newfound fitness has
enhanced their lives as women, as well as their Sweet Adelines experience.
They move more freely, sing better, have more stamina and even have
an easier time hauling risers.
Beyond all that, they look in the mirror and they like the women looking
back at them.
“We encourage other Sweet Adelines, absolutely!” McGrath
said. “Our message to Sweet Adelines is, ‘We did this.
You can, too!’”
We
Love Curves
During the Sweet Adelines Curves Promotion early this year, Shenandoah
Valley Chorus members presented a Singing Valentine at its local Curves
facility.
The chorus sang to a delighted group of women, along with 25 other
Valentines that day.
The love of singing and fitness was definitely in the air that day.
Submitted by Joanne DePaola, Shenandoah Valley Chorus, Region 14
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