NEMCC's Burgess Fitness Center helping people keep healthier New Year's Resolutions

by Michael H. miller

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- (01/10/2024) — Northeast Mississippi Community College's Burgess Fitness Center is helping those who made their New Year's resolutions to lose weight, be healthier or visit the gym easier to reach with its latest class offerings for the Spring 2024 semester.

Northeast will offer 13 different classes Monday through Thursday from the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester through May 2, with classes starting at 4:15 p.m. on Monday and Wednesdays, 5 a.m. on Tuesdays, and then at 12:15 p.m. on Thursdays, as well as offering three different personal trainer sessions.

Northeast has made a concerted effort to make the fitness center classes easier for those who work during the day, with many offerings coming after 4 p.m.

Ten (10) of the 13 class offerings happen after 4:15 p.m. or after, in addition to one of the personal training sessions.

Former Northeast cheerleader Brianna Lowrey of Iuka kicks off the week at the Burgess Fitness Center with a pair of personal training sessions from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Northeast is also offering incentives to fill up each of the Burgess Fitness Center's classes. Through the Burgess Fitness Center's Incentive Program, those who take a set number of classes at the fitness center will receive a variety of prizes.

For those who attend 10 classes between January 2 and August 9, participants will receive a Burgess Fitness Center towel, and the prizes get better with the more classes attended.

Participants will receive a Burgess Fitness Center T-shirt for completing 15 classes, and for those who make it to 20 classes during the timeframe, those participants will receive a pair of waterproof wireless Bluetooth EarPods.

Classes begin at 4:15 p.m. with Ginger Murphy leading spin class at the Burgess Fitness Center at the corner of Jefferson Street and Cunningham Boulevard.

Spin classes usually take 45 minutes of energetic workouts on a stationary bike set to upbeat music that is geared toward good cardiovascular exercise.

While Murphy is motivating the spin class at the main facility, Mary Hall returns to lead participants through a restorative yoga session at the college's Health and Nutrition Center, just off Second Street in Booneville.

Lowrey returns from her two personal training sessions to lead a Pilates class at 5:15 p.m., while John Messer wraps up Monday's classes with a Restorative Yoga session at 6 p.m.

Messer's Restorative Yoga class not only wraps up Monday classes, but the Northeast physical science instructor capstones Tuesday and Wednesday as well with his restorative yoga sessions.

Restorative yoga is perfect for beginners; it allows a person to focus on their breathing while releasing tension in their body by holding various postures and poses.

Tuesday begins early as Murphy bounces in with a Total Body Reset course at 5 a.m. and Northeast Burgess Fitness Center director Robert Walker takes participants through an Abs workout during the noon hour at 12:15 p.m. that will focus on abdominal muscles, obliques, hip flexors, the lower back and glutes.

Former Northeast football player J.D. Nanney wraps up the individualized personal training sessions on Tuesday with open hours from 4-6 p.m.

Murphy returns for her second spin session of the week at 4:15 p.m., while Bethany Hannah bumps up the temp with Dance Cardio at 5 p.m.

Hannah, who serves as the college's Tiger Dancer and Pom Squad coach for the Showband from Tigerland, will lead participants through a 40-minute high-energy dance class that provides those in the class with a fun way to burn off calories while learning new dance moves.

Three classes are on schedule for Wednesdays at the Burgess Fitness Center, with Murphy bringing her spin class to the fitness center for the third time at 4:15 p.m., Hannah returning with another round of Dance Cardio at 5 p.m., and Messer slowing things down with Restorative Yoga at 6 p.m.

Northeast Burgess Fitness Center only has one course on Thursdays, and that's Hall moving her yoga class from the NEMCC-Community Health and Nutrition Center to the fitness center at 12:15 p.m.

While many of the classes are open to all members of the Burgess Fitness Center, Spin class and classes with Lowrey and Nanney require sign-ups through individualized links due to space and time limitations.

A link for class sign-ups the Spin classes are emailed each Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., and those wishing to reserve a bike for class need to email Walker at rdwalker@nemcc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

For anyone, who is not a member of the Burgess Fitness Center and would like to become a member, the fitness center offers convenient 3-, 6- and 12-month signups at some of the lowest gym membership registration costs in the area.

More information can be found at https://nemcc.formstack.com/forms/burgessmembership

Class Descriptions

ABS

Instructor: Robert Walker

Times: Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m.

A 25-minute, stomach-scorching class focusing on the core, including abdominal muscles, obliques, hip flexors, lower back and glutes.

DANCE CARDIO

Instructor: Bethany Hannah

Times: Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5 p.m.

A 40-minute, high-energy dance class that provides a fun way to burn off calories while learning new dance moves.

PERSONAL TRAINING OPEN HOURS

Personal Trainers: Brianna Lowrey (Mondays 12-1 p.m., 4-5 p.m.); J.D. Nanney (Tuesdays 4-6 p.m.)

Individual sign-up required.

A 30-minute training session, either in a private or group training session, allows trainers to walk a person through workouts based on the participant's goals for that session.

PILATES

Instructor: Brianna Lowrey

Times: Mondays at 5:15 p.m.

A full-body workout that improves a person's flexibility and stability, increases their muscle strength, and tones the core muscles of the body (the abdominals, lower back, glutes, and hips).

RESTORATIVE YOGA

Instructor: John Messer

Times: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m.

A passive, meditative form of yoga that is perfect for beginners that allows a person to focus on their breathing while releasing tension in their body through holding various postures and poses.

SPIN

Individual sign-up required.

Instructor: Ginger Murphy

Times: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m.

A 45-minute energetic stationary bike class set to upbeat music is guaranteed to be a great cardio workout.

TOTAL BODY RESET

Instructor: Ginger Murphy

Times: Tuesdays at 5 a.m.

A weights' class that incorporates high-intensity interval training (HIIT) so that a person can find the courage to lift one more pound, run one more minute, or breathe easier during the workout and then take that with them throughout their day.

YOGA

Instructor: Mary Hall

Times: Mondays at 4:30 p.m. (NEMCC Community Health and Nutrition Center), Thursdays at 12:15 p.m.

A flow-style of yoga that is an energetic and rejuvenating experience. A posture is held for a counted number of breaths before it flows into the next, like a moving meditation. The class is open to all levels.

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