Third time is a charm for Shape-Up contestant
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Susan Shoemaker is weighed in.
Shoemaker
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standa
Susan Shoemaker works out with the Shape-Up group during their Transforn class.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Susan Shoemaker joins in with the group exercise session doing vertical push ups.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Susan Shoemaker moves slowly through a series of movements during the group workout session.
Susan Shoemaker applied for the Shape-Up Challenge three times before she was selected as a contestant.
“I joined because I wanted to get a little more healthy. If I lose weight, that’s a plus,” she said. “But I wanted to be able to get back on the tennis court again.”
Shoemaker, who has played tennis competitively in the past, said her favorite part of the challenge is making new friends.
“The exercising is awesome. The actual physical challenge that we go and do every Monday as a group is fun, but it’s the friendships that I’ve made.”
With just three weeks remaining in the challenge, Shoemaker said she’s already giving her phone number out to other contestants, planning to continue to meet up at the Y.
Although Shoemaker is enjoying her Shape-Up Challenge experience, she says her least favorite part is trying to get to the Y six out of seven days a week, which is what the contestants are encouraged to do.
“The reason why that’s my least favorite part is because I’m a fulltime caregiver to my dad who had a stroke in July, and I also take care of my sister,” she said. “So I left my house and my dogs, and I moved in with him to take care of him.”
Instead, Shoemaker comes to the Y at least four days a week. She devotes two of those days to training time with intern Tyler Kurosky. For the other two days, she tends to gravitate to her favorite workout spot, the pool.
“I grab one of the foam weights and I walk forwards and backwards first, then I finish up with laps,” she said.
Shoemaker has lost 9.25 pounds since the start of the Challenge and is finding herself closer and closer to the tennis courts again.
“Even if I haven’t lost a lot of weight, I can still see the difference in my body,” she said.
As an example, Shoemaker said she was able to walk around at Friendship Hill for an hour straight without stopping, recently. Whereas in the past, she would have had to stop “at every seat” along the main drive.
In her free time, Shoemaker enjoys crocheting, reading Harry Potter and teaching microcomputer concepts at Westmoreland County Community College, Fayette branch.