GREATER JOLIET AREA YMCA

The Y is a welcoming place for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle, providing the resources and support needed to help everyone reach their goals. For Cole Paravola and Olivia Redman, personal training sessions at the YMCA have been a great way to improve their health and wellness routines while they prepare for powerlifting competitions in the Special Olympics.

“Cole and Olivia have been working with me since November of last year,” YMCA personal trainer Katie Addis said. “I try to complement what they do with their strength training with some other workouts that don’t overload them. It makes it easier when clients are truly motivated and fun to be around. They always have a good outlook, they always want to be here, and they are always willing to put in the work.”

Cole’s mom, Angi, said that their family moved to Morris from Oswego last summer and that maintaining a Y membership was a top priority. 

“As soon as we moved, signing up at the Y was one of the first things on our list to get done,” Angi said. “I have never liked the idea of taking Cole and Olivia to a regular gym. Everyone at the Y is super welcoming and the Y fosters a family community. Not every gym does that.”

Cole said his favorite part of working out at the Y has been learning the machines. 

“I think my favorite workout is doing the elliptical machine, treadmill, and the bike, but I also like to bench because it gives me a chance to flex my muscles,” he said.  

Olivia said she prefers deadlifting, but also enjoys taking part in the Y’s hip-hop dance fitness class.

“I love to talk with my friends about the Y and how we get better here,” she said.

At a recent Special Olympics competition, Olivia earned three gold medals, while Cole came home with one gold and two silver medals. Addis said competition sometimes finds its way into workouts as well.

“They don’t always do the same workouts, but they can sometimes do a healthy competition. They do a great job of motivating each other and they are always telling each other how good of a job they are doing,” she said.

Angi said the most important thing is that being at the Y has helped Cole and Olivia feel better about themselves. 

“They’re getting stronger and they’ve gained so much independence by building confidence in the facility. We live so close that we can walk or ride bikes here and we love that,” she said. 

Overall, Cole said there are few places they would rather be. 

“The Y feels like home,” he said.