By Christina Lopez
Salisbury Post
Andrew Wah wants to transform at-home work outs into “The Wah Way.”
“This is kickboxing the Wah Way, like you’ve never seen it before,” said Wah, the fitness instructor at J.F. Hurley Family YMCA who recently released his own DVD.
Wah said “The Wah Way” total body workout is designed for all body types and was produced to fit anyone’s work schedule.
“The Wah Way is combining dynamic kickboxing, varieties of impact, plyometrics and high energy,” Wah said. The DVD is geared “from low modifications to higher intensities that everyone can work towards at any time.”
Creating the video was a dream Wah first had in 1999 when he noticed people increasingly wanting to lose weight.
“It’s been a long journey and a dream that’s finally become a reality,” he said. “There are people who need help and really want to lose weight. I know that my classes will be a help and a blessing to those people.”
And it’s been a blessing to Wah, as well.
Wah said that it’s through God’s grace that he answered a calling and started helping people get fit as a college student at N.C. Central University, when he worked part time at the Lakewood YMCA in Durham.
“It was always something I thought I would enjoy and flourished as an instructor from there,” Wah said.
The name of the DVD is two-fold, he said. “The Wah Way is similar to ‘Yahweh,’ which means ‘God’ in Hebrew, along with also meaning the high energy style that I teach,” he said.
Wah said working out is important for physical, emotional and overall well-being and encourages working out throughout the week as much as possible.
“There’s 1,440 minutes in a day,” he said. “At least try to set aside some of those minutes to exercise.”
Working out is a matter of getting started and keeping with it, Wah said.
Currently teaching ab classes, sculpting classes and cardio kickboxing classes the “Wah Way,” Wah keeps busy at Maersk Inc. in Charlotte and the Hurley YMCA in Salisbury part-time.
“Andrew has been an asset to the YMCA, he is such a spiritual individual, and talented leader,” Sandra Flowers, executive director of the J.F. Hurley YMCA said.
“His classes are always packed full,” Flowers said.
“Our favorite thing to do in our spare time is kickboxing with Andrew,” Samantha and Jessica Smith said.
He does all that, and managed to produce his DVD, he said, through “the high-energy style I teach, along with the strength and grace through God.”
The film, recorded at Victory Christian Center in Charlotte, answered a longtime prayer for Wah.
“This is a story of determination and perseverance,” Wah said. “If you stick with your dreams and never give up you will finally get it done.”
“If you have faith all things are possible,” Way added.
DVDs can be purchased for $20 at GNC in the Innes Street Market, Bible Bookstore, the J.F. Hurley Family YMCA, and @ www.thewahway.com. Proceeds will benefit the Teen Achievers educational youth program at the YMCA.
– – –
Contact Christina Lopez at 704-797-4245 or intern@Salisbury Post.com