The San Jose Mercury News
June 19, 2018
By Rachel Basso - Silicon Valley Community News
Courtesy YMCA of Silicon Valley.
Asami and Jeff Harte workout during their regular tandem training routine at the Central YMCA in San Jose.
When Asami and Jeff Harte enter the gym, laughter pours out more abundantly than sweat. A Silicon Valley family man working in high tech, Jeff had just begun personal training sessions at Central YMCA when his 12-year-old daughter, Asami, asked to join in.
It all started when Jeff, who races sailboats on the San Francisco Bay in his free time, felt he needed to specialize his training.
“I noticed I was getting hurt a little more and my recovery wasn’t as fast as in the past,” he said of the original inspiration.
Asami wasn’t interested in just filling her time watching her dad workout and instead asked to join in.
“Jesse was very flexible,” Jeff recalls of his Y trainer, Jesse Iloreta, “Next thing you know (training together) became a thing.”
For Asami, the workout sessions offer a unique opportunity to spend uninterrupted quality time with her father.
“My dad usually spends a lot of time on his phone, making calls and working, so it’s actually really nice to spend quality time with him and work out at the same time to get fit,” Asami said.
She is also grateful that their trainer puts so much emphasis on personalization to keep her dad healthy.
For his part, Iloreta prides himself on creating the personalized training plans.
“I love seeing members improve their health. Working with Jeff and his daughter is always a fun time,” said Iloreta. “Jeff races boats and Asami plays volleyball, so when we train together I focus on developing a program that incorporates balance, coordination, and strength endurance.”
For Jeff, his daughter’s presence in the gym adds a dose of fun into a taxing workout. Her contagious laughter and enthusiasm for each exercise make a grueling 30 minutes breeze by.
“Working out with Asami becomes a lot less serious because she laughs and giggles, so as hard as a workout can be it becomes more fun by doing it together,” Said Jeff.
With his daughter in the session, Jeff’s motivation to stay healthy and fit is standing right in the room. Quality time in the Harte family includes hiking, beach days, traveling to visit family in Japan, and watching sporting events together.
Rachel Basso is the marketing communications manager for YMCA of Silicon Valley and writes this story exclusively for the Bay Area News Group. If you have a Y story to tell Rachel, email her at rachel.basso@ymcasv.org.
Read the original story here:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/19/father-and-daughter-team-up-to-make-workouts-fun/