Bellingham Athletic Club

Swim Lessons

Summer will be in full swing by the time this next session starts, and school gets out this week, so if you’re looking for something to do with the kids, consider Swim Lessons! We are offering additional times in the Morning, afternoon and evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so take a look at our expanded classes.

Additionally, we are still running our swim lesson raffle! Just come into family swim 3x throughout the month of June and turn your completed family swim pass to the front desk. They’ll have you fill out an entry form and you’ll be entered in a raffle to win a free round of swim lessons! It’s worthwhile if your kids are in the pool for lessons, and gives the whole family an opportunity to enjoy the pool.

June 25 – July 18th (4 weeks/7Lessons)

Call (360) 676-1800 to sign up!

Press here for current Swim Lessons Schedule details and pricing.

Press here to go to the Aquatic Page.

Friday Night Out

With the madness of summer coming up, do you need a little extra time to yourselves? Come check out our Guaranteed Friday Night Out! Drop your kids off at BAC once a month on Friday!  This is a very popular program where kids of all ages will have a blast playing games or doing crafts, chowing down on pizza, going swimming then finishing the night off with a family-friendly movie and popcorn. Contact the front desk at Cordata for more information!

If you have suggestions or ideas for summertime activities, feel free to let us know. We are open to offering new programs if there is any interest.

WHEN: June 21

TIME: 5:30pm-9:30pm

COST: Member: $14; Non-Member: $20

Contact the Cordata Front Desk for more information or to reserve a spot!

Enjoy those summer vegetables!

In the Pacific Northwest, June through October are some of the busiest months for harvesting veggies, especially leafy greens! Lettuces, cabbages, peas, beans, broccoli, artichokes, peppers, tomatoes, etc are all in season and most delicious during the summer months. A few members of this in-season harvest are especially awesome due to their levels of sulforaphane.

Sulforaphane is a chemical found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage which has been shown to protect the stomach-lining, regulate blood sugar, and have anti-inflammatory mechanisms that are shown to slow aging and fight cancer. Wow! This wonder-chemical is produced by cruciferous vegetables as part of a defense mechanism found in plants to protect themselves from herbivores. Damage to the plant activates the defense mechanism, so research is being done on cooking methods to find which is most productive.

Studies on broccoli have shown that boiling or microwaving (though I hope you’re not microwaving any of your food as it destroys the nutrients) significantly decreases sulforaphane production. Instead, it has been shown that chopping into small pieces and leaving to sit for up to 90 minutes before stir-frying produces the most sulforaphane. Leaving it to sit is important as it gives the plant time to produce the chemical. Other studies have shown that adding mustard seed (which is a potent source of myrosinase, the enzyme which kick-starts sulforaphane production) to a chopped/cooked cruciferous vegetable also optimizes sulforaphane availability.

If you’d like to learn more about nutrition and how to get yours in order, please visit my website at bit.ly/rebelyum or email me at shelby.ntp@gmail.com.

Fit as a Family!

Our kids basically grew up at BAC! Through the years they’ve spent countless hours in Kids Club, swim lessons, hosted birthday parties and played at Friday night out. They were very excited to graduate from Kids Club to get their Junior Orientation card! Now they stay active in sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and golf), gymnastics and dance.

Chad loves cardio, so when he comes you’ll see him on a treadmill or elliptical machine. 

I’m addicted to classes & I’ve tried many. Step, power pump, HIIT, Zumba®, dance jam, TBC, pilates & RIPPED. The instructors here are excellent & I always leave feeling thoroughly worked out!

This winter we bought a trailer, so our summer will be filled with camping, biking, swimming & walks/hikes to explore wherever we are! We love being active & outside, so we can’t wait for summer vacation to begin!

Downtown Schedule

Our Downtown location Summer hours will be as follows:
Monday – Friday 5:00am-8:00pm (effective July 1)
Saturday 7:00am-2:00pm (effective July 1)
Sunday 7:00am-2:00pm (effective June 23)

Into the Pool

by Brittany McIntosh, Aquatics Director

With summer coming up, more people will be in the pool trying to get their cardio in! Many of our lap swimmers find workouts online, or write themselves a workout. If you’re feeling a little listless about what to do in the pool, take a look at the whiteboard posted on the pool deck. You’ll see the Swim Team workouts from the week! We will be posting two new workouts every week, which are available for everyone to use at their leisure. However, for those who are working around an injury or other limitations, these  workouts can seem daunting. Never fear! There are ways to modify the workout for any swimmer. Here are a few tips to make your workout work for you!

Adjust the Lengths Provided
Most workouts will include distances of 50, 100 or 200 yards at a time. If you aren’t able to swim a prolonged distance without stopping, cut down the yardage. If the set says to swim 8 x 50’s, cut it down to 4 x 50’s, or 8 x 25’s (1 length). You’ll still get the benefit of the variety of distance without aggravating an injury.

Change the Stroke
Our sets also specify which stroke you should swim for a certain distance. If you don’t know all four strokes or are unable to do a certain stroke, substitute something you know! Here are a few suggestions:
• If Butterfly is listed, do Dolphin kick instead. Feel free to use a kickboard for support!
• If Backstroke is listed, do Elementary Backstroke, or any kind of swimming on your back that feels comfortable
• If Breaststroke is listed, try side stroke instead. Side stroke is a little easier for those with knee issues and mimics the movement of Breaststroke.
• If Freestyle is listed, modify your stroke! If you’re uncomfortable putting your face under water, try swimming freestyle with your face up, or using a pull buoy to add some support to your stroke.

Take Extra Rest
Most of our workouts include a specific amount of rest between each new set. If a set says to take 30 seconds rest, feel free to extend to 45 seconds, or 1 minute. Just remember to stick with the same amount of rest throughout the set so that you the full benefit of the rhythm of the workout.

Enjoy your summer, folks, and remember that with the pool becoming busier, we all need to share our space! Circle swim if you know how, or just scoot over to allow more space for swimmers. We all want to enjoy the pool, so let’s work together to make sure it’s accessible for everyone!

Swim Team Workout 2

Warm-up: 200 IM, 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 sprint

Main Set: Ladder Set!  :30 Rest

2×50 Choice of stroke-Sprint!                    

1×100 Butterfly Drill: Dive-Down (California Butterfly)

1×200 IM swim at 90%

1×300 Freestyle at race pace

1×200 Backstroke at 90%

1×100 Butterfly swim at 90%

Cool Down: 2×50 Choice  at easy pace

Meet the Pinto-Gonzalez family!

Hello BAC! We are the Pinto-Gonzalez family! My husband Victor and I have Two wonderful boys, Emilio(11) and Aziel(2) and we love to keep active as a family!!

Being a boy mom, it’s almost like there isn’t enough things to do in the world to tire my kids out! But thankfully here at the BAC, we have a one-stop shop of activities to do both individually and as a family unit! 

In the summers we love to hike, swim, and go on big family walks, or participate in local 5ks. 

On almost every day in the gym though, you can find my kids taking advantage of the WONDERFUL tutelage of kids club! The instructors are so interactive and there is something there for both my sons to enjoy! While they play and learn, I’ll be in a group fitness class or working upstairs in the weight room almost every day! My husband and Emilio love to play racquetball and come 3-4 times a week to train and play with the amazing group of individuals who play here as well! On the weekends we love to attend family swim or play soccer or basketball in the gym! We have all made friends and lasting relationships here, and find the people to be just as phenomenal as the location!

Rain or shine the gym can help to make sure my family can remain active year round! We are grateful for the community here at the BAC and hope that you enjoy and appreciate this place as much as we do! 

Sincerely, 
Victor, McKenna, Emilio and Aziel Pinto-Gonzale

Swim Team Workout 1

Warm-up: 200 IM, 100 Kick, 100 pull, 100 sprint

Main Set: Sprints :20 Rest

16×25 (1 length) swim, IM order

      1-4= Butterfly

      5-8= Backstroke

      6-12= Breaststroke

      13-16= Freestyle

(All 100% effort, all out sprint!)

1×200 choice easy

8×50 freestyle

Odd Numbers= Sprint!

Even Numbers= Pull, focus on elongating strokes

Cool Down: 1×200 freestyle at easy pace

June Member of the Month

Congratulations to our member of the month for June, Jeniffer Shull! Jeniffer joined BAC in July of  2018 and has been working out on a regular basis. She loves the energy and friendly environment at BAC. You will see her in various group exercise classes such as Insanity, TBC,  Strong, and Zumba to name a few. Jennifer loves the classes for all the peer motivation they provide. With a change in eating habits and exercise, Jeniffer has lost 40 pounds since starting at BAC!

Jeniffer is originally from Mexico City. She moved to Colorado Springs 10 years ago and also lived in Indianapolis for 3 years until moving to Bellingham last July. She holds a B.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and is currently working on getting her Spanish translator and interpreter certifications.

Outside of the club, Jeniffer is a wine enthusiast and reads a lot about it; she loves grammar and enjoys learning new vocabulary words every day. She visits family in Mexico multiple times throughout the year. She also loves traveling and meeting new people from different cultures. She especially enjoys long walks with her Weimaraner, Maya.

Thank you, Jeniffer, for lighting up BAC with your smile and positive attitude!

“I enjoy living here now and giving the best of me while I work out, after all, that is what counts.”