NYA Sports & Fitness Center, in partnership with Newtown Savings Bank and additional support from Sandy Hook Promise, is launching a free, four-week wellness initiative for 40 adult Newtown residents currently struggling to maintain their fitness levels.

The program’s goal is to help Newtown residents achieve a cumulative weight loss of at least 2,560 pounds over the next five years.

Working along with certified NYA Sports & Fitness trainers, participants will be provided with the necessary information, instruction, motivation, resources, and facility to improve their health. Participation is encouraged for adults who presently either are not participating in a healthy lifestyle or have struggled to lose weight in the past.

Success will be measured by body weight and electrical body fat impedance pre- and post-testing.

Participants will be provided with a wellness plan including a daily nutritional and fitness tracker. Trainers will provide support during special supervised strength sessions created just for participants of this program, and will also be available via e-mail and/or a private Facebook page to assist with daily questions. Participants will be provided access to the NYA’s fitness center with a one-month pass if needed.

Participants will concurrently be encouraged to engage in other forms of wellness, including a walking group as it is hoped a sense of social support will develop through this program.

“We are encouraging applicants that need to lose a minimal of ten pounds, have financial or time constraints that have impeded their wellness, and/or have physical or health limitations that have prevented them from succeeding in improving their health and wellness,” Cody Foss, director of the NYA fitness center, said of the program. NYA is located at 4 Primrose Street, within the Fairfield Hills campus.

Orientation and preassessments will be held Saturday, November 1, from  10:30 to noon, and the four-week program begins Tuesday, November 4. General strength training sessions will be held on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10:30 am or at 6 pm.

A walking group will be encouraged and facilitated through NYA as well.

Anyone interested in being considered for the program can sign up online at .nyasportsfitness.com