Fitness: Health Club Trends

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Fitness:
Health Club Trends

By Mimi Wacholder

Looking good in a thong leotard over hot pink tights is no longer the fitness paradigm. Fitness today is more about wellness. Certainly no one has lost the desire to look good — that's a cultural standard — but what is waning is the need to look good at all costs. Feeling better and living better has begun to rival the "looking good" standard.

Yesteryear

Many body-building gyms in the past consisted of industrial-style spaces littered with free weights the size of truck tires. Men wore remnants of tank tops and flashy parachute pants, and the ladies whose body-mass equaled that of one of the male body-builder's legs could find a few cardiovascular machines off to the side. The sister to these testosterone-laden sites was the aerobics and Jazzercize studios, which made a big splash in the 80's and then tapered out.

Fitness Today

Health and fitness awareness is at an all-time high. There are segments on the news and in newspapers dedicated specifically to the topic and hundreds of magazines to feed consumer information about wellness. Baby Boomers, the first generation to grow up in the age of media info-mania, want to prolong youth, stay healthy and live an active life-style for as long as possible. A six-pack stomach would be great, but so would feeling better when you wake up in the morning. It's not just the Baby Boomers who are inspired to hit the health club it seems all generations are catching on.

The health clubs of today are very different than a decade ago. "In the past, most of the people who went to health clubs were already fit, now you see a much more average clientele," remarked Dave Leon of Leon's Centre: The Future in Fitness in Rotterdam. "Now it's the average Joe [or Jane], there are Joe's [Jane's] everywhere in sweat pants, not muscle tee's — they all have their own personal goals to meet," he added.

In Latham, ABC Sports and Fitness General Manager, Bryan Briddell commented, "I have actually heard people say-' I can't join a gym, I'm not in shape yet'-intimidated by the stereotype of the past that only fit people go to fitness centers." But it seems now, these people have less to be afraid of, and health clubs are more of an accurate cross-section of society--short, tall, large, small--everyone wants to feel good and stay healthy.

Personal Training

A big boom in the industry today is the omnipresence of personal training. It is not just for the celebrities and the elite VIP's anymore, and it's actually affordable. With a greater variety of clientele visiting health clubs, goals vary greatly. "You hear more and more people come in for a session and say-'My Uncle Bob just had a heart attack and I don't want it to happen to me'--," said Bill Crawford of Adirondack Nautilus Health Center in Glens Falls.

John Sheehan of World Gym in Saratoga Springs commented, "With winter coming up, sports-specific training is a big draw — people who are already active come to the health club to improve in a sport they already participate in." Goals include improving endurance on the slopes this winter and fine-tuning your golf swing, to lowering your cholesterol level can all be met by programs designed by personal trainers. Sheehan added, "People want a guide to help them to process all of the information they are ingesting from the media and make something work for them."

Although no state laws require that a personal trainer be certified, fortunately, most gyms do. There are more than 200 professional organizations in the U.S. that certify trainers who undergo specific, ongoing training and pass detailed exams. The most reputable include the American Council on Exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Aerobic & Fitness Association of America.

Group Programs

Another current health club trend is group programs. It seems as if most people are aware enough to know that if you workout, you will have positive health benefits — so they join a gym and resolve to work out. But it's very difficult to stay disciplined and studies have proven that group activities provide a much higher probability of return. Group fitness provides motivation, social interaction and personalized instruction. Aerobics used to be one of the only choices for group programs in health clubs, and now there is a buffet of choices to meet your goals or mood. "Ten to fifteen years ago aerobics was the big thing, but it's not for everyone. It's a thinking class with steps to follow and a lot of men wouldn't take the class because it was too much like dance. You've got to vary programs to keep it interesting and people want choices," commented Jeff Miller of Visions Fitness Center in Clifton Park.

Step Aerobics, Slide classes, Funk/Hip Hop classes and High Impact Aerobics are said to be on the outward trend and in comes a new wave of choices. Kathy Stevens of Medical News stated, "Interest is booming in the Far Eastern forms of exercise, which are gentle and mindful of movement and total body conditioning. Simultaneously, at the opposite end of the spectrum, there is a resurgence of the hard-core — no pain, no gain — style workouts." National and regional popular classes include yoga, tai-chi, spinning (a challenging guided stationary-bike class), sculpting (including Pilates), cardio kick-boxing, and cross-training boot-camp.

Expanded Programs

Aside from the variety of classes currently available at most clubs, many area facilities are offering clinics and seminar-style wellness programs. "We like to think of our facility as a community wellness center instead of just a health club. We offer seminars and courses such as Holiday Nutrition Survival Tips, Ski Conditioning Training, Swimming Lessons and Ironkids (an Ironman Triathlon introduction program for youth), for both members and non-members," remarked Terry Smallin, General Manager of Lake Placid Health & Fitness. He added, "We are part of a small, close-knit community and we want to bring people together in the spirit of wellness."

Dan French of the new Guilderland Capital District YMCA said, "The YMCA has traditionally offered programs for youth, seniors and more — but the courses are becoming more and more popular. We are responding to the demand and now offer programs in nutrition, prenatal care, and for people with disabilities." The activities are not just limited to the gym, French remarked, that they even offer full day hikes.

Technology

One of the most obvious shifts over the years is the technological advance in equipment. Many of the cardiovascular machines today seem more like a cockpit control panel, but they are easy to use and most gym memberships include standard equipment orientation sessions, which show what the machines do and how to use them. To determine if a center is up-to-date, look for strength-training equipment brands, such as Cybex, Hammer Strength or Paramount, and cardiovascular machines from Technogym, Vectra, Trotter, Precor and Reebok.

In conclusion, if the free-weights in your cellar and the Jane Fonda and Tae Bo videos are dust collectors, don't wait for inspiration because it may never come. Bring yourself to an inspiring environment, join a club, take some classes, sign on for a group hike, or meet some new friends you can join for a power walk. With the days getting shorter and the skies getting darker, it may be just what you need to get through the long winter. And, if you happen to run into anyone in a thong leotard, chances are it will be the fashion exception rather than the norm.

Mimi Wacholder resides in Lake Placid, where she works as a freelance writer and marketing consultant with Juniper Promotions. She is a yoga instructor and enjoys hiking and climbing in the Adirondacks and triathlon training.