Fitness Evolution: Have It Your Way

Workout options proliferate, and Foothills gyms pick up on trends

In a move being mimicked around the country, some Foothills trainers and gyms are offering more than the one-size-fits-all standard workout.

Such classes include military-style boot camps, more cardio dance sessions, group training sessions for children and Pilates classes geared for overweight people. It also includes using technology to keep clients motivated on the days when they can’t meet with with personal trainers.

A few years ago, going to the gym meant hopping onto a treadmill, lifting a few weights and maybe attending the occasional aerobics class.

“Trainers used to train people like they trained themselves,” said Phil Eisenhauer, an exercise instructor and personal trainer at Sierra Fitness, 5455 N. Kolb Road. “It was almost like the way a bodybuilder trained.”

Today it’s about giving more people more options and focusing on clients’ specific needs, said Monica Neave, a personal trainer and exercise consultant with Select Fitness, 5501 N. Swan Road.

That includes offering more classes to people who aren’t considered “regulars” at the gym.

These days, people are focusing more on setting long-term goals, maintaining an active lifestyle and keeping nutrition in mind, she said.

“People want more options, and trainers and gyms are responding,” Neave said.

Pilates class

Belika Baker, a retired librarian, was used to going to the gym and wasn’t seeing results.

She counts herself among those who grew bored with the same routine of doing crunches and cardio work.

But with help from her personal trainer, Mary Gordon, that changed. Baker was among the first in Tucson to take a Pilates class developed specifically for larger people.

Gordon said she grew tired of seeing clients who were discouraged, and she wanted to develop a class that would work for all body types.

Over the years, a lot of exercise classes and movements were developed for people with medium-sized bodies, she said.

“Going to an aerobics class where you always had that ber-perky instructor saying ‘Try harder’ doesn’t work for everyone,” Gordon said.

The Pilates class, offered Mondays through Saturdays around Tucson, including at Sierra Fitness, has gained a following and is proving popular among those who never thought they’d be able to do Pilates, Gordon said.

First-time students can take a class for $20, and packages are available for more sessions.

“This class is for people who have the beer belly to those with mommy tummies,” Gordon said. “It’s for anyone who thinks of themselves as round.”

Kids and training

A few years ago, it was unheard of to have training classes set up for children at gyms.

But since starting Sierra FitKids, a youth exercise and fitness class at Sierra Fitness in the Foothills, more gyms around the country are offering such programs, said Eisenhauer, who leads the youth program at Sierra Fitness.

The class is offered for ages 8 to 15. Packages for the training sessions start at $149 for a month and range up to $529.

“Most kids don’t have P.E. classes anymore,” Eisenhauer said. “This is a way to get kids away from the television and teach them exercise habits early.”

The hour-long classes usually start with a session on food- portion sizes, making healthy snack choices and reading nutrition labels, followed by physical activity. Techniques focus on balance and setting up goals. Then the children do cardio workouts, often using exercise balls and balance boards.

“We also want them to have fun,” Eisenhauer said, adding that the classes help children build self-esteem.

Dance classes

Cardio dance classes are an option for those who want to add variety to their workouts.

Monique Mynlieff, owner of Red Monkey Studio at Paloma Village, 6330 N. Campbell Ave., said salsa classes and Nia dance – which blends artistic dance, yoga and tai chi into a cardio class – are becoming more popular at the studio.

Dance classes start at $12, and packages are available.

Starting in September, Red Monkey Studio also will offer a gyrokineses class, which blends yoga, swimming, dance and martial- arts movements using machines. It’s another way the fitness industry is changing exercise and training, and adding variety, Mynlieff said.

As a competitive cyclist, Wesley Weisheit already was used to grueling workouts.

But all-day training sessions on Mount Lemmon and dealing with the safety aspects of the sport took a toll on Weisheit.

“I got sick of working out,” he said. “I wanted to get away from competition and have more fun.” Weisheit’s solution came in the form of a salsa class at Red Monkey Studio, where 10 to 12 people gather each week to focus on footwork, coordination and, as salsa instructor Summer Sando said, “having a good time dancing.”

Weisheit said the salsa class is “180 degrees different” from anything he’s taken before.

“You can have a rum and Coke while you’re dancing (at a club). You can’t do that while you’re cycling,” he said.

Technology changes

IPods and other MP3 players are once again leading a revolution.

Downloadable audio workouts, such as the Cardio Coach (www.cardiocoach.com), are becoming more popular for those who want extra motivation during a workout, said Neave, the personal trainer and exercise consultant with Select Fitness.

The downloads are recorded by Sean O’Malley, a personal trainer in Virginia Beach, Va., who guides people while they are training.

Over the last few months, Neave has also developed online workouts for her clients with a step-by-step guide and an animated instructor to show people correct movements.

“It’s designed for people on the go,” she said. “You can open your laptop and do the exercises wherever you are.”

Neave often combines the online training with the audio workouts for her clients.

Foothills resident Claudia Taylor, a preschool teacher, uses the audio guides and Internet workouts on days when she doesn’t see Neave.

“I was looking for a comprehensive approach to training, and I think I found it,” Taylor said. “It was also motivating to have someone guide you through the workouts at home. In general, I feel like I’m doing something better for my health and my family.”

* Contact reporter Levi J. Long at 807-8414 or llong@azstarnet.com.