Published July 2002

Fitness centers offer programs
to meet health, scheduling needs

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

“Health is the vital principle of bliss, And exercise, of health.”
— “The Castle of Indolence,” James Thomson (1700-1748)

This two-line phrase says it all — and numerous studies confirm it: Exercise is good for you. But though the concept is easy to understand, making a commitment to exercise can seem difficult, especially when your time is filled with career, community work and family.

But it’s important — especially when studies show that regular physical activity can help a person control or lose weight as well as reduce the risk of heart disease, Type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure — that you take time for yourself.

“If you don’t take time for yourself now, then you better take time for yourself later to be injured or sick,” said Robin Gaudette, a registered nurse and owner of Synergy Personal Fitness in Mukilteo.

That’s the reason Gaudette became a personal trainer — to focus on the preventative side of health and wellness — and started Synergy in December 1998.

“I’d rather help people stay healthy,” said Gaudette, who created “a small place where people could be really focused on their fitness.”

At Synergy, training sessions are conducted on a private, semi-private or small-group basis of no more than 10 people per class. Offerings include Pilates, Johnny G Spinning, Resist-A-Ball, Yamuna Body Rolling, golf conditioning, posture correction and improvement, core conditioning training and flexibility enhancement, among others. Nutritional counseling also is available.

“We focus more on health and wellness rather than losing weight or developing huge muscles — we look at the body as a whole,” Gaudette said. “You can be a size 16 and be healthy.”

To attend a class, a participant must make an appointment.

Such structure doesn’t appeal to everyone, Gaudette said, but for those who enjoy the social aspects of attending a gym or want to be able to drop in when they’ve got the time, there are facilities out there to suit them and their needs.

“We haven’t even touched the surface of the amount of people who need to exercise,” Gaudette said. “There’s plenty of stuff out there for every person to do.”

Such as the QuickFit Circuit offered at Curves for Women fitness centers.

Rhonda Christensen, owner of Curves for Women centers in north Everett and Lynnwood, said the 30-minute circuit includes strength-training and cardio components, and is something that “all women can do.” And with the use of hydraulic resistance strength-training machines, there are no weight stacks to adjust as women switch stations every 35 seconds.

Members just drop in at the women-only fitness center when they have the time, do their 30-minute workout — which includes alternating between strength-training machines and aerobic recovery stations — and head back to life, whether that’s work, home or running errands. According to Curves for Women, as many as 500 calories can be burned during the half-hour workout.

“They love it,” Christensen said of the women who come to Curves. “They love the music. We give a lot of incentives away — for them to earn prizes. They see results quickly, and that’s pretty motivating to them, and they like that they can come in any 30 minutes of the day and don’t have to take classes.”

It takes regular attendance of three times a week to get in shape, said Christensen, who has lost 20 pounds on the program. “We do weigh and measure every month, and we also offer a diet program.”

Since opening her first Curves for Women center in January 2001, Christensen said she has seen huge growth in membership, especially at her north Everett center — where 250 women have signed as members since its grand opening this past January. Now, Christensen is gearing up to open a third franchise in Bothell.

“We have grandmothers, sisters, daughters, aunts — you name it, we have them,” she said.

But whether you prefer to get your exercise in a gym, a yoga studio or by biking or running in the good old outdoors, it’s up to you to make sure you get it.

At Synergy, Gaudette has a little saying that she puts on her brochures and other literature: “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

“If you want to see a change but just go on with life, your weight, how you look, how you feel is not going to change unless you do something about it,” Gaudette said.

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