Following the same exercise routine month after month can be boring and not yield the most positive results. Our minds and our bodies adapt to routine exercise. Exercise programs should be challenging enough to stimulate our bodies and include enough variety to keep our minds engaged.
The Healthplexâ Sports Club provides many different ways to reach your fitness goals. Walking the track, attending a group exercise class, gliding on a cross-trainer, moving weights on the exercise circuit, swimming or riding a Hydrorider bike in the pool are all excellent ways to improve your fitness level. Mixing up several of these exercises can help you improve faster and keep exercise exciting.
Our staff is constantly adding to the types of classes and programs offered at the Healthplexâ. Three of our newest offerings include Pilates personal training, a tai chi class and a balance exercise program.
Pilates
Pilates is a gentle exercise program that focuses on training the core muscles of the body to improve posture, flexibility and functional fitness. Anyone can do Pilates, and everyone can achieve amazing results. Pilates includes no bouncing, jarring, or stress to your body and is ideal for people who have joint pain or muscle weakness.
Pilates helps create more space between each vertebra in the spine, increasing support. That extra space creates more mobility and helps you to move with more grace and ease. Pilates also stabilizes the core muscles of your abdomen. These muscles assist your body in keeping steady when walking. Arthritis sufferers have reported less pain following a Pilates program.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi Chuan is a type of “soft” martial art. Tai chi involves a series of graceful flowing postures that provide exercise for the body and helps the mind by teaching participants concentration. Tai chi is based on the idea that energy called chi flows through the body along “energy pathways.” Tai chi is done to increase a person’s energy (chi) and improve health through gentle, graceful, repeated movements.
Tai chi consists of 13 movements (each of which has 10 to 15 extra moves) designed to achieve flexibility, inner strength and balance and peace. Improved posture, balance, coordination, endurance and flexibility can result from the practice of tai chi. The movements relax muscles, free joints and ease tension. This type of exercise is suitable for people of all ages and requires little or no special equipment.
Balance Program
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among older people. Falls are a result of internal changes in muscle strength, vision, reaction time and the sense of touch. External factors like poor lighting, unseen objects in the walking path and slippery or wet floors are also factors that may cause a fall. Falls also account for more than 85 percent of all fractures in older adults.
To decrease the chance of injury from falls, the Healthplexâ Sports Club Wellness Department has created a fall prevention balance program. The balance program is great for anyone who, because of age or infirmity, has a higher risk of injury from falling. The balance program includes a fall risk assessment and an exercise program designed to increase strength and decrease risk factors associated with falling. Exercise can increase your muscle strength, improve flexibility and range of motion in your joints, and improve reaction time.
For more information about these new programs, contact: