Fitness For Cancer Victims; Menomonie Meltdown; Fit Weddings

Fitness For Cancer Victims

Enhancing Health wellness center provides all the programs necessary to help cancer victims get back on the path to total wellness.

STEVE COLLETT, OWNER of Enhancing Health fitness and wellness center in Duluth, Ga., understands first-hand what cancer can do to someone, having lost his step-father to liver cancer, watched his mother fight uterine cancer and win and, now, sharing in his sister's struggle with breast cancer. So, he decided to take that knowledge and combine it with his 17 years of experience as an exercise physiologist and design a comprehensive wellness program for people with cancer. The Cancer Initiative provides a free three-month membership to anyone being treated for cancer, or a free one-month membership to anyone in remission. Included in the membership is a fitness evaluation, personal training session, nutrition consultation, a Pilates session and a massage. Working with the American Cancer Society, Collett started the initiative in February 2006. He is marketing the initiative in his facility via flyers, newsletters, email and the center's website. While, as of press time, the fitness center had yet to sign anyone up for the program, Collett has hope that the word will spread. "My wife, Lisa, and I,... with our very experienced and educated staff (exercise physiologists, registered dietitians, certified massage therapists, certified Pilates and yoga instructors) can provide the programs to help anyone in need," says Collett. "The only thing that we require is someone with a positive attitude [who] is willing to 'fight' it with us." Collett's facility has received some press on the initiative, and, in August, the facility received an ASF Gold Star Award from the Atlanta Sports and Fitness magazine as club of the month for its innovative programming. Look for updates on the initiative in future issues of Fitness Management.

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Menomonie Meltdown

BodyWorks Athletic Club members and community participants melted away the pounds through exercise during the annual Menomonie Meltdown weight-loss program.

TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY members to lose weight, get in shape and, at the same time, bring them into the fitness center, the BodyWorks Athletic Club,Menomonie, Wis., holds its annual Menomonie Meltdown weight-loss program. To participate, members and nonmembers pay a small registration fee. Nonmembers are then given a seven-day pass, which gives them an opportunity to get acquainted with the facility, explains PR Consultant Dana Maney. A three-month membership special coincides with the Meltdown to provide extra encouragement to work out in the facility. Once signed up, participants come in on a biweekly basis to weigh in. "After the seven-day pass expires, those who did not purchase a membership are still eligible for the biweekly weigh-ins," says Maney. And, "everyone who weighs in that week is entered into the prize raffles." The Meltdown is advertised through radio, flyers and newspaper ads. The first year (2005), a total of 100 contestants lost 440 pounds. In 2006, 145 active participants (anyone who weighed in more than the initial weigh-in) lost more than 600 pounds. Prizes for the weekly raffles and for the overall winners (one man, one woman) were donated by area businesses, and also included an annual membership to BodyWorks and personal training packages. Grand prize winners were featured in a full-page advertisement that included all of the community sponsors. The promotion "brings an energy and excitement to our facility by bringing in new faces and offering additional motivation to get in shape for the spring and summer months," Maney says. "The contest served as a catalyst to establishing and promoting [participants'] own healthy lifestyles and goals." And, it paid off in 2006 for Body- Works, with the gain of 30 to 40 new members. Plans are in the works for the third annual Meltdown.

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Fit Weddings

Enhancing Health The Penthouse Gym staff trains wedding couples in its Fit Weddings program in the Class Planet and Fitness Planet exercise areas.

"LOOK GOOD AND feel gorgeous on your wedding day." That's the slogan of The Penthouse Gym's Fit Weddings, personalized training programs and group classes for brides, grooms and the entire wedding party. According to Sabrina Cadini, membership and special events director for her husband's fitness center, as well as owner of a boutique wedding planning firm, La Dolce Idea, "Fit Weddings [programs] … are custom-designed for the entire wedding party to ensure an amazing workout, success of fitness goals and lots of fun together." The difference between this program and those at other facilities is that it provides one-stop service, complete with wedding planners and coordinators. The Penthouse Gym provides a complimentary package to wedding couples that includes an initial fitness assessment and a training session, explains Cadini. In addition, La Dolce Idea staff provides a complimentary get-together with ideas and suggestions for the wedding based on budget, vision and dreams. The La Dolce Idea staff also keep track of each participant's progress, making sure that the program doesn't drastically alter their body shape ("no additional gown fittings!"), and assists them with wedding planning. By following the program for at least three months under the supervision of The Penthouse Gym certified personal trainers and with nutritional consultations, the program is currently helping five wedding couples achieve their goals: better posture, better health and better lifestyle. The goal is for the program to result in the happy couple saying "'I Do' with a relaxed smile on their faces and a gorgeous look on their bodies," says Cadini.

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