Photos by Wes Kroninger
With so many fad diets and fitness plans out there, it’s hard to know what’s going to help you reach your wellness goals and what’s only going to frustrate you.
Fortunately, the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany is here to simplify that process with personalized exercise plans. And with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Health and Fitness Center component now open, as of Dec. 15, those plans can be ready just in time for those New Year’s resolutions.
In addition to its collection of fitness equipment, the center will offer 50-60 group exercise classes per week, says General Manager John Paro.
Professionals with the Wexner Medical Center, which oversees the fitness center, have designed a physical assessment to be taken by all fitness center members. Based on this assessment, each member receives a personalized program, reviewed on a quarterly basis, Paro says.
Each assessment includes a graded cardiovascular fitness test, advanced body composition screening, wellness biomarker blood test, lifestyle assessment, flexibility and mobility screening, balance evaluation, and identification of personal health and wellness goals.
The Technogym equipment at the center allows members to plug in a USB key to access their individual programs stored in a wellness cloud, allowing for personalized workouts.
“There’s no guesswork involved,” Paro says. “It’s all right there in black and white.”
Upon finishing a workout, members can record their speed and distance in the cloud. The workouts can be made more or less challenging depending upon how the individual is feeling that day.
Healthy New Albany wanted to make the Heit Center a “central hub” in its mission to make health and fitness desirable, but also easy, says Patty McClimon, president of the Healthy New Albany board of trustees. The Technogym equipment was one way to achieve this goal.
“That was the technology manifestation of our vision,” McClimon says.
Paro, who has been in the fitness industry for 15 years, worked at a fitness center in Colorado that used Technogym equipment.
“We had very positive feedback from our members,” he says.
The Technogym software is great for people who have beginning to intermediate experience with exercise, Paro says. Typically, beginners enter a fitness center without much direction. They might not have any idea of how hard they should exert themselves. This type of technology gives members a plan that includes several different workouts, along with intensity recommendations for group activities. Access extends to the aquatics area’s lap pool and warm water exercise pool, as well as a free weights area.
The center’s unique placement within a larger grouping of community and medical services sets it apart from other stand-alone fitness centers, Paro says.
“We’re doing it better here than at any place I’ve ever seen,” he says.
Mike Durik, interim executive director at the Heit Center, also lauds the Heit Center’s partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and OSU for making it appealing for members.
“It really is an integrated partnership,” Durik says.
The technology that includes equipment and individualized monitoring of workout routines differentiates this fitness center, he says.
McClimon is also encouraged by the fitness center’s integration with other partners in the building. In this way, medical and fitness personnel can communicate with one another to better help individuals.
Paro plans to employ about 40 staff members for the fitness center. Standard group exercise will be included in the membership fee.
Classes include Zumba, yoga, low-impact aerobics, Pilates, ballet barre conditioning, water aerobics, BodyPump and indoor cycling. Paro wants to provide a balance to the schedule, he says; he’ll regularly rotate the times classes are offered during the day. Most of the classes will be available to take on a drop-in basis. Where there’s limited space, though – as with indoor cycling, for instance – availability will be based on advance scheduling.
The center will also include personalized training at an additional fee. For $110 per month per person, members can access Buckeye Wellness coaching packages designed to promote behavior changes.
For six months, coaches will provide one-on-one support for a variety of topics including cardiovascular health, cancer prevention and recovery, healthy weight, and healthy bones and joints. Communication will be done face-to-face, through email and by working with other professionals such as dieticians, fitness specialists, physical therapists, athletic trainers and exercise psychologists.
“Everybody is talking to each other,” Paro says.
Programming Procedures
The Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany is using survey information from incoming members to help determine class popularity.
Yoga, strengthening, Pilates, barre conditioning and indoor cycling – in that order – have been the most-requested classes, says Group Exercise Coordinator Danielle Novotny. Many people want early and mid-morning classes, and the center is trying to program the classes to meet this need.
The center will also base its programming on member assessment results, Novotny says. In the future, it may offer specialized classes such as yoga for back pain, or classes to help with multiple sclerosis or arthritis.
“That’s where those assessments really help me,” Novotny says.
Available classes are color-coded according to format: cardio, aquatics, mind/body, cycling, low impact and strength. Classes that require members to sign up for them, such as indoor cycling and barre conditioning, are labeled accordingly.
The schedule will change based on participation, Novotny says.
Members interested in learning more about group fitness classes can visit www.go.osu.edu/newalbanyfit.
Membership
Individual: $89 per month
Couple: $129 per month
Family (age 14 and over): $144 per month
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 5 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday: 5 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sarah Sole is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at ssole@cityscenemediagroup.com.
