Editorial
Front Page - Friday, January 1, 2010
Sports Barn trainer offers tips on losing holiday pounds
David Laprad
These days, nearly everyone is aware of the connection between overeating, inactivity and weight gain. But despite the massive annual marketing push by dozens of weight management companies, some people still have a hard time taking the first step. Sports Barn in downtown Chattanooga is doing everything it can to offer a helping hand.
With dozens of group classes geared toward all ages, experienced personal instructors, basketball and racquetball courts, an indoor track, reams of weight training gear and enough cardio equipment to power downtown Chattanooga on a Friday night, the popular fitness center has the facilities to help people get in shape.
Sports Barn also offers yoga classes, a heated pool and sprawling locker rooms with whirlpools, saunas and showers. You can even wind down with a post-routine massage. But although the center has thousands of members, many others are still trapped behind a wall of immobility.
Teresa Wade, director of operations at the Sports Barn on Market Street, says some people don’t work out in public because they’re afraid of doing something wrong. They must conquer this fear, however, because they’ll rarely get results exercising at home.
“Everyone I know who has fitness equipment at home hardly ever uses it because it’s boring,” Wade says. “It’s more fun to be around other people with the same goals and energy.”
Either Wade is right or she’s a good salesperson, because not only are the strength training classes at Sports Barn full, up to 50 people attend each of the center’s abs classes, held four days a week. “Sure, you can do abs on the mat by yourself, but that’s not going to be as effective as one of our instructors leading you through a series of exercises and making sure you’re doing them right,” she says.
The fear of looking inept around others is just one of the things that keeps people at home, staring at the treadmill. Visions of working out in rooms full of lean, mean exercise machines is another, but Wade says this fear is unfounded as well, as folks of all sizes and shapes are members of Sports Barn.
“Not everyone here is in tip-top shape. We do a lot of triathlete training because of the downtown demographics, but we also have plenty of overweight people in our classes,” she says.
To help those folks drop pant and dress sizes, Sports Barn in September rolled out a weight management program called Evolve Lean. The response of its participants has been good. “There’s none of the restricted calorie business,” says Wade. “You select and prepare your food, and you have a coach that works you out twice a week and makes sure you’re getting the right number of calories.”
Evolve Lean is designed to both help people drop excess pounds and enable them stay on track once they reach their goal. “You never arrive,” Wade says. “As you grow older and your hormones change, you have to work harder to achieve the same results.”
Wade says the group instructors and personal trainers at Sports Barn have the knowledge and experience needed to help people realize their goals. Most of the group instructors, for example, have been with the fitness center for more than 10 years.
“No one walks in here with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and starts working,” Wade says. “Everyone has to go through a mentor program to become Sports Barn-worthy. Once someone is Sports Barn-worthy, we’ll let him work with our members.”
Some people don’t exercise because they have no time to spare; like trying to squeeze 33-inch hips into a pair of medium jeans, it’s not easy to cram one more thing into an already full schedule. Sports Barn, however, goes the extra mile to accommodate busy lifestyles, opening at 4 a.m. weekdays and providing free toiletries. Plus, the center remains open until long after most people get off work.
There’s a limit to how much Sports Barn and other fitness centers can do to lure people through their doors, though; eventually, the individual has to step in that direction. Wade often encounters people who know all facts but are still hesitating. And she always asks the same question:
“Why are you waiting? It’s your life. You don’t know how being out of shape is affecting your body or how much longer you could live if you changed your lifestyle.”
The years have been good to Sports Barn. At 30, its equipment is on the leading edge, its air pulsates with energy and there’s a compelling social vibe running through its classes. What started out in 1979 as a racquetball club and a bar is now a great place to get in shape. The only thing missing is a trash can at the front door for tossing out excuses.
Learn more at www.sportsbarn.net.
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