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Healthy Clubs
There are many local fitness
clubs to meet your workout needs.
BARBARA ACKER
Special to The Jewish News
A
Photo by Glenn Triest
Free weights are
popular at the
JCC.
rnold Schwarze-
negger says you
should — and
George Bush
agrees. The sub-
ject is exercise and even your
mother is talking about it, if
not, already doing it.
Everyone knows that regular
exercise is good for your
heart, helps you to lose
weight and can even improve
you rmental well-being, but to
those trying to follow Nike's
"just do it" advice, there
might be some questions on
how to go about it.
If you have decided that an
area health club will provide
the place, the equipment, the
schedule and hopefully, some
of the motivation, there are a
few things you should con-
sider before signing a contract
and often paying non-
refundable initiation fees as
well as monthly dues.
Proximity to your home or
workplace is usually an im-
portant factor, although not
always the overriding one.
Still, it is easier to get to a
club that is close by when it
is 20 degrees and snowing
than to have to negotiate the
freeways at rush hour.
A health club should be
clean and well thought out.
F-6
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1991
Most clubs are eager to have
you visit their facilities; while
you are getting the sales
pitch, take time to notice the
condition of the locker rooms
and the wet area (showers,
wet and dry sauna, pools and
whirlpools.)
Also try to visit the club at
the time you would be using
it. If there are long lines of
people waiting to use the
equipment, it may not be the
place for you.
Most full-service clubs pro-
vide four main areas of
specialty: aerobics, fitness
training, racquet sports and
swimming. While each club
may offer special perks —
everything from more locker
room amenities to free baby-
sitting — you should focus on
what you want to do there.
The following is a partial
list of area clubs and what
they have to offer.
Jewish Community
Center, 6600 West Maple
Road, West Bloomfield. The
Center is a full-service club
with eight tennis courts
(three outdoor), 11 racquet-
ball courts and five squash
courts. Clinics, lessons and
children's programs are
available.
Aerobics classes are
available seven days a week
and range from easy-does-it to
a 75-minute STEP class
where participants step up
and down on an adjustable
platform while working with
or without handheld weights.
The large fitness room con-
tains aerobic equipment such
as Stairmasters, Airdyne
bikes, rowing machines and
treadmills. There is a 12-piece
Nautilus circuit for muscle
toning and both Olympic and
standard-plate free weights
for toning, conditioning or
sculpting.
JCC is one of the few clubs
that has specific pre- and post-
natal aerobic classes. Child
care is available for a small
additional charge.
The club also has one of the
largest indoor tracks, requir-
ing only 6% laps to a mile.
Most clubs, like JCC's other
elevated track, average 17
laps to a mile.
All classes and fitness areas
are coed, as are the indoor
and outdoor pools where
swimmers and non-swimmers
alike may take aqua aerobics,
swim laps or just enjoy the
free area.
The JCC provides personal
amenities for its members, as
well as massage therapists, a
whirlpool, sauna and steam
rooms.
An exclusive addition to
JCC is the Wellness Center,
run by Sinai Hospital.
Members range in age from
late 30s to mid 80s, and are
extensively tested and
monitored before they begin
their own personalized pro-
gram. Monthly dues are in
addition to health club fees.
Exercise specialist Lauren
Vander emphasizes that exer-
cising in this medically super-
vised environment is not just
for cardiac patients.
But she says, "There is a
strong feeling of camaraderie
and security in those who
come here:'
Director Alan Pearlstein
notes that the people who
come to JCC's Health Club
have often been members for
years.
"It's called the 'Cheers Ef-
fect: People like to come to a
place where everybody knows
your name."
For members like Sue Kauf-
man, it goes even further. "I
like to support and be a part
of the Jewish community,"
she adds.
Franklin Fitness and
Racquet Club, 29350 North-
western Hwy., Southfield.
One of the largest health
clubs in the area, Franklin