Where did those extra pounds come from? Maybe it was the sweets on Halloween, or the turkey with all the fixings on Thanksgiving, or the large family feast on Christmas?
The holiday season inundates us with calories until January when many make their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, or eat healthy.
Need a line on how to achieve those goals? Plenty of people join gyms, but soon, a routine workout can become a chore or inconvenience until it fizzles completely.
Don’t worry – there are several invigorating alternatives to the gym that are fun and offer results.Moving toward the maximum
“I think it’s very important that, amidst all the craziness of the holiday season, people stick with their exercise program no matter what,” said Kim Jeblick, owner and trainer at Maximum Motion Fitness in Jersey City. “They should still push themselves to go, and they’ll feel better for it.”
Maximum Motion has a lot of small classes emphasizing breathing, relaxation, and concentration techniques, which can help relieve stress, too.
Jeblick also believes in the personal attention that small classes provide, and that individualized workouts keep boredom down and motivation up.
Dawn Weinstein agrees – she’s been a client at Maximum Motion for two years now, and in her first year, she lost 50 pounds.
Ever since she came in to prepare for her wedding, Weinstein, a Jersey City resident, has trained in private sessions with Jeblick on a regular basis, mostly cardio and weight training.
“She mixes it up. No two sessions are the same,” said Weinstein. “It’s so much more personal than even going to a personal trainer at one of the larger gyms, which I’ve tried.”
Jady Su, also a resident of Jersey City, has been coming to Maximum Motion since October, and being over 40, she believes taking the Pilates, ballet, and yoga classes keeps her healthy after having surgery six months ago.
Paul Silverman, a real estate developer in Jersey City, is 51 years old, and he started going to Maximum Motion a year and a half ago when his brother bought him a gift certificate. Now, if he has to go to a meeting a mile away, he walks instead of driving.
“My stamina is greatly improved, I have more energy, and my clothes are looser. I’ve lost 15 pounds,” Silverman said.
Train your body to be better
Many types of exercise are effective regardless of age or even disability.
Mary Zogt, Jersey City resident as well as grand instructor and owner of Harmony Pilates in Hoboken, said, “I have a lot of people who are coming to rehabilitate from maybe an accident that they had, but then I also have the women who want to trim something off their abdominal area.”
Christie Freeman, trainer and owner of Project Pilates in Jersey City, explained, “It’s user-friendly for the older generations coming in, and they don’t necessarily want a workout. They have things they want to work on,” which she said can be soothing aches and pains or getting lean and toned. “Pilates hones in on specialized areas of your body and really focuses on developing certain muscles in a more flexible, holistic sense. It increases mobility, joint capability, flexibility, and of course, strength, and it’s a real endorphin release.”
Chisel Circuit in Jersey City concentrates on long-term fitness for all ages utilizing Pilates, yoga, traditional strength training, balance, and more, “taking the best of all of these modalities and turning it into a complete program,” according to owner and head trainer, Morgan Ciani.
Ciani’s clients range from professional athletes to 75-year-old men with Parkinson ‘s disease, and all do the same things, just not in the same amounts, she said, explaining that the goal is a personalized experience that includes nutrition and regular individual assessments. And the effect “lasts a lot longer than that gym membership that somebody follows for two months, and then they fall off.”
Can’t make it to a studio? Garrett Roberts Fitness Solutions serves a wide range of clients at their homes in Hudson County from athletes to people with Parkinson’s to children with autism. Roberts, a Hoboken resident and “exercise physiologist,” works with people who are in sports or have disabilities or handicaps, among others.
“Depending upon what their issue is; for instance, for people with autoimmune diseases – that the body basically attacks itself – I prevent the progression of the disease through different types of training,” Roberts said.
“Primarily with those types of people, I do manual resistance. There’s no weights, no dumbbells, or machines needed … The disease is not going to progress as quickly and they’re going to be stronger, more limber, so the disease doesn’t take over their life.”
And now for something completely different
Conventional exercise not necessarily your thing?
Cobra Fencing Club in Jersey City is a place where adults and kids alike can learn a classic sport of skill and strategy while working up a sweat.
“It’s a full body workout. It’s a very intense aerobic activity,” said Steve Kaplan, owner and master fencer. “Most people are attracted to sword-fighting, either because of movies or because of the romance of the sword, and because it’s a one-on-one combat sport.”
Kaplan said some students have even earned national ranks.
One ambitious young fencer is 12-year-old Jessie Skye Laffey, daughter of Kim Snyder, of Jersey City, and she’s been going for two years now.
“She loves her classes,” said Snyder. “She competes on the national level, and each year she gets closer … She’s in great physical condition, she’s incredibly strong, and I think what this teaches more than anything else is strategy,” Snyder explained, believing that this is an opportunity every parent should give their child.
If you’re looking for an affordable wide range of classes and facilities for the whole family, the Hoboken YMCA is encouraging new members to join and take advantage of its year-end special, which includes 20 yoga/Pilates classes per week and 13 group exercise and dance classes. The YMCA also offers various classes and activities such as swimming, basketball, karate, ballet, and more over the course of the year.
Want to get in shape and learn self-defense? Club-KO in Hoboken teaches one of the hottest martial arts today, kickboxing.
“Most people come here because the workout itself burns up to 800 calories per workout,” said Tim Andreula, KO’s chief financial officer. “There really is no other better workout than this for somebody who wants to lose weight, and you really tone up during the workout as well,” Andreula said, adding that hitting the heavy bags can be great stress relief.
Club-KO offers a 10-week program for those who want to start with a dramatic lifestyle change, with nutrition coaching that includes recipes, and a commitment of two to three classes a week.
Andreula emphasized that so much muscle is gained and muscle weighs more than fat, so the difference is in how you look and feel. “A lot of people are looking at the scale, and the scale really doesn’t mean anything, it’s how the clothes fit you.”
Find your fitness solution
Chisel Circuit, 150 Bay St., Suite 726, Jersey City, (201) 484-8401, www.chiselcircuit.com. Packages available.
Club-KO, 127 Grand St., 900 Madison St., Hoboken, (201) 963-7774, www.clubkogyms.com. Next 10-week program starts Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Madison Street location.
Cobra Fencing Club, Lackawanna Warehouse, 629 Grove St., Jersey City, (201) 882-2879, www.cobrafencing.com. Open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesdays 5 to 9 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Garrett Roberts Fitness Solutions, Hoboken, (609) 851-4213, www.garrettfitness.com, garrett@garrettfitness.com. In-home training serving Hudson County. Complimentary in-home consultation.
Harmony Pilates, 720 Monroe St., #E508, Hoboken, (201) 653-3011, www.harmonypilateshoboken.com. Hours by appointment only.
Hoboken YMCA, 1301 Washington St., Hoboken, (201) 963-4100, www.hobokenymca.org. Special offer on membership rates available through the first week of January.
Maximum Motion Fitness, 183 Montgomery St., Jersey City, (201) 985-9114, www.maximum-motion.com. Open Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sundays 9 to 2 p.m. Doors are open 15 minutes before and after each class. Personal training by appointment only. Packages and gift certificates available.
Project Pilates, 341 Grove St., Second Floor, Jersey City, (201) 432-5849, www.projectpilates.com. Open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Discount packages available.
Comments on this story can be sent to Mpaul@hudsonreporter.com.