Why Supportive Fitness Beats Traditional Personal Training

Practically every gym promises to make you better, faster, stronger—but St. Luke’s Fitness & Sports Performance Centers are a bit different.

“We offer medically based fitness centers,” said John Graham, senior network administrator for fitness and sports performance, “and we take an individualized approach to enhance the health and wellbeing of our clients.”

The center welcomes practically everyone, regardless of physical capacity. “We see all sizes, shapes, abilities, and fitness levels here,” Graham continues. “And about 50 percent of our clients have some kind of chronic disease or disability. Many are fully mobile, while others rely on scooters to get around.”

All programs include constant monitoring and evaluation, both to measure progress and to evaluate goals. Losing 40 pounds won’t happen overnight, and regular evaluations, including body fat composition analysis, can help determine whether your program is on-track or needs adjustment.

Goals can change over time, too. After attaining a certain level of fitness, you might want to go further. “You’re welcome to stay in our program for as long as you wish. Some clients have been with us for more than 20 years,” Graham says. “In every case, their goals have changed – and they’ve continued to reap benefits. We look at fitness as a lifelong activity.”

The center focuses on three general workout areas:

• Strength and endurance, using free weights, kettle bells, resistance bands, weighted ropes, and other gear.
• Cardiovascular development, with an equipment arsenal that includes treadmills, elliptical machines, and Airdyne-style full-body bikes.
• Metabolic fitness, through developing effective workload and recovery patterns to make your metabolism more efficient, both inside and outside the gym.

Workouts at the center needn’t be solitary sessions, either. There are over 100 assorted group exercise classes offered each week.

In addition to individual clients, the center provides sports performance programs for local athletes, including the Parkettes, and high school wrestling, swimming, football, lacrosse field hockey, baseball, and soccer teams.

“We offer tactical fitness programs for first responders,” Graham says. “Consider firefighters, for example.  Their lives may depend on being able to wear 60 pounds of gear as they handle high-pressure hoses in 600-degree environments.” These programs focus on building job-related aspects of strength, power, speed, agility, and metabolic fitness.

And, although it’s hospital-affiliated, there’s no need for a physician referral and no waiting for insurance reimbursement.

Interested? Visit getfit.sluhn.org or call (484) 426-2540.