Around the Hook Today – January 2011
For Eastpointe Health & Fitness’s Members and Training Partners 32-year old Alyson Santoro and 62-year old Elaine Egidio, Group Training with Personal Trainer Nadine Wellauer Has Made All the Difference.
“Anyone and everyone can benefit from weight training,” said EPH&F Personal Trainer, Nadine Wellauer. “Exercise truly is the fountain of youth.” Nadine has made believers out of women and men of all ages, sizes and walks of life who have trained with her at EPH&F. “I have clients in their 20s, in their 70s and every age in between. I have 32 year old Alyson working out with 62 year old Elaine and I have men working out with women. I believe group training adds a whole new dimension to working out. It is a great way to experience the benefits of a personal trainer at a very economical price. It makes you accountable. You don’t have to work out alone. You get professional instruction so you’re exercising the right way and you get pushed, gently, to go past the point where you may have stopped if working out on your own. And, of course, ultimately you get fit.”
Nadine got her start in fitness through dance with a repertoire
that included ballet, point and modern dance. She went on to become a certified personal trainer and worked in corporate fitness for a number of years teaching fitness to entire corporate staffs. As she grew in experience, Nadine became an examiner for the Aerobic and Fitness Association of America, both training and evaluating new instructors. She has also organized and promoted Master Fitness Classes at local fitness centers and has successfully completed courses in senior fitness, dance training and children’s community. Nadine has also done promotional work for the Avia Fitness Line. Besides personal training at EPH&F, she teaches Spin and Body Sculpt.
“My fitness philosophy is that I like to keep things fresh,” said Nadine. “I want to mix up the exercises, shake up any routine, not just to keep my clients interested but to keep my client’s muscles interested as well. It’s called muscle confusion.” Muscle confusion workouts operate under the theory that by constantly changing movements, the body will be forced to respond. Under typical workout routines (doing the same type of exercises a few times a week), muscles become used to the routine and the results are minimized. Muscle confusion workouts mix up the routines so the muscles have a harder time adapting, which causes them to work harder and produce visible results. “I like to give my clients multi-purpose exercises,” continued Nadine. “In other words, I try to work more than one muscle group at a time. It’s more efficient that way and burns more calories. You end up working the entire body. I make sure nothing gets neglected.”
Nadine incorporates this fitness philosophy into her Sculpt and Spin classes but especially into her group training sessions. Besides being economical, group training can enhance the work out experience. “It’s fun,” said EPH&F member, 32-year old Alyson Santoro who trains with Nadine. “Training with someone else helps keep you motivated.” Always active, Alyson joined the gym as part of her New Year’s resolution about six years ago. “I did the elliptical and spin classes and I used to watch Nadine work out with other people and I thought, I want to do that,” said Alyson. “I have two daughters who are seven and eight and a 16 year old son and I think it’s important for my kids to see that I work out and take care of myself. With weight training, I have gotten much more toned and a lot stronger. I still lift and carry my daughters once in a while and I know I wouldn’t be able to do it if I wasn’t training.” Alyson also got her husband, Anthony, to come and spin and weight train. “I love EPH&F,” Alyson continued. “It’s small and intimate and everyone is so supportive and friendly.”
Currently, Alyson weight trains twice a week with Nadine and training partner 62-year old, member Elaine Egidio. “I started dancing when I was four years old,” said Elaine. “I graduated as a dance major from Glassboro State College (now Rowan). I went on to teach dance in Virginia Beach and moved to Spain and started a dance program there. I then got involved with creative movement for children and I am now a Dance Movement Therapist. Although, I have been involved with dance all my life, I found that I wasn’t dancing very much myself. I also have an under active thyroid and I thought if I sped up my metabolism through exercise I could avoid taking medication. I started running and then joined the gym although I barely came. Then I started weight training and core training and took Nadine’s Body Sculpt class. Eventually, my schedule changed so I could weight train with Nadine. Now I’m a gym regular.” Besides wanting to speed up her metabolism, Elaine also wanted to work out so she could eat what she wanted. “I realized pretty quickly that that wasn’t such a good reason to exercise. I decided that if I’m going to get fit then I needed to look at my eating habits too,” said Elaine. “I met with Kim Garrity, the EPH&F Nutritionist and she worked with me on my diet. I started eating more fruits and vegetables and together with weight training and cardio work I lost four inches on my waist. Besides the weight loss I also have more energy and my muscles are more clearly defined. I also work out in the mornings which really set the tone for the whole day. I am in my 60s and I have to say I am probably in the best shape of my life. I have to give a lot of credit to Nadine, Kim and the entire staff here at EPH&F. Don’t let age be an excuse to not exercise. It can make a life changing difference to your health and well being.”
