interview with a fitness coordinator

Doreen Weiser, Group Exercise Manager, Executive Health & Sports Center

You are an instructor who is known for very tough programs but with the utmost caution to injury prevention. How do you do that when most of the people have a "no pain, no gain" attitude?

As a fitness professional with over 20 years of experience, it is my prime responsibility to ensure that any of the classes taught at The Executive are done so in a safe, yet effective manner. We strive to educate our members on what is appropriate and offer many modifications in order to best service our members needs.

Our members are very receptive to the wealth of educational information that we share within any given Group Exercise class.

What body parts do you work on in each class. How are your classes like? What are your short term and long term goals for the members who take your class?

I teach many different class formats, so this is somewhat of a vague question. (Strength Train, Spinning, Step, Pilates & Yoga). Typically, my classes are geared to providing a total body workout with an emphasis on core training. I also strive to provide many functional exercises within my class formats. Functional exercises mimic day-to-day movements in order to make one stronger in areas that we may be weak in order to prevent future injuries.

Short term goals for my members would be to educate them on the benefits of exercise and give them a great workout and long term would be to see them successfully change their lifestyles so that exercise is part of their daily lives!

You are also known to be very strict with using the heart rate monitor in spinning class. Please tell me the importance of heart rate and exercise.

I am proud to stay that we are the only health club in this area that incorporates heart rate monitors and training in the Spinning program. Educating the members on where their heart rate should be and why during a workout is critical in helping them to improve their overall cardiovascular conditioning. Too often members train above their aerobic thresh hold and will no longer see fat or weight loss as their body will only burn carbohydrates or sugar at high heart rates. (That would be referring to the no pain, no gain theory that too many people make the mistake of adhering to).

Heart rate training is a science in and of itself and it is very important to have an educated staff in order to deliver the information to the members.

We pride ourselves in training our staff both in house and at outside fitness conferences.

You are also big with Pilates. How does it help prevent injuries?

Pilates based exercises, whether performed in a mat class or on the large apparatus that we have at the Executive: Arc Barrels, Reformers and Stability Chairs, focuses on stabilizing and strengthening specifically the muscles of the core: abdominals, back, and gluteal muscles. Exercises are very specific and performed in a controlled manner to ensure proper execution and fluidity of movement.

If practiced consistently, one can actually correct muscle imbalances and improve their posture and flexibility.

All of the above is beneficial in injury prevention.

Do you work with any professional athletes? What kind of program do you assign them to do?
We train many athletes at The Executive—from school age to the professional athlete.

Out trainers evaluate their clients needs and design programs to address any postural issues, muscle imbalance issues, overuse issues, etc.

Often with an athlete, one of the areas that requires the most work on is flexibility—or lack thereof.

Athletes train hard and their workouts tend to be sport specific. So it is important to address the areas of the body that tend to become neglected because of the above.

Can you please tell me some of the injuries you have seen that could have been prevented by good strength training programs?

We see it all: back, hip, knee and shoulder girdle are probably the most common areas of injury presented to us.