HUNTLEY – High on the top of New Year’s resolution lists—in fact, according to most national statistics, it’s ranked the highest “promise” of the new year—is fitness, getting in better shape, becoming a healthier you.
NorthWest Senior Wellness owner and physical therapist John Voelz instructs Sun City resident Louise Massat, N.20, on her workout. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Starting in January, health clubs and fitness centers fill up with eager individuals on the road to better health, but come the end of February and early March, health club memberships start to decrease as motivation slows before membership trickles back down to regular core members.
There are numerous reasons people lose steam maintaining this particular resolution, said physical therapist John Voelz, owner of the newly-opened NorthWest Senior Wellness fitness center in Huntley, but one of the primary reasons is lack of personalized management from a fitness professional.
NWSW uses hydraulic fitness machines that offer exercisers a smoother and more dynamic workout that results in little or no muscle soreness. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
“I think some people get bored with it [exercise]. Some people realize it’s more work than they anticipated. And I think they don’t have the guidance to keep going on a regular basis,” Voelz said.
Professional guidance, Voelz said, is the most useful tool for working through this February low point.
“To keep it from getting boring and mundane, you keep changing the program as their goals change,” Voelz said. “People usually start, and they get guidance right from the beginning, and after that, they don’t know how to progress.”
At NorthWest Senior Wellness, Voelz works with clients on an individual basis “so that we can tweak their program; we can change their program as things become either easier or … [more difficult] … or there are some other goals they come up with that reinvigorate their interest in the whole thing. We keep it fresh.”
What: An allied-healthcare business which offers preventative health, wellness, fitness and balance/mobility services exclusively to seniors over 55 and type 2 diabetics.
Where: 12185 Regency Parkway (behind Citizens Bank)
Phone: 815-354-5690 or 847-669-9497
Membership: Call for current specials on new membership.
NorthWest Senior Wellness is a multifaceted allied-healthcare business which offers preventative health, wellness, fitness, and balance/mobility services exclusively to seniors over 55 and type 2 diabetics.
“Seniors can receive a lot of preventative healthcare in one setting,” said Voelz about NWSW. “Members can receive blood pressure screening, blood sugar screening, body weight and eventually body fat analysis, and they can be set up on a targeted exercise or balance program by healthcare professionals.”
Beyond resolution lists, NWSW’s doors are open year-round to clients who want to improve or manage their overall health and fitness levels or prevent common injuries and other health-related complications due to ongoing health issues or concerns.
To combat the crowds associated with a usual fitness center or gym, members enjoy NWSW by scheduled appointments, reducing the number of people in the facility at a time and thus allowing Voelz to pay personal attention to each individual.
Sun City resident Gail Tepper of Neighborhood 24 attends NWSW to help lower her blood pressure and cholesterol and said the offer of personalized attention and guidance was what attracted her to NWSW originally.
“He [John] has a circuit set up for me. He helped me set up a plan to work on my specific needs, and he works with me one-on-one,” said Tepper, who uses NWSW during a scheduled time with other members. “He [John] makes sure that we are using the machines correctly. He is constantly monitoring that. He makes sure that when I’m using the weights that I’m lifting correctly. It’s good to have that one-on-one, so I know my workout is correct.”
NWSW also offers machines that feature hydraulic resistance opposed to standard weight resistance.
Voelz explained, “With [standard] weights, you use two different types of muscle contractions. It’s called a positive contraction when you lift up and a negative contraction when you lower back down.”
This standard method of weight resistance causes soreness for people who aren’t accustomed to exercising, Voelz said. But the hydraulic equipment only uses one type of muscle contraction.
“So it would be a push/pull type of muscle contraction. The user doesn’t have to lower anything. Hydraulic equipment provides a type of muscle contraction that results in little or no muscle soreness,” Voelz said. “Hydraulic equipment is very smooth, very dynamic, and doesn’t have to be controlled like weights do.”
Voelz said his number one priority at NWSW is offering members a comprehensive view and program to improve and manage their health and fitness levels through personalized guidance.
“The overall objective is to maintain whatever state of health or mobility that my members are in, unless there’s something they want to work on, such as their high blood pressure or their blood sugar, their diabetes … and then start to move that in a positive direction.”
