Cigarette smoking increases the risk of heart disease in a number of ways. One aspect of arterial function that worsens with smoking is dilation or widening of the arteries when blood flow through them is increased. Smokers’ arteries are more likely to develop atherosclerosis (fatty deposits) and become less elastic than arteries of nonsmokers. This lack of arterial dilation could lead to diminished blood flow to the heart. If it continues, a heart attack might result. This is an important early factor in the development of cardiac problems.

Because smokers often have lower-than-normal levels of antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin C, in their blood, it has been suggested that increasing the intake of such vitamins might help prevent some smoking-related problems, such as impaired arterial dilation. Some smokers hope that by taking extra vitamin C they can reduce their risk of smoking-related heart trouble. But recent research does not support this theory.

To measure arterial function, researchers use a blood pressure cuff to compress the subjects’ brachial arteries, which are large arteries in the upper arm. They then released the pressure. Normal response to such manipulation is a dilation of the artery after the pressure is removed — the dilation was measured by an ultrasound technique, which provided an image of the artery.

Researchers from the Heart Research Institute of Australia and the University of Turku, Finland, studied the arterial dilation of 20 healthy smokers (average age 36 years) — eight men and 12 women. Arteries of participants were studied first before taking any supplements, and then two hours after taking 2 grams of vitamin C or an inactive compound (a placebo). Then, they took either 1 gram of vitamin C or an identical placebo every day for eight weeks. Subjects did not know whether they were receiving vitamin C or a placebo.

Two hours after the initial dose of vitamin C, the investigators found that the dilation of arteries was significantly increased (that is, more normal) compared to dilation after the placebo treatment.

However, after eight weeks of high-dose vitamin C supplementation, there was no difference between the arterial responses of smokers who had taken vitamin C supplements and their response when they took the inactive pills.

The authors interpreted these results as indicating that even long-term, high-dose vitamin C supplementation does not normalize the chronic arterial dysfunction that accompanies cigarette smoking. They noted that “smoking remains the major modifiable risk factor for vascular disease,” and that any benefit of vitamin C supplementation was very short lived. They stated that their study “discourages the daily use of vitamin C for vascular protection in smokers.”

“In fact,” said Dr. Victor Herbert of the Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City, “vitamin C supplements promote atherosclerosis by converting LDL cholesterol to the harmful form that deposits in arteries.” Herbert, a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health, points out that, “all antioxidants soak up destructive free radicals in some circumstances and generate them in others. Cigarette smoke, for example, causes vitamin C to generate free radicals.”

It should be noted that the level of vitamin C supplementation in this study (1 gram or 1,000 milligrams) was quite high compared to the dietary amount recommended for healthy adults, which is 75 milligrams per day.

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Television. Television is one element that your club may not be able to survive without. From its beginnings when one TV was located in the corner of the club with the volume turned way up, television systems have evolved into entire entertainment systems, complete with wireless, individual headphones, walls of TVs tuned to
different channels, customized exercise programs, and programming options that allow clubs to profit from local commercials and pick what programs they broadcast.

What your members want depends on your clientele and even what time of day they work out. The lunch crowd may be happy watching their soaps or a talk show, while the evening crowd will probably be bigger, necessitating a larger selection of programs, and maybe an entire wall of TVs all set to different channels. Says Craig Garza, executive vice president of BroadcastVision in Agoura Hills, Calif., “Exercisers plan workouts so they can watch their favorite programs. [This helps] healthy exercise patterns [to] develop, and positive fitness results [to be] achieved, which helps build facility loyalty and referrals.”

Music. Almost everyone has an opinion about music, and that opinion is as varied as your members. That is why deciding what music to play in your club can be difficult. One way to handle this is to play different types of music at different hours when your membershiptype changes. Whatever you decide to play, it should be upbeat. Most people don’t want to workout to love ballads or easy-listening music. Also, your members don’t want to hear the same music over and over again. Even if you play a CD mix that contains a variety of songs, your frequent members will start to recognize that those songs are repeating, and may even memorize the order in which they are played. Just think of how you feel during holiday shopping when you keep hearing the same songs played; it may make you go home and do your shopping online.

If the music in your club isn’t what your members want, or if there isn’t enough variety, they may workout at home or chose another facility.

Not only is the type of music you play important, but the quality of sound is as well. Rob De Hart, owner of AV Now, Fitness Sound Experts, in Santa Cruz, Calif., says, “Sound can have a large impact on how people perceive their workout. If the [music] sounds scratchy or stops working, if
a speaker is too loud or too soft, or if there is not enough bass emanating from the whole system, [your club] may
not be as well attended the next time…. If [your members] have a great time, they will tell a friend, and the referral
circle starts.”

To gauge what your members already know — as well as to sample their interest in the program — you might survey them in your club newsletter or emails, or post flyers and brochures around your facility. Even better, you might show them what’s involved by offering free training sessions. Some clubs set up the equipment in high-traffic locations and run 20-minute demonstrations to capture attention and spark curiosity.

Some certifying organizations even help secure news coverage in local newspapers about your new offering, and provide marketing and consulting support to help clubs. These actions help attract new members and position your club as a leader.

As with any program, you will need to provide all of your staff members with background information on Pilates-based exercise to ensure they can effectively position it as an opportunity for all members — men and women, deconditioned and conditioned — to move beyond “the burn” and achieve optimal fitness and well-being.

The author of the popular “Jock Doc’s Body Repair Kit,” Feldman points out that every aspect of how men and women relate to one another has changed in the past two decades. “There are more women in the workplace and more men assuming roles in the home,” he said. This results in more overlap in their roles, expectations and all other aspects of life — including their involvement in competitive athletics.

Women participating in traditionally male sports, such as in the WNBA, on women’s football and hockey teams, and in body building contests, have raised levels of competition for women to new heights. “Wherever there are sports, there’s competition. And wherever there’s athletic competition, some participants will want to gain an ‘edge’ over their competitors,” Feldman said.

Cascading Patterns Impact Youth
Pressure to gain the edge is now commonly felt well before high school graduation. According to the NIDA’s Monitoring the Future survey of 50,000 students conducted each year since 1975, illegal steroid use by high school seniors rose to in the 1990s, with more girls admitting to steroid doubling.

Perhaps more disturbing, a 1998 study of almost 1,000 middle school students in Massachusetts found that 2.7 percent had already taken steroids to improve their athletic performance, including some boys and girls as young as 10 years old.

According to Yesalis, anabolic steroids are “made to order” for youth seeking a lean, athletic body at any cost. Youngsters, like their idealized movie star and athletic role models may experience a decrease in body fat, increased muscle size and strength, and enhanced physical abilities. But they are seldom aware of the long-term negative health effects associated with these short-term gains.

The Dangers of Steroid Use
According to the NIDA, some common side effects are trembling, fluid retention, aching joints, acne, high blood pressure and lowered HDL (the “good” cholesterol).

Other possible health consequences of steroid abuse include:

• jaundice
• tumors
• tendon rupture
• short stature
• heart attacks
• enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle
• peliosis hepatis (blood-filled cysts in the liver)
• homicidal rage
• delusions

There are also some effects that are gender or age-specific, such as:

For women, the cessation of menstruation and smaller breasts, in addition to growth of facial hair, voice deepening and a masculinized appearance.

For men, development of breasts, reduced sperm count, shrunken testicles, difficulty or pain in urinating and an enlarged prostate.

For adolescents, premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty, which results in stunted growth.

Steroid-Use Symptoms
According to Yesalis, parents, coaches and school staff learning to recognize the hallmarks of high doses of anabolic steroid could curb the use of significant amounts of these performance-enhancing drugs among students.

“With low-dose usage, there’s no dramatic evidence,” he said, “but higher doses result in a rapid gain in muscle mass and strength. Parents or coaches who see quickly and steadily improving athletic performance have every reason to suspect the use of anabolic steroids is responsible. Except when steroids are being used, athletic performance improvements occur irregularly and unevenly. Sudden, massive improvements are a real tip-off.”

Another red flag is a preoccupation with physique and when young people believe themselves to be puny and weak, despite their obviously well developed musculature, Yesalis said.

Feldman notes that steroid users often develop unusual eating patterns or reactions to food, as well as numerous psychosocial patterns, including more aggressive and violent behavior patterns, coupled with ever-increasing amounts of time devoted to training and shaping their bodies. “There is often an obsession with how their bodies look, a quality of never being satisfied with their current body shape or size,” he said.

Feldman recommends that parents or coaches who suspect that a youth has begun or is continuing to use an illegal anabolic steroid to enhance his or her body image or athletic performance should establish and maintain as much open communication as possible while becoming better informed about community resources to diagnose and treat steroid abusers. He said, “It’s very important for adults to know when they are not getting through to a young user on the topic and thus need professional psychological or medical professionals to help.”

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse in Washington, D.C. reports that anabolic steroids have been linked to serious side effects in men since the 1950s. New research shows they are equally, if not more, damaging to women. But, dramatic as these health impacts are, side effects such as baldness, impotence, infertility and liver damage don’t seem to be dampening either gender’s interest in these substances.

If anything, men’s increasing preoccupation with body image — historically a female concern — and women’s increasing preoccupation with their athletic prowess — historically a male concern — have converged to push anabolic steroid abuse by both men and women to new heights, along with growing knowledge within the medical profession that the long-term health consequences of the fad can be significant and irreversible.

Anabolic Steroid Primer
According to NIDA, all anabolic steroids are derived from the male hormone testosterone. According to the U.S. White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, there are currently more than 100 different types of anabolic steroids available, and each requires a prescription to be used legally in the United States.

Steroids can be taken by mouth, by injection into muscle tissue, or rubbed on the skin as creams or gels. Although developed for use only for serious medical conditions, these substances are disturbingly easy to acquire. Nearly half of the high school seniors surveyed nationally in 1999 by NIDA reported it was “fairly easy” or “very easy” to secure these or other anabolic steroids without a prescription. Almost one-fourth of eighth graders surveyed at the same time agreed.

Bombarded by Buffed Body Images
According to Charles Yesalis, Ph.D., Penn State professor of health policy and administration and of exercise and sports science, both men and women are now equally caught up in the social pressure to have sculpted, muscular bodies like those of much-admired male and female professional athletes and entertainment figures. Such pressure, Yesalis and other researchers are finding, typically starts very early, even before puberty.

“Young girls have always had to struggle against media stereotypes, including stick-thin heroines and voluptuous, sexy bombshells,” Yesalis said. “Now with the rising visibility and popularity of women’s sports and the emergence of muscular, physically adept but very feminine actresses and female entertainers, girls are bombarded with buffed body images, such as those displayed in the WNBA or by the karate-kicking women in ‘Charlie’s Angels.’”

And girls are not the only ones harshly judging what they see in the mirror. “Young boys are equally impacted by the proliferation of pop culture musclemen such as professional wrestlers ‘The Rock’ and Steve Austin, as well as actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude VanDamme and Wesley Snipes, whose roles usually call for a muscular build,” Yesalis said. “Both girls and boys are equally caught up in trying to look like their cultural icons — and this pressure is leading them to misuse anabolic steroids as a shortcut to achieving the bodies they want.”

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“Survivor’s Ready? Go!”

Ken climbs faster than Jan. Clay chops. Ken is off and running. They squeeze the ball through the net tube and carefully step over the cargo net. They run fast fast fast to the finish line. (Well, ok, they sort of just walked fast.)

Ted and Penny vs. Brian and Helen. I got caught up in the super excitement I think I missed most of the action. Brian and Helen also sort of walk fast to the win. WOO WOO!!

(So far, these two heats took up a total time of 1 minute and 55 seconds, but I’m sure they edited out several minutes of tube-squeezing.)

Mr. Probst tried to make it as exciting as possible. Here is everything he said during the last championship heat…

“Clay and Ken make QUICK work. Brian and Helen are right behind. Helen is WORKING that fishnet. Brian and Helen moving on to the cargo net. Helen and Brian win.”

And then, for the super-exciting stack-the-balls final between Brian and Helen, here’s Jeff’s exact play-by-play…

Here’s a new twist on corporate fitness programs. How about a program that combines fitness activities with team building exercises and results in increased revenues? Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Just ask Dallas-based Cooper Fitness Center. Last year Cooper began Teamwork, a program designed as a get-away retreat for businesses. The program incorporates a series of outdoor and indoor activities to help group members focus on cooperation, willingness to accept help, appreciation of individual differences and support for team members.

The fitness center designed the program after receiving requests and inquiries from members, says Lora Hinchcliff, who now serves as Teamwork’s program director. “We tested it with our own staff and realized this would be a real profit center,” Hinchcliff says.

Teamwork is a “low ROPES” program, meaning Reality Oriented Physical Exercises that take place no higher than 14 feet off the ground. Exercises may include using team abilities to build a bridge over water or scale a 14-foot wall. The program begins by a Teamwork staff member interviewing a business’ staff to determine what issues need to be developed within the organization. The program is then designed around the specific needs of the group. It can include a one-hour workshop or build up to a two-day retreat. A half-day program is most popular, says Hinchcliff, who learned how to design the programs after extensive research.

The program paid off, resulting in $52,555 in revenues, up 24 percent from what was expected. Cooper Fitness Center had planned to host 18 groups, but instead drew 36 groups. What’s more, Cooper has seen benefits in other profit centers such as food and beverage services, which were used by 48 percent of program participants. An estimated 35 percent of participants rented the center’s conference facilities. Many program attendees also have inquired about personal and corporate memberships, as a majority of participants are located in the Dallas area.

Situated on a 33-acre campus that includes guest lodging, Cooper Fitness Center is a prime candidate for a program such as Teamwork. But Hinchcliff says the property isn’t a requirement for a ROPES program. “We’re unique in the sense of our property. But [fitness facilities can] also use conference rooms, lounge areas [and] cafeterias,” she says. “We use our racquetball courts.”

Cooper Fitness Center is filling a niche that exists among the corporate market. “We’re becoming more and more of a sedentary society,” Hinchcliff says. People are beginning to see the importance of incorporating physical and mental challenges to improve themselves. “I believe (the fitness industry) is going to be looked at as more than just a fitness center. With the health care movement, there is a focus on taking care of the whole person: brain muscles as well as the body,” says Hinchcliff, who is currently developing her budget for next year’s Teamwork program. “We have to look at whether the market is still there. We believe it is based on the feedback we’ve received.” That feedback is a 98 percent satisfaction rate.

Of the study’s 16,068 subjects, 1.8 percent used only unconventional services and about 60% used only conventional care, while 6.5% used both types of care. In this study, conventional care encompassed flu shots, blood pressure measurements, and mammography exams, while unconventional care ran the gamut from chiropractic care to nutritional advice and spiritual healing.

“The researchers’ main conclusion — that, in the United States, clients of providers of ‘unconventional therapies’ are simultaneously clients of conventional healthcare practitioners — is unsurprising,” says author Jack Raso, a board member of The National Council Against Health Fraud.

“In the U.S., most users of unconventional health-related services are educated, and most educated American consumers know, or at least surmise, that it is dicey to undergo only unconventional treatment for a condition that is neither trifling nor self-limited or that has not been scientifically diagnosed.”

In the August 18, 1999, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Benjamin Druss and Dr. Robert Rosenheck of Yale University report that during 1996, individuals who said they used both types of services saw physicians more frequently than people who received only conventional medical care.

Raso agrees, stating: “Besides being educated, most American users of unconventional health-related services are health-minded. Many are obsessed with their health.”

In the study, chiropractic was the most popular unconventional therapy, followed by massage, herbal supplements, spiritual healing and nutritional advice. “In the U.S., chiropractic is an established profession; and while unscientific methods are rife in the profession, its distinguishing, unifying method-spinal manipulation therapy-is, in its standard form, effective against the most common forms of low back pain,” Raso explains. “As for massage — another method that is typically manual — some forms are compatible with mainstream medicine. In any case, pleasure may be the sole or primary object of undergoing a massage.”

When World Gym of Saratoga designed its AEROsport exercise program, it did so with an eye on the future. Not only did its innovative school assembly program make a healthful impact on the young people of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., but it proved to be a cost-effective marketing medium that’s likely to yield future members.

Exercise classes for children ages 4 to 7 and 8 to 11 have been taught in-house for several years, so World Gym’s aerobics team considered it a natural to take youth fitness into the community. From January to June of 1996, a team of certified instructors took their fitness program to seven elementary schools in the Saratoga Springs School District.

“AEROsport proved to be a phenomenal success with the parents, teachers and kids because the program combines an educational component — a nutrition puppet show — with hands-on involvement by the children,” explains Bryan Briddell, owner and general manager.

The hour-long program begins with a puppet show teaching the young audience about carbohydrates, protein and fat, the difference between low-calorie and high-calorie foods, and about the theory of moderation. “We don’t label foods as good or bad,” Briddell explains. “We teach them it’s OK to have a Twinkie or a soda, but not several times a day.”

After the puppets make an exit, the program moves quickly into the exercise component where the kids learn aerobic activities aimed at enhancing body awareness, encouraging physical activity and improving self-esteem. Carney Boyd, director of aerobics at World Gym of Saratoga, customizes the program to fit different age groups and time limits of each school. Equipment such as steps, slides and rubber balls are incorporated into the program to “disguise aerobic activity in the form of games,” Briddell says.

A group of six to seven World Gym staff members attend each program and are frequently joined by physical education instructors from the school, allowing participating students to enjoy personal instruction from a strong team of leaders. The AEROsport staff includes two certified aerobics instructors, two certified personal trainers, one licensed dietician and two World Gym staff members preparing for certification in aerobics and personal training. To help guard against liability problems, the program was cleared with the school district’s county-wide athletic director before World Gym approached any schools.

In addition to reaching hundreds of kids, in its first year AEROsport gained considerable exposure for World Gym in the local media, as well as with more than 500 parents whose children came home from school armed with World Gym frisbees, pencils and stories of their workouts that day. Briddell says the staff also provided teachers with complimentary weekend passes to visit the gym and enjoy a personal training session. “It generates tremendous goodwill in the community and helps us to be seen as a health club not just a body-building gym,” Briddell says.

Designed to use the staffing and equipment resources already available to World Gym, the AEROsport program cost the club virtually nothing to produce.

From a marketing standpoint, it was wildly successful in attracting the attention of four regional newspapers, two television stations and a radio station. This kind of publicity would normally be cost-prohibitive for most clubs, Briddell notes.

Meanwhile, the program addresses what the World Gym staff perceives as a growing concern in the country — an increasing lethargy among young people. “Kids are not growing up with a healthy attitude toward physical activity,” Briddell says.

This unique combination of providing a service and promoting the club to young people is a sort of grassroots marketing plan that could reap financial benefits for years to come.

Always keep in mind that inadequate or worn-out equipment gives students the impression that they’re getting less than they paid for, which will cause them to leave.

If your students are having to share equipment because there isn’t enough, place an order for more, quickly. Having to share eats up valuable workout time and creates frustration.

A good selection of equipment and exercise accessories opens the door for a smorgasbord of class concepts which will prevent monotony in your class schedule and boredom among your students. It also provides the opportunity for students to reap terrific fitness benefits from cross training, prevent injuries from overuse and to work at a wide variety of fitness levels.