Fitness for Life

The line to sign up for membership snaked around the gym for the entire morning and all along the outskirts were tables set up with experts ready to help people build their fitness lifestyle at ’s fourth annual Fitness Expo on Saturday.

The huge draw for the day was obviously the 20 percent off six and 12-month memberships to the recreation center, as evidenced by the never dwindling line for the membership tables. But beyond that there were demonstrations, a Thai Chi demonstration, free massages, nutritionists, personal trainers, and more—all there to help those coming to construct a fitness plan for themselves and their families.  

One table was set up with flyers for all the various sport classes the recreation center offers, from gymnastics to soccer to tee-ball to floor hockey. “These are family-friendly and cost-friendly ways to teach kids the basics of various sports,” said Sharon Harrison, who directs the sports classes. The classes, which usually run for six weeks and are held on the weekends, are more focused on learning basic skills than about competition, uniforms, practice dates, and other things that go along with sports leagues.

One of the classes highlighted, which is new this year at the center, was a series of classes for children ages 11 to 14 on exercise and nutrition. The kids will get hands-on experience in doing various “adult” exercise and also basic nutritional information and meal/snack preparation. “It’s about building a lifestyle,” Harrison said. “Exercising is great, but if you go home and eat a gallon of ice cream that’s not going to do much. And if kids learn to enjoy this, they will keep doing it when they are older.”

Also on the theme of youth fitness was a table for Dominion Cycling and Tri Club, a program for youth and adult triathletes, including the largest youth USA Triathlon sanctioned team. Around 40 children from Prince William County participate in the program, training from April to September and running four races during that time. The children’s age range, anywhere from 7 to 16 years old, determines how long of a race they run, said Maggie Christie, one of the coaches there.

One booth was advertizing the first 5K memorial walk in memory of Jenny Vaughn-Bates who was by her husband. “We want to raise awareness about domestic violence so hopefully others won’t go through that,” said Karen Denas, a friend of Vaughn-Bates. Proceeds from the walk will be divided between the National Network to End Domestic Violence and a trust fund that was set up for Vaughn-Bates’ two sons, now age 16 and almost 6. As of Saturday, there were 189 people signed up for the walk and over 20 corporate sponsors. The walk will be held at Forest Park High School on September 18. Registration and donations can be made online.

There was a table with Mary Kay products, a table from Max Muscle Sports Nutrition, a couple massage chairs, and tables with personal trainers and fitness instructors ready to talk to anyone about their goals and plans.

“People often come to us for weight loss, but there is so much more to fitness,” said Patrice Miller, a personal trainer at SBDCRC. She said there are several categories of fitness that people need to focus on, including strength and endurance, cardio vascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition. “Society teaches us that we have to look a certain way,” she said. “But that’s the wrong message. Sometimes it takes a year or longer to reach your goals. You have to stay with it.”

“We have a holistic approach for life and longevity,” said Anthony Futyma, a personal trainer and sports nutritionist at SBDCRC. “That’s why we’re here—it’s about enabling people to have a lifestyle of fitness.”