Here Comes the Crazy

Because most people had January 2nd off as a holiday, this Monday will be the first “full week” of the month.  In this business that means we can expect to be very very very BUSY!  New week, new month, new year, and everyone’s excited to start it off in a healthy way.

Under normal circumstances this spike in Club usage can be a challenge.  Unfortunately for us next week isn’t going to be “normal” at all.  We’ve come to a bottleneck in our construction project, and the timing couldn’t be worse!  It reminds me of the movie “The Perfect Storm”.

Beginning Sunday evening we’re going to be prepping for the new flooring that is going downstairs.  This will affect the main corridor from the front door to the backdoor and the old hallway that goes down to Studio 1 for most of the week.  Then on Monday the area over and around our temporary reception area will be getting sheetrocked, so it will need to be closed off.   We’re being hit high and low, front to back, and it’s going to be a real challenge.

There will be times during the day when our reception area will need to be moved.  We still plan on using the back doors as our main entry, but that too might need to change at times.  Fortunately we don’t foresee having to take any equipment out of service, but with so much work going on in the main corridors you’re not going to be able to take the most direct route to get to it.  Just think of it as an extended warm-up!

The good news is that we’re getting very close to getting our front entry back.  Our new reception desk was already delivered, so once the flooring is down we should be able to make that change relatively quickly.  This will also allow us to move the coffee lounge back downstairs where it belongs.

Making it through this next week is going to be a challenging hurdle.  But the finish line in is now in sight, so if we can all keep focused on that-rather than on the temporary inconveniences-we’ll be just fine.

Everyday We’re Shuffling Shuffling

Perhaps the biggest challenge we’ve had  during our construction project has been the never-ending game of musical chairs we’ve been forced to play.  Big moves, small moves, some lasting only a few hours, others lasting many months, it seems like we’re constantly rearranging something.    Prior to starting the remodel we had about as much equipment packed into the Club as was possible, so when we began losing space to the wrecking ball, finding a spot for everything became impossible.

Unfortunately we didn’t have an excess of storage space to begin with…we were already using an off-site location to house some of our stuff.  So when the remodel began and we found ourselves needing to empty out entire rooms, we were faced with a huge problem.  We had tons of stuff that needed to be relocated…and much of it was a real hassle to move.   Some things had to go away for an extended period of time, while others would need to disappear (for days or months) and then reappear later in another location.

From the beginning we’ve tried to keep as much equipment available to our members for as long as we possibly could, while still staying one step ahead of the construction crew.   From there it would often get complicated…figuring out what could stay, what had to go, and how long until it could be brought back.   For a while we rented a storage trailer that we kept in the parking lot; other things went to an off-site storage unit.   As part of our addition we added a fairly large storage room to the back of the building, but it’s been entirely taken up with construction materials.  And while we did add a significant amount of storage space into the existing building, very little of it is currently available for us to use.  Somehow it worked out that those spaces will be the very last things that get finished!

Lately more and more stuff has found its way into makeshift storage areas scattered throughout the building.  We’ve had an area tarped off in the upstairs weight room for months.  Lockers and other large items have found a temporary home in Studio 1.  Many of our day-to-day supplies have migrated several times lately…they started behind our temporary front desk, then moved into the lobby, and now are residing upstairs in a corner of the cardio deck.  Keeping track of what we have and where it is has been a real challenge.

Thankfully the worst should finally be behind us.   While we will still be closing some areas and moving things around for a few more weeks, from here on out we should be gaining space instead of losing it.  More equipment will be coming out of storage and being placed back in service.  The tile, fixtures, and other building materials that now jam our closets will be taken out and installed.  At long last the end of all the shuffling may finally be in sight!

The Big Push

The newly refurbished cardio deck

With the new year fast approaching we’re anxious to get as much space as possible out of the ”under construction” category and put it back into service.  We expect to make major headway in this effort over the next few days.

We passed a major milestone over the Christmas holiday and reclaimed the main cardio deck on the second floor.  With the return of this 2000 square feet of floor area, we were able to make some major moves in terms of relocating cardio equipment.  All of the pieces that used to be above the men’s locker room were cleared from that space, as were about a dozen pieces from downstairs.

As we move sequentially through the process, the next step is to complete the remaining flooring on the second floor.  That is scheduled to occur over the next few days, and while it will present some challenges (access to some areas upstairs will be limited at times) once it is completed we’ll finally be able to begin “stretching out”.  There will be three new alcoves for cardio equipment…one overlooking the parking lot, one above the lobby, and one above the weight room.    The large multi-use space over the men’s locker room (where we used to have cardio equipment) will now be totally devoted to core and stretch.

With the completion of the new spaces upstairs we will be able to move the remaining equipment out of  ”Studio 1″ and begin work on that space.  We will also have room to bring in some new cardio equipment.   As soon as all of the equipment has been placed in its permanent location we will be attaching the new personal TV screens.  Unfortunately there will be a brief transition period (1-2 weeks) when no music or video options will be available on the cardio equipment.  But once the new equipment is in place you will have complete control over what you watch or listen to, with approximately 50 channels from which to choose.

Night Moves

Say bye-bye to our lovely plywood walls and railings!

Tonight after we close the steelworkers are coming in and will begin installing the new railings on the second floor.  We’ve been using bare plywood for temporary walls in various locations for the past 16 months.  It will be a huge burden lifted when they are finally gone.  Not only will things start to look much more finished, but it should really open things up so the Club feels even more spacious!

During the day the focus has been on completing the remodel of the space the women’s locker room used to occupy.  The framing, rough plumbing and rough electrical is all wrapping up, and by the end of the week most of the sheetrock should be installed.  The addition to the men’s locker room is coming together nicely; you can already tell the new glass block window is going to let in a lot of light, and the steam room looks very spacious.

Since the weather has been cooperative we haven’t rushed to switch back to using the front door.  Up until now there’s been a lot of building materials and construction debris going in and out, so we felt it was better not to add all of our foot traffic into the mix.  However once the drywall is complete we’ll probably make the changeover and move our old front counter into the spot that the new front counter will eventually occupy.

It would have been nice to have the new front counter installed already, but that just presented too many problems.  Things have to happen sequentially, and the desk couldn’t go in until the flooring was done, and we didn’t want to do the flooring until we were done moving heavy equipment over it, and we needed the heavy equipment to put up the railings, and the railings couldn’t go up until the framing was done, and on and on it goes.

Installing the finish flooring upstairs will take place next week.  That’s going to be a little tricky when we get to the space over the men’s locker room.  There may be some times of limited access to those areas, but it shouldn’t last for more than a day or two.  Then we’ll turn our attention to the floors downstairs.  That’s going to be a lot more challenging, as we need to do the entire main corridor that runs from the front of the Club to the back.  We haven’t figured out exactly how we’re going to accomplish this yet, but it will involve breaking it down into sections and working at night.  Again it will probably mean some areas will be closed off for short periods of time, and we’ll also need to be creative about where we direct traffic and how we access certain rooms.  We also have to correct some drainage issues with the floor in the men’s shower area…which may block access to the pools and spa for a couple of days.

We really want to have things as close to wrapped up as possible by the end of the month.  We should have all of the cardio equipment that is downstairs back upstairs, and the coffee lounge that is upstairs back downstairs.  We’ll be using the front entryway, the elevator will be in operation, and the small weight room and the big new stretch/core area over the men’s locker room should be operational.   The men’s locker room addition….maybe…if it’s not done it will be close.   

 The only major area that won’t be in service is the fourth fitness studio/basketball room.  Again it’s that “sequential” problem…we can’t move the equipment that’s in there back upstairs where it belongs until the floors are done and we have the elevator back in service.  But that room just needs cosmetic touch-ups (floor refinished, paint, basketball and kickboxing equipment installed), so it will just be a few weeks into the New Year when it should be ready for action.

We will then have just two relatively minor areas that won’t be complete.  One is the coed spa that will be outside next to the small pool.  We’re still working through some issues with the flooring and aren’t sure when it will be finished.  The other is the juice bar.  We’ve decided that we want to get everything else done and running smoothly before we  tackle that project!

Coming Attractions-STRENGTH

Kinesis Stations

Sometime in early January we’ll be relocating our reception counter to the front of the building where it belongs.  That will allow us to finish up a few minor remodeling projects in the main weight room, and once that’s complete, we’ll be able to start putting our strength areas back together and outfitting them with some new equipment.  

When we took out the old Studio 2/basketball court we added about 1200 square feet to our weight room.  While this certainly gave us considerably more flexibility, deciding how to best allocate this space was a considerable challenge.  We knew that we needed to expand the amount of room we offered for functional training, and that is how most of the additional space was used.  It looks like this has been a popular move, as the number of people using the balls, racks, platforms, and kettlebells seems to be increasing every week.

Hammer Chest Press

Adding new things is relatively painless and always popular; but replacing or eliminating existing equipment is another story entirely.  It seems that even the least-used pieces are inevitably loved by at least a few people.  We also had to make some difficult decisions regarding the allocation of different types of equipment.  Free weights, plate loaded machines, and weight stack machines all have their proponents.  There was no way to give everyone everything they wanted, but in the end we believe we ended up with a wonderful selection that will give our members an unequaled amount of variety.

The layout will remain fairly similar to the way it is currently set up.  The area under the cardio deck will be all free weights and plate-loaded equipment, mostly for legs, shoulders and chest.  The old basketball court will house the dumbbells and a selection of equipment focused on the back and arms.  The main weight room floor will have the functional equipment around the perimeter and a nice circuit of new weight stack machines at its core.

Freemotion Adjustable Cables

It’s in these weight stack machines where you’ll probably notice the biggest changes.  They’re simpler to operate and more comfortable to use.  Most will allow you greater freedom of movement, which in turn makes them more functional and more effective.  Many will allow you to use each arm independently which promotes better balance.  We’re especially excited about the six Kinesis pieces we’re bringing in.  These are the very latest technology–intuitive, simple and natural–they allow full 3D movement and are very unique.  

We’ll also be adding and replacing several pieces of plate-loaded equipment with new Hammer Strength units.  Hammer is very popular amongst athletes, and you’ll find it in the weight rooms of many professional and college sports teams.  We’ll also be installing two of their power racks.  These are the full-size racks with pegs top and bottom, and they also have an adjustable bench that locks into place.  We bought these for their versatility–you can set them up to perform squats, bench press, incline press, or military presses.

Also included in the mix of new equipment will be two different dual adjustable cable units (one wide, one narrow).  With these (and all the attachments that come with them) there’s virtually no limit to the number of different exercises you can do.  To make room for these we will be eliminating some things that we felt were redundant or had limited usefulness.  We wanted to bring in pieces that were versatile, effective, and would appeal to the broadest range of users.

We believe that the mix we’ve selected will offer you a tremendous range of options for your workout.  Our hope is that you will take advantage of the new training technologies and incorporate something fresh into your training regimen.  When new things begin arriving our trainers will be offering several special classes and programs that will show you how to use it to make your workouts more exciting and more effective.   Once you try it we really think you’re going to love it!

COMING ATTRACTIONS-CARDIO

Good-bye cardio theater and hello personal viewing screens!!!

Our remodel is now over 90% complete, and we are rapidly approaching a huge milestone…the re-opening of the front entry and the upstairs cardio deck!!!  Obviously having the front entry back will make getting into the Club much more convenient.   But what really makes this such a pivotal time is that with the elevator and the main cardio area available for use we can finally start using our rooms as intended and begin moving  equipment into its permanent home.

For the past 16 months we’ve been shuffling equipment around, moving it upstairs, downstairs, and in and out of storage.  With that nightmare behind us, we are really looking forward to putting things where they belong and leaving them there for a while.  We’re also counting the days until we can finally put our antiquated Cardio Theater system out to pasture.  If you’ve ever been frustrated with your holiday lights, multiply that by about 20 and you’ll know how we feel about that thing.  That system has taken years off the lives of everyone who has ever had to work on it.

The building has been wired so that we now can install personal viewing screens on each piece of cardio equipment.  This gives users complete control over they’re watching.  These screens will be installed on most of the equipment that will be located in the original part of the building (there are a few pieces that aren’t compatible).  For the present time we are not going to put these screens on the cardio pieces in the addition.  Again some of them are not compatible, and we’ve also had several requests to keep those areas “media free”.  So we’ll start that way and see how it goes.

We’ve created quite a bit of additional space for cardio equipment, so we’ve ordered a nice selection of new pieces.  We’ll be adding a line of treadmills do all the things our present ones do, plus they allow you to walk at a lung-burning incline of 30%!  We’re also adding bikes….a few uprights and a bunch of new recumbents.  The latter feature a new “step-thru” design that makes them much easier to access if you have mobility issues.  Some will have padded arm rests, and all will have personal viewing screens.  We’re also adding a pair of Crossovers; they resemble an elliptical but they allow lateral movement.  This results in a workout that engages more muscle groups and provides great core training.

Speaking of core training, we’ve also ordered a wide selection of new equipment for the weight room.  But that’s another story for another day.  We’ll fill you in on those details in another day or two!

WEIGHT ROOM REDUX

Pull-up bars, racks, power platforms, kettlebells, medicine balls, jump boxes and more...welcome to our new functional training area!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we made a few minor adjustments to the way we have our equipment arranged.   We moved the kettlebells into their new permanent home along the north wall next to the ball throw area.  This completes the layout of our new functional training area  along the perimeter walls of the main weight room.   We are expecting some new heavier kettlebells to arrive any day, and with this addition anyone who is into Crossfit style workouts should have everything they need.  The free weight area suffered a few temporary casualties, but more about that later.

One of the most interesting things that we noticed when we were adding all of our new racks, platforms, and functional equipment was the generation gap that it exposed.  The border seemed to be set somewhere between 35 and 40 years of age.  The people older than that would look at what we were doing and ask “what’s this for?”  Younger people’s eyes would light up and they would simply exclaim “YES!”  Many had seen the same brand of equipment (Rogue) featured on the telecast of the Crossfit Games on television.

At its core functional training is a return to many of the same exercises that were popular at the birth of the fitness movement in the first half of the 20th century.  Pull-ups, kettlebells, olympic lifts,  medicine ball training, and working out with rings and ropes were all popular more than half a century ago.  Gradually the industry moved away from this type of training, and with a big assist from our ex-governor, became more reliant on machines that trained specific body parts.  These machines were heavily promoted as being easier and safer for beginners to use and became the standard equipment everywhere.  While they definitely work as advertised, over the last decade we have come to realize that there are some drawbacks to this type of training.

Often this type of machine keeps your movement isolated in a fixed plane of motion.  This is fine if you’re a bodybuilder focused on making one specific muscle larger or stronger.  But most of us aren’t bodybuilders.  Most of us want to have the type of strength that allows us to be physically active.  Whether that’s playing a sport or lifting groceries out of our car, it’s something that involves multiple muscle groups acting together.  Functional training is all about training your body to be able to handle whatever life throws at you.

Here’s a quick and extreme example of the difference.  Take your inner and outer thigh machines….standard equipment in virtually any weight room.  Does isolating and training your adductors and abductors really serve any useful purpose?  Those machines were only created for one purpose…to sell memberships!  When someone comes in and asks what they can do to firm up their flabby thighs, we’re supposed to say “try these great machines”.  They’re easy exercises to learn,  easy machines to use, and for those reasons some people like them.  But how effective they are is debatable.

Functional training is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.   Take a heavy medicine ball and see how far up the wall you can throw it.  Pick it up and do it again.  Repeat. Repeat.  It won’t take you long to find out why this type of exercise is so much more effective.  You’re activating nearly every muscle in your body, from your toes on up through your core and into your fingers.  It’s hard work!    It’s also incredibly efficient and it trains us in a way that is more suitable to the rigors of our daily lives.  That’s why these exercises were first developed decades ago, and why they’ve returned to popularity today.

It’s also the reason we are devoting more space to the balls, bells, the racks, and this type of training.  Granted not everyone is going to want to be doing power cleans; that’s why we’ll also be adding more machines that are functionally based.  While they will look similar to many of the machines you’re used to using, they will add a functional element.  Arms will operate independently and handles will be attached to cables, allowing more freedom of movement and more muscle activation.  

Once our temporary front desk gets moved out of the weight room, we’ll also begin rearranging our selection of free weights.  The bench presses will move into the same room as the dumbbells, which will clear space  for new power racks and some new plate loaded equipment.  Upon completion there will be a few less single-purpose machines and a lot more equipment and space that is adaptable to use in multiple different ways. 

If you have any specific requests for new equipment (or old standbys you can’t live without) be sure to let us know.  While we have already gotten lots of feedback and advice, we are making every attempt to move forward in a way that all of our members will appreciate and enjoy.  There is no single “best” way to train; we’re all individuals with different needs.  HealthQuest’s goal is to make sure that we have the most diverse selection of equipment possible so that everyone can perform the type of workout that they feel will be best for them!

BATHROOM BIGGIE

 

New glass block window at the men's spa

After a flurry of activity over the past few days, it looks like we’ll be moving the men back into their newly renovated locker room on Monday morning!!!

We often don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone, and after being trapped in the crumbling remains of the old women’s locker room for the past few months, we think the guys are really going to be pleased with what they find.  Although the layout of the space is mostly unchanged (work on expanding this space begins on Monday) virtually everything in it has been replaced or given a complete facelift.

The plumbing and the fixtures are all brand new.  They’ll find sinks with motion-detecting faucets, urinals with automatic flush valves, and showers with pressure-balancing mixing valves.  The toilet and shower partitions are all new, and the showers now have doors instead of curtains.

Look Ma, no hands!

The sauna has been completely renovated and has new benches and a new glass door.  The tile in the spa has all been replaced from the waterline up; the old pool-style coping stones are gone and have been replaced with a porcelain tile edge treatment.  The spa now features accent tile along one complete wall and a big glass-block window on the other wall.  Tile now goes from floor to ceiling in the wet areas of the locker room, and all other walls have a high wainscot of tile.

The vanity area is clean, clutter-free, modern and manly.  Vertical accent tile and tall individual mirrors give the illusion of higher ceilings.  Corian countertops and recessed sinks make cleaning up easier.  Dispensers for soap and shaving gel are mounted under the countertop.  Trash and towel receptacles are housed in maple cabinets.

Spa and sauna operational...steam room coming soon!

We were also able to add some nice conveniences.  The space that used to house the steam room will become part of a wide passageway to the “new” portion of the locker room.  We’ve added a swimsuit dryer and a wall-mounted hair dryer in this space, and once the addition opens there will be a larger steam room, an additional shower, and a drinking fountain

Now that looks like a man's bathroom!

accessible from this space.

While what you see is important, we didn’t ignore the other senses.  We’ll have background music playing and we’ve made improvements to the ventilation system.  There’s now a high-powered hand dryer at the vanity area, and recessed drainage mats outside the showers.

Cost overruns from the shower area (we enlarged and replaced all of the drain lines under the floor) meant we had to forgo new lockers at this point in time.  So the existing lockers were cleaned and repainted.  Over the years we’d had quite a few of them  out of commission, mostly due to the locks jamming in the closed position.  We were able to break all of these open and re-key them, so we should have plenty of space, especially compared to what was in the women’s room.  This will improve even more once we open the additional space, which is slated to hold an additional 60 lockers and two additional

Wouldn't be a locker room without these!

vanities.

While the locker room looks beautiful on the inside, getting in there is still going to be a little funky.  The new permanent entry is moving west about ten feet, but this spot is still part of the old women’s room.  So in order to make this happen we’ve fabricated  a temporary access point right about where the old locker room door used to be.  It’s not a big deal, the men are just going to have to pass through some temporary walls until the new and the old can be connected.

Over the next two weeks the main focus is going to be getting the bulk of the heavy demolition and rebuilding done in the old women’s locker room.  Once we get through with that, we’ll be able to start using the front door again.  So let’s all keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get any heavy rain until then!

Pulling it Together

I'm sorry, you're out!

This weekend the new men’s locker room had a transformation….out went the intense colors on the lockers, and in came a beautiful color that mirrors the Corian countertops…Sycamore Tan.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a seemingly minor change have such a major impact on a room.  The colors in the space all blend harmoniously.  But what’s even more amazing is how much bigger the room now appears.  I guess that’s the difference between colors that seem poised to leap out at you and colors that blend into the background.

 

How much better is that?

 

Men’s Locker Room 2.0

Corian and tile going up in the men's locker room

It’s been a very busy week in the men’s locker room, with a lot of work almost completed.  We expect more of the same next week, and we’re hopeful that we’ll have the guys back where they belong by the middle of the month! 

The new Corian countertops are in, most of the tile is up, all the fixtures are in place, and the new shower and toilet partitions have been installed.  There’s still a lot of painting, grouting, and clean-up to do, so unfortunately things aren’t very photogenic at this point.  I’ve included one picture that shows the tile we used around the vanities….it’s a nice mix of warm grays and browns…definitely a big upgrade over the pink they’ve had to put up with for the past few months!

Unfortunately I don’t think there will be as much of a “WOW” factor for the men as there was for the women when they moved into their new space.  The ladies moved into  a brand new space that was much larger than what they had before.  For the men (right now) it’s essentially the same space and the same layout they used to have, so the change won’t seem quite as dramatic.  Probably the most noticeable upgrade is the big glass-block window by the hot tub.  But once the new space we’re adding to the locker room gets completed and the two “halves” get connected it should have a little more impact.

That’s not to say that the men’s room hasn’t been greatly improved, because it has.  Aside from the much-needed cosmetic changes, we’ve made dozens of upgrades that will make using the locker room a much better experience for our members.  Some of these will be obvious, some a little more subtle, but all were important.  I’ll list a few of them below:

Lots more tile…all walls and corners are now protected

Barrier free…no more swinging door when you enter

Seamless Corian countertops with built-in dispensers

Ceiling hung toilet & shower partitions

Showers will have doors instead of curtains

Recessed drainage mats in the wet areas

Auto flush valves on the urinals

Swim suit dryer

Built-in towel and trash receptacles

Epoxy grout (stain and mildew resistant)

Built-in hand and hair dryers

Once the addition has been completed we’ll also be getting more locker and vanity space, an additional shower, a drinking fountain, and a larger steam room with beautiful porcelain tile.

One upgrade we were not able to make at this time was the replacement of the existing lockers.  The funds we had earmarked for that literally went ”down the drain” when we decided to tear out the floors and replace all of the shower drain lines.  The old iron pipes were showing their age, and we felt it was better to be safe than sorry.  It will be relatively easy to replace the lockers at a later date, whereas jack-hammering out our new tile floor would not!

In our planning we were very conscious of creating a better user experience for our members by providing more space and more amenities.  We were equally driven to use materials and design features that would allow us to keep the space looking and performing like new for as long as possible.  We sincerely hope our efforts prove to be successful and that you are pleased with the way it turns out.