|
|
 |
January/February
2001
 Find
a Workout with the Right Fit
Your New Year’s
resolution is to get in shape and then stay in shape, but it’s starting
to seem like a tall order. Don’t despair—there are plenty of
local fitness centers, organizations, and personal trainers to help.
Triathlete Meta Luckenbill, a recent winner at
the Vineman Triathlon in California, and her husband, Chris, have owned
Sanibel Fitness Center Inc. for the past eight years, and Meta
has been associated with the center for 14 years. They’ve built up
a loyal clientele of locals and snowbirds, “and we also have lots
of short-term visitors,” Meta notes. “People on a two-week vacation
don’t want to lose their home program, so they come here and buy
a six-day pass, for instance.” Most classes are included in membership
and the list features low-impact aerobics, hi/lo aerobics, hi/lo interval
aerobics, step aerobics, body shaping, and short step, among others. Spinning,
an intense workout on stationary bikes offered for an extra fee, is so
popular that one must register ahead of time. Sanibel Fitness Center
Inc., 975 Rabbit Road, Sanibel, 941/395-BODY (395-2639).
The City of Sanibel Recreation Complex
is open daily (except for some holidays) and is a popular gathering place
for the islands’ residents and visitors. The complex includes a pool
for lap swimming and water aerobics, a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball,
and a fitness center. There are easy-to-use weight machines, dumbbells
for more experienced people, exercise bicycles, and Stairmasters, which
are great for cardiovascular training. The complex is located on one side
of The Sanibel School; on the other side are tennis courts and baseball
fields.
Lap swimmers who participate in the Master’s
Swim Program can use the pool from 5 to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Fridays. Program benefits include a subscription to SWIM magazine
and periodic mailings from the Local Master’s Swimming Committee.
City of Sanibel Recreation Complex, Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel,
941/472-0345.
“Want to live longer? You should get good
cardiac exercise year-round here at the City of Sanibel Seniors Center,”
urges Berdenna Thompson. She helps out at the center, which is located
on Library Way. “Sandy Brim teaches floor aerobics and is very good
and knowledgeable. She’s a positive, uplifting gal,” Thompson
adds. “And there is also a water aerobics class at the city pool,
taught by the Recreation Center’s aquatics instructor, Coby Amadio.
With water aerobics you get a different feeling; you feel so refreshed.”
City of Sanibel Seniors Center, Library Way, Sanibel, 941/472-5743.
The Sanibel Community Association offers
a variety of fitness classes throughout the year, and men and women of
all ages participate. Passes are available for purchase whether you are
an SCA member or not. Personal trainer Carla Farrel teaches aerobics (and
she also freelances as a one-on-one trainer). Yoga classes are given by
Sanibel resident Eleanor Horowitz. Classes in Pilates are taught by Bonnie
Clancy, owner of Blue Skies Bodyworks. The SCA hopes to offer ballroom
dancing for fitness soon, in conjunction with Edison Community College’s
continuing education program. Sanibel Community Association, 2173 Periwinkle
Way, Sanibel, 941/472-2155.
Don’t forget that Barrier Island Group
for the Arts also always includes fitness programs in its wide-ranging
lineup of classes. Through spring, Sanibel resident Pam Wortzel leads
yoga classes in the Phillips Gallery from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
All levels of experience are welcome. Longtime dancer Marsha Wagner teaches
ballet stretch. She also teaches Pilates mat classes, having completed
two years’ training and received certification in New York. The Pilates
classes run from 6 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, and will end in spring. Joy Schein
teaches various levels of tap dance, which continue to be very popular
classes. In addition, some tap will be taught by Vanessa Stocker, who
teaches children’s dance classes. BIG Arts, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel,
941/395-0900.
Sanibel resident Bonnie Clancy, who started Blue
Skies Body Works in 1998, is an occupational therapist, personal trainer,
and massage therapist. “When I worked with people as an occupational
therapist, I kept thinking ‘If only I had gotten to this person a
year ago,’ ” she says. “I started to get more interested
in wellness rather than sickness, so I became a personal trainer and then
a massage therapist.” She would love to start her own studio but
currently goes to clients’ homes, where she also offers pool therapy
and rehab therapy. In addition, Clancy teaches Pilates at the Sanibel
Community Association. “Many of my clients are older people,”
she notes. “Pilates attracts a lot of older people but it is for
both young and old.” Blue Skies Body Works, Sanibel, (cell phone)
941/565-1716.
“Let your pool work for you!” enthuses
aquatic personal trainer Jane Ranieri of Sanibel. Certified by
the Aquatic Exercise Association and by the Aerobics and Fitness Association
of America, Ranieri moved to the island from North Carolina in December
of 1998. She has been involved in aquatic exercise and instruction for
about nine years. “The beauty of my aquatic personal training is
that I will go to people’s homes. That makes it more convenient and
comfortable for the person requesting my services, whatever their fitness
level or age.” Ranieri is available for group sessions with neighborhood
associations, too. She also teaches land aerobics at the Sanibel Fitness
Center Inc. Jane Ranieri, Sanibel, 941/395-3574.
Personal trainer Bobbie Pepitone’s business
is called—appropriately—Pep-n-Tone. She prefers to train
you on your own turf, although a few clients do go to her Sanibel home.
The former high school physical education teacher holds a master’s
degree in health education and has been involved with personal training
since the 1970s. To “stay fresh,” Pepitone spends summers taking
more courses. Her clients range from children to people in their 80s,
and she tailors the exercise to the person. “I also do a lot of rehab.
I see what the person’s weakness is, take them through a series of
different movements. As soon as I get their range of motion, I start adding
free weights. We start off at least two to three times a week. Also, I
am always educating, teaching posture, breathing, etc. I don’t do
aerobics because people can do that on their own. It is very, very focused.
I am a taskmaster.” Pep-n-Tone, Sanibel, 941/395-1197.
Chadwick’s Square on Captiva is home to the
South Seas Plantation Resort Fitness Club. Resort guests, social
members, and the public (for a fee) are able to use the club daily from
6:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Personal trainer Junior Brathwaite notes, “It’s
a pretty good setup: We have treadmills, bikes, recumbent bikes (at a
45-degree angle), and step machines. We also have a section of free-weights
and machines for legs or for the upper body. In addition, there is an
area for aerobic classes.” After your workout, be sure to try one
of the dry saunas, which are located in the men’s bathroom and the
women’s bathroom. South Seas Plantation Resort Fitness Club, Chadwick’s
Square, Captiva, 941/472-5111, ext. 7696.
Dan Young, personal trainer at the ’Tween
Waters Inn Fitness Center on Captiva, is usually on duty when guests
and fee-paying members of the public use the center. It is open daily
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is located in the Mangrove Building. Young explains,
“We have Cybex equipment, dumbbells ranging in weight from 5 pounds
to 50 pounds, treadmills, Stairmasters, and bicycles. And a new fitness
center is currently under construction next to the pool. When that opens
next year, we will offer classes.” ’Tween Waters Inn Fitness
Center, Captiva Road, Captiva, 941/ 472-5161, ext. 430.
Sundial Beach Resort, Sanibel Island’s
largest full-service resort accommodations, has a fitness center that
is open to the public for a fee. The center is located on the main pool
deck and can be used daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Staff members from Sundial’s
recreation department are always on hand, although resort guests and visitors
are on their own when using the fitness center facilities. Included are
treadmills, a weight bench and free-weights, stationary bicycles, two
Stairmasters, and a weight-lifting station. Sundial Beach Resort Fitness
Center, 1451 Middle Gulf Drive, Sanibel, 941/ 472-4151, ext. 3815.
Located just before the Sanibel Causeway tollbooth,
at Punta Rassa, is the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa Fitness Center.
Certified personal trainers instruct the resort’s guests and area
residents in the use of the fitness center’s state-of-the-art equipment,
including its new cardio theater. Several aerobic classes and aqua-aerobic
classes are also offered. (And when you feel like getting a reward for
sticking with that New Year’s resolution, treat yourself to a visit
to the resort’s award-winning spa.) Sanibel Harbour Resort &
Spa’s Fitness Center, 17260 Harbour Pointe Drive, Ft. Myers, 941/466-2156.
-Libby Grimm
|
