WAC Magazine

January 2013

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Switching gears Turning life���s challenges into fitness opportunities As for regrets, he has none. ���Having to give up soccer and running hasn���t had too much of an impact on my fitness,��� he says. ���I don���t want to sing the praises of Pilates too much ��� but I���ve noticed that I���m probably stronger, my posture���s better, my core���s stronger, and I feel more robustly fit from Pilates. It���s really an amazing exercise.��� It���s also an exercise Paul wouldn���t have discovered without life throwing him a curve. In the world of fitness, it���s a familiar story, says Stuart Eivers, lead MTI physical therapist at the WAC. He says he regularly counsels members about how their activities need to evolve. ���It���s not that their physical activity needs to decline or that they can���t perform at the same level,��� he says. ���Their activities just need to evolve to match what their abilities are. Obviously, things shift in your life.��� Life happens Sometimes the shift is brought on by a blessed event��� like a baby on the way. Other times, fitness regimens need to be reconfigured or re-envisioned because of illness, injury or age. Call it life. Or maybe life-itis. We gain weight; we lose weight. We get banged up in car accidents; we slip and fall while running. Whatever the case, change is inevitable. What���s not inevitable is losing your athleticism because of it. ���I���ve seen everything from people diagnosed with Parkinson���s and cancer to reconstruction or replacement of joints,��� says Scott Spraggins, a WAC personal trainer who���s been with the Club for 15 years. ���Things happen to people every day. But it���s good to switch up your routines. An injury in one part of your body is an opportunity for another.��� JANUARY 2013 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | 33

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