Date: Fri 24-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JEFF

Quick Words:

Karen-Finlayson-fitness

Full Text:

Focus On Business-- Karen's Fitness Studio: Fitness That Fits Women

(with photos)

BY JEFF WHITE

"I do have a little motto," Karen Finlayson says, standing in her newly

designed home gym studio. "Be the best you can be and then accept yourself for

who you are."

Mrs Finlayson's credo is rooted in 15 years of personal training experience,

and it is the desire to help women reach levels of sound physical fitness and

well being that has prompted her to open up a fitness studio in her house on

Serenity Lane in Sandy Hook.

Mrs Finlayson completed Karen's Fitness Studio in June, after almost three

months of work. The workout room is spacious, with plush carpeting covering

the floor, and full-length mirrors around the periphery, surrounding a huge

weight machine conglomerate.

She did all the work herself, laying the carpeting, putting up the mirrors,

building the stairs that lead up to the room which extends off the back of her

home.

"I can offer everything here that you could get at a gym," she says in

explaining the versatility of the exercises she offers to women weight

lifters.

Mrs Finlayson first developed weight training that caters specifically to

women while working at a local health club as the fitness director. She would

take groups of four women around in a circuit, working all major parts of the

body two times every week.

She began to notice that some clubs failed to fully address the needs of women

weight lifters. "I got frustrated showing people one-on-one what to do in two

lessons and a week later seeing them pulling down something and their form is

way off," she recalls. "That was very frustrating, and also I found it hard

for women, who would come one week and were shown what do to, and then would

come back, and there wouldn't be anyone there to show them what to do."

So she began to research the best equipment to bring into her house, settling

on a company, Omni Fitness, whose equipment she tested as she trained a local

chiropractor. Mrs Finlayson now offers the same weight training classes she

developed during her gym days, but in the comfort and intimacy of her own

studio.

Women's Weight Training

It is all in the circuits, Mrs Finlayson will tell you.

Circuit training allows for an individual to work most major muscle groups in

the body, moving from different upper and lower body movements.

"[Circuit training's] benefit is that you are getting a total body workout,

twice a week, which is recommended by the American Council of Sports

Medicine," Mrs Finlayson explains.

The core of Mrs Finlayson's program is four women, each working on their own

circuit for about an hour.

The program is a set design, which she tells her clients at the outset before

guiding them along. "I do three circuits, and I do four exercises in each

circuit, for a total of 12," she explains. "So we do 12 exercises two times

around, 15 repetitions for each exercise.

"Usually I like to start larger muscles to smaller, so I might start off with

legs," she explains. Therefore, one circuit might include a leg extension, leg

curl, leg press and some lunges. The next circuit might seek to train the

chest and back, utilizing a butterfly, chest press, lat pull down and vertical

row. The last circuit would focus on arms and shoulders, including a tricep

pull down, bicep curl, shoulder press and perhaps another back movement.

The smooth resistance of Mrs Finlayson's machines offer clients relief from

the often herky-jerky machines found at some health clubs. Her weight complex

offers versatility as well, with each station usually possessing the ability

to work the same muscle four or five different ways.

"Each week, I do something different, so they get a nice variety. I never do

the same thing more than twice a week; after that, I start something new," she

says.

Every workout ends with abdominal crunches and stretching.

Lifting on machines is supplemented with the use of free weights, in the form

of dumbbells and weighted bars.

Each four-woman class takes 1 hour 15 minutes to complete. A cross trainer,

Life Cycle and two treadmills offer a cardiovascular compliment to weight

training, as Mrs Finlayson has all her clients raise their heart rates before

stretching and beginning to lift.

Mrs Finlayson keeps track of the weight each of her clients lifts, not only

for safety reasons, but as a means of measuring progress.

Ultimately, she wants her studio to offer the effectiveness of a gym and the

comfort of a home.

"I cater to them," she says, smiling. "I've worked in gyms for a long time, so

I know what people want. I have towels and water available. They can store

their shoes and equipment in the closet, so it will always be here."

She also has a lending library, which has books on weight training and

exercise.

For the Monday/Thursday program, classes run at 6 am, 9 am, 11 am, and 6:30

pm; classes for the Tuesday/Friday program run at 9 am, 11 am and 1 pm. Cost

for a six-week program is $180, and each class is limited to four women.

Experience

Mrs Finlayson's years of fitness experience has carried her from Canada, where

she taught aerobics in several fitness clubs while simultaneously competing in

triathlons, to New York where she again taught aerobics, and finally to Sandy

Hook, where she settled in 1995.

Her experience also includes several professional certifications, from the

Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and the National Academy of Sports

Medicine. Mrs Finlayson also maintains a CPR certification, and is certified

to teach prenatal fitness.

She has trained all levels of individuals, from those just starting out, to

high caliber athletes. She hopes to continue offering her training expertise

in the form of one-on-one sessions, which are open to both men and women. Mrs

Finlayson offers individual sessions for $50 per hour.

She also opens her home studio for men and women interested in doing

cardiovascular training. A cardio membership runs $30 per month, and is paid

on a month-by-month basis. Women enrolled in the woman's weight training class

pay $30 for six weeks.

Most days, during times when the women's weight training program is not taking

place, the studio is open for cardio training.

The 25 women currently enrolled in Mrs Finlayson's weight training program

stand to benefit from her insistence that each work at their own pace. "It's

not about looking great, it's about feeling good."

For more information about Karen's Fitness Studio, to sign up for a

cardiovascular membership, personal training, or to reserve a spot in the

women's weight training program, call 426-6899.