A Chapin Tour De Fitness
By Kerry Summer and Sherry Ward
It was January of the New Year and thoughts of resolutions were ricocheting around my mind. Which gym would I join? Did I have to really have to join a gym? It seemed so cliché. And would I really stick with it anyway? In a short few months, spring would arrive and bring with it short-sleeved shirts and lighter fabrics that leave less to the imagination than make me comfortable. And then there was summer… I cringed at the thought.
My gym had closed in late November, and to be truthful, I had been enjoying over a month of (from morning through evening:) sleeping in, brownie eating, and channel surfing. My friends asked, “Where are you going to work out now?” I didn’t have the answer. But whether it was due to peer pressure, the New Year, or the simple fact that I was now uncomfortable in my own skin, I knew it was time to get back to fitness.
I recruited a friend, Sherry Ward, who had previously gone to another local gym that also recently closed, and I invited her to join me on a mini Tour De Fitness in Chapin. The plan was simple: attend three gyms in three weeks and figure out which one was right for each of us. To keep things interesting, we opted for a low cost, a medium cost and a high cost, just to see if money really could buy happiness.
The first stop was Crooked Creek Park on Old Lexington Highway, the least expensive option. Crooked Creek Park is a state-of-the-art recreation complex that opened in 1994 to serve the Chapin portion of the Irmo Chapin Recreation District. In fact, Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Crooked Creek Park is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The park is an integral part of the Chapin community and serves as a recreational and social hub for many Chapin residents.
CCP offers a wide variety of recreational, cultural, instructional and social activities, and hosts visitors of all ages throughout the day. The park offers users many outlets including: a 53,000 square-foot Community Center with full gymnasium, racquetball courts, pickleball courts, fitness areas, basketball courts, an indoor walking track and meeting rooms. There are also soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts, walking trails, playgrounds, picnic shelters and even a 27-hole disc golf course. But what is most impressive about Crooked Creek is its price.
With no annual contract required, and a 1-month pass being just $15 a person has access to most of what is listed above. (And for those who aren’t afraid of a little commitment, it’s even less: 3-month for $42; 6-month for $80; 12-month for $150). If that seems like too much, just $40 buys an annual walking track pass for the track. But there’s more…
One can purchase, separately (with or without actually joining) all kinds of group fitness classes including:
One can purchase, separately (with or without actually joining) all kinds of group fitness classes including:
Yoga with Kelly Coulter for $35/month or $5/day
Total Body Fitness with Cynthia Shepard for $40/month or $6/day
Small Group Training with Teresa Randolph for $120 for 4 weeks
HIIT Cardio and Strength with Teresea Randolph for $45/month or $8 day
Zumba with Maria Floyd for $45/13-class pass or $5/day
Senior Fitness with Cynthia Shepard $14/month
Line Dance with Cynthia Shepard $30/6-week session or $6/day
In total there are 17 group fitness classes per week available at Crooked Creek. There is also Senior Fitness program including Pickleball and personal Training specifically for Seniors 50+. Each of these is sold separately, making it possible for someone to cherry pick and pay only for what they want. Crooked Creek is sort of an “a la carte” fitness facility. And that’s not even touching upon the tennis lessons, martial arts lessons, and dance classes including tap, ballet, jazz and hip hop that are offered for those who want to burn some calories and learn a new skill at the same time.
I took a variety of classes, all taking place at 8am with Cynthia Shepard of CMS Fitness. The classes that are available at Crooked Creek are taught by owners and employees of small businesses that operate out of the facility, which is why there are so many to choose from, and why all have varying price points.
My workouts with Cynthia were a nice balance between challenging and achievable. Repetition breeds perfection, and with over 35 years of fitness experience, Cynthia gave clear and concise directions and a thorough and fun workout. Even though I was new to her class and had parked myself in the very back of the studio, I was able to understand her directives easily. Just as the name suggests, her classes were for the total body, with C.U.T (Cynthia’s Ultimate Training) on Mondays focusing on total body strength training, Step Intervals on Wednesdays focusing on cardio vascular health, and Lower Body Solutions focusing on, well…
In 45 minutes, Cynthia––whose certifications include AFAA Group Ex, FitTour Personal Trainer, AFAA Senior Fitness Programmer, Zumba, Zumba Gold, Strong by Zumba––warmed up, strengthened and stretched attendees, provided laughs, encouragement and created a sense of community. The workouts were modifiable, making them accessible to all ages and all levels. The variations in workout from Monday, Wednesday and Friday allowed my sore muscles enough time to recover and also kept things fresh. The music was upbeat and modern, except for a few throwbacks that were tossed in to mix it up.
Sherry Ward, a Crossfitter, opted to take the HIIT (High Intensitiy Interval Training) classes at 4:30pm with Teresa Randolph. Sherry liked that the class was modifiable, and participants were encouraged to make it as intense as they needed it to be. As a teacher who finishes work between 3pm and 4pm, the 4:30pm time slot worked perfectly. Sherry and I were both impressed that Crooked Creek lived up to its claim of being a multi-generational hub whose employees and patrons were notably welcoming. And we agreed that the price simply cannot be beat.
To learn more about Crooked Creek visit here or call 803-345-6181.
The next stop on The Tour was the moderately priced Chapin Yoga Center. With 24 classes offered each week, one can purchase a single class, ($12) a pack of classes, (10 classes for $10/class) or become a member and have access to unlimited classes ($89 per month for 1 year.) For newcomers, the first class is $5, and for students, every class is $5. Even teachers enjoy the $5/class rate at specific time slots (5:15pm.)
Chapin Yoga Center is not a standard gym, nor does it make cliché promises like “Lose 10 lbs within 2 weeks or your money back!” While yoga is certainly a solid exercise regimen, CYC operates with a very different set of standards.
Yoga focuses on doing what is best for the individual, not what is “right to do.” It’s a philosophy which, when practiced fully, not only improves physical flexibility, strength and balance; it ultimately promotes mental acuity, honesty, kindness, compassion towards oneself and others, and encourages forgiveness, acceptance and gratitude. Theoretically, through the practice of yoga, (both on and off the mat) one moves closer to inner peace. As a competitor by nature, I was interested to see how I would feel after just one, immersive week of yoga. I planned to take classes at 8am each morning to see if yoga on a daily basis was feasible for me.
The goal seems simple: keep the breath even and the mind calm even during what are sometimes precarious and challenging positions. The practice of staying focused and calm during the challenges in class helps one stay focused and calm in the midst of life’s chaos. That’s why it’s called yoga practice, not a yoga workout. It’s not always about physical improvement. It can be about gaining a new perspective.
Monday Funday kicked off the week with a class for all levels. After warming up, we tried some challenging and also some somewhat silly yoga poses. I was surprised by how difficult (and yes, fun) the class was, and I found myself laughing at my own failures, which may have very well been the point. Tuesday’s Yin and Flow focused on finding the balance of ease and edge in healing stretches and flowing and strengthening poses. This class was easier than Monday’s, and my sore muscles (and ego) were grateful for the break. Like all of CYC’s classes, it was accessible to all ages and body types, even those with injuries, as modifications were offered for virtually every pose. I looked forward to Wednesday’s Power Yoga, which I expected to be challenging but ego boosting. My competitive nature was kicking up, and I was ready to be a warrior again.
Power Yoga proved to be aptly named. Our instructor gracefully held her body in a perfectly straight horizontal plank while serenely discussing the benefits drawing the breath deeply into the caverns of our lungs... I was barely holding the plank, much less breathing deeply, and she was doing it and chatting like we were all sitting around at a coffee house sipping decaf lattes. Fortunately, along with being able to demonstrate even the most intense poses, the Instructors at CYC also compassionately remind and even encourage students to rest when they need. For the first time since the week began, I stopped competing with my classmates, laid flat on my back with arms open and palms up, and completely embraced gravity while the rest of the class defied it. “This is me, doing what is right for me, right now,” I thought. Not one of my fellow yogis batted an eye.
As the week went on, my muscles grew sore, and my mind forgave my body for not performing every pose perfectly. On my final day, I went to Reset: an introspective, gentle stretch class that focused on deep breathing and visualization. I entered the room and found a very wide range of ages and body types. But before long, I felt as if I was the only person in the room. (Perhaps that was because my eyes were closed for most of class.) As promised, Reset gave a sense of calm relaxation, and it beautifully wrapped up the week.
Each time I left CYC, I felt peaceful and relaxed, but also awake. With visually and physically warm rooms to quickly warm the muscles, a full kitchen, snacks, tea, a gift shop, and complimentary mats, blocks, straps and even blankets, the vibe at CYC feels better than milk and cookies before nap time in kindergarten.
This is a (fitness) regimen speckled with discovery. Throughout the week, each class offered another opportunity for us to discover something about ourselves. Chapin Yoga Center Instructors don’t just lead classes, they care for their students: offering doTERRA essential oils before and after class, assisting in poses and showing compassion, humor and endless modifications when a pose is simply not “right” for an individual. And at the end of every class, there is always a few minutes set aside for savasana: complete rest and stillness that allows the body to absorb the full effects of the workout.
So if a person needs to know how many burpies he can do in 60 seconds, he probably won’t find out at Chapin Yoga Center, but if he truly practices yoga for long enough, he will quite likely learn much more about himself than that. (He might even come to believe that the number of burpies he can do in 60 seconds is not so important after all.) It was time to move the tour along.
To learn more about Chapin Yoga Center visit here or call 803-816-1080.
Can money buy happiness? Sometimes, in fact, it can! Our last stop on the Chapin Tour De Fitness was the home of NACM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Personal Trainer and PN-Certified Nutrition Coach, Lara Harris Heath. Also a Level 1 certified CrossFit Instructor, Lara has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 18 years.
Lara doesn’t just lead her clients through an exercise regimen. She first maps out their individual goals, looking at any current and previous injuries that may have been sustained, and she gathers medical information. She then discusses the style of training each client likes most, silently noting also what they tend to avoid when given the choice. From there, she puts together a personalized training plan.
As a Nutritionist, Lara creates a custom dining guide to help clients with portion control, workout nutrition, grocery shopping, and even meal prep. This way, clients gain momentum and see results early on. Personal Training and Nutrition Planning can be purchased individually, or the two can be combined to get the biggest benefits.
With sessions ranging from $31 to $80, Lara was the most expensive option we tried on our Tour, but as my smart momma always says, “sometimes you get what you pay for.”
Because Lara also trains small groups of up to 3 people, Sherry and I trained together; sometimes performing the same exercises in tandem, and other times trading places at designated stations. We did push ups, pull-ups and pull downs and planks. There were squats, lunges and crunches…
For resistance we used weights, kettle bells, ropes, and nothing but our own body weight. Before our first session Lara asked each of us if we had health issues (I do,) and she planned our workouts accordingly. While Sherry and I worked out together, prior to any exercise, Lara showed me at least two different modifications of each exercise in case my issues caused me problems.
We scheduled 3 sessions in one week, and I was grateful that each session was different and seemed to target different muscle groups than the previous. Lara knew that I was an avid cyclist, but was unaccustomed to weight training. And while the workouts were very challenging, they were also, to my surprise, achievable. (In fact, I would have felt flat-out confident if not for my irrational need to compete with, and repeatedly lose to Sherry.)
Lara understands the value of wellness, and her desire and passion to share her knowledge is evident. Her training swiftly identified and targeted via repetitions, both my and Sherry’s weak spots.
In addition to the individualized attention we received during the workouts, Lara also checked in on us both, via text message to ask how we were feeling, so that she could plan the next workout’s intensity level accordingly. Simple texts asking, “how are your hamstrings from the deadlifts?” peppered my week, along with photos of Sherry and I training together with captions like, “Look at that form! You ladies did great this week!” Not only did her texts keep me motivated to exercise, my proclivity for all-day brownie eating was strangely waning. Neither Sherry nor I utilized Lara’s nutrition services, but we all did discuss our respective diets, how to make better choices and substitution options for unhealthy foods.
By week’s end, I found myself counting reps and tracking accomplishments. For a person whose fear of failure sometimes inhibits her from attempting new things, I was happy to find out that yes, I could do this! I might even, one day, be good at this.
Sherry and I agreed that an intense, customized workout, offered in a private, friendly environment was not only effective; it was fun and quite motivating. While my budget doesn’t currently have enough wiggle room in it to consistently train with Lara, the diet tips, variety of exercises and the form we were taught during our short training stint were well worth the dollars spent.
To learn more about training with Lara Heath email lara@crossfitbombisland or call 803-413-3610.
Chapin residents are quite lucky. We all enjoy the charm of a small town, yet we also have some big-city variety as far as our fitness options are concerned. And with so many different workouts, all at varying price points, fitness––and the good health associated with it–– is available to literally every body. With few fitness facilities in Chapin requiring a long-term commitment, anyone can take their own Tour De Fitness in Chapin anytime they want. Those who choose to do so will reap not only physical benefits; they will stave off boredom and meet new people along the way. In fact, my and Sherry’s “tour” was so enjoyable, I don’t think I’ll be getting off this merry go round just yet. After all, summer’s coming.
