S.T.E.P.S. (Skills to Encourage Participation in Sports)

With overwhelming statics surfacing that indicate we could outlive our children due to the obesity epidemic in the United States, it was very evident not only as a professional, but as a mother, that it was time to take vital STEPS to interrupt this epidemic among our children. S.T.E.P.S was orchestrated for children who are borderline Type II diabetics or who have a weight management problem that is stemming from poor eating habits combined with a sedentary lifestyle.
Most of us are very aware of the impact that video games, computers, and television have had on our lives, but are we aware of what it is doing to the generation behind us? It became more apparent to me after talking with pediatricians and pediatric endocrinologists that children do not have the basic skills to play anymore. Children do not know how to hop, skip, jump, catch a ball, kick a ball or even run in some cases. This has been evident in the gym at school, when teachers struggle to teach kids how to play organized sports like basketball, soccer, tennis, or baseball between the ages of 6 to 12. Culturally, it would seem that sports have taken on a higher level of importance as children are competing at very young ages in several sports, but this is not the case for everyone.
Due to the fast-paced lives we lead and the conveniences of fast food when we are busy running from here to there, many of our children do not have appropriate food choices being made for them. The end result is a fat-saturated and carb-loaded child with limited activities to burn the food they are eating; thus, the beginning to a long road of struggling with their weight and potential decline in physical health.
S.T.E.P.S allows the child to come into a friendly, safe environment to learn how to be active and possibly even develop a skill that the child likes and can excel at in a recreational sports league. Most importantly, we train the child and one parent on healthy food choices, eating schedules, and options for exercise in and out of the home. S.T.E.P.S proudly has seen several children get motivated to play, exercise and even compete in sports after completing the program.
This program is generally physician-referred, but can be paid for privately by concerned parents with an overweight child. We are very serious about this program and require that families participate with the child to provide a unified environment allowing for the greatest success of the child. Our hope is that one child will touch the life of another and the well being of our children will again be restored.

Tired of Feeling Like a Yo-Yo?

How many times have you made that leap into the world of calorie-counting and vow to exercise faithfully in order to lose your "winter weight" or lose the unwanted pounds before some big event? Are you tired of not getting the results you want? Over the ravenous cravings and then the complete fall from the wagon? Put the yo-yo down...get off the roller coaster and step into Defined Movement at Heartland GC!
The first step is easy, just sign up and make the commitment to become accountable to a fitness coach, who has your better health in mind and the tools to help you be successful. Second, you will be educated on exercise needs and nutritional requirements to become a fat-burning machine. Thirdly, you will be given a food journal with specific guidelines for calories and protein intake, as well as an eating schedule. Next, you will have baseline weights and measurements taken, which include: body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, as well as waist, hip and bicep measurements. These measurements are placed in your food journal and realistic short term and long term goals are set for the next body assessment in four weeks. Finally, your fitness coach will outline an exercise program for you to begin in our gym.
Once you have started this program, we will review your food journal each time you are in the gym and we will give you constructive criticism on where you can improve and what you have done that has been positive and beneficial to the goals you have set for yourself.
Additionally, our fitness coaches take the time to contact you by email daily to provide daily encouragement, give exercise tips, or simply remind you that you are on a journey and not to stop until you reach the destination. Interaction with you helps to keep you accountable and us accessible to you.
Right now, we have several DM clients who have achieved multiple personal goals with several completing their first 5K races last year and some continuing on to complete the Columbus Half Marathon in November. We are so proud of their commitment to fitness and find them to be fine examples of what a little accountability and encouragement from one of our fitness coaches can do when combined with their desire to go beyond the average weight management program.

Movement?...Movement!

What is Movement, you ask? It is a gym membership plus accountability within a safe, friendly environment. Often, I am told that people feel intimidated by the public work-out venues and prefer smaller gyms when starting out on the journey of learning how to exercise and strengthen independently. What started out as a program to accommodate patients who were successful in achieving functional and objective goals in rehabilitation, but still had fitness goals, developed into a program for anyone in the community who just want to incorporate more MOVEMENT into their life.
Movement has members ranging from adolescents to seniors in their 80s, each performing at different levels and for different purposes...but, all to "partner together for good health for life."