New Year, new you (Jan. 2013)

7/30/2019 New Year, new you (Jan. 2013)

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The New Year door opens and dreams of self-improvement walk in, holding diet by one hand and exerciseby the other. Former sofa spuds move from couch to closet to blow dust o of like-new sneakers andyank tags from workout clothes purchased the previous January. Indeed, the desire for a better selfalways seems strongest at the turn of the New Year.

January is a time of renewal for people, said Jeanne Zuzel, a wellness counselor and owner of the International

Center for Integrative Therapy and Education (INCITE) in Norwich. It represents an opportunity for us to say

what can I do for myself this year, what can I do to create wellness for the mind and body?

While it may be hard to imagine in our world of myriad tness choices, there was a time when those in search

of healthier New Year selves had limited exercise options: purchase pricey memberships at crowded gyms, order

dubious equipment from late-night 1-800 numbers and hope to heaven they could gure out how to use said

equipment without snapping a hamstring or inging themselves into a wall or hu and pu around the

living room with Jane Fonda or Billy Blanks and Tae Bo. Not anymore. These days, tness seekers of all levels can

pick and choose from a multitude of classes, techniques, and philosophies. We rounded up some great workouts

available locally.

Story by Terri VianiPhotography by Chris Hetzer

New yearNew

YOU



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Trainer Nigel Sealy,

client Tamara Carey

The personal touch

Traditionalists can still join the gym: According to an October 2012 report by market research groupIBISworld, gyms are a $25 billion industry in the United States, remaining relatively untouched by recent

economic woes.

Even in the midst of the economic downturn, the industry has maintained steady growth, with

membership rates growing consistently and prots remaining solid, the report concl uded.

And while muscle gyms designed for the serious bodybuilder or Olympic l ifter still exist, most gyms th ese

days cater to the average person in all demographics, oering machines and free weights as well as classes

ranging from Zumba Gold dance for seniors to boot camps and martial arts for the more aggressive.

Those who dont want to go it alone can hire apersonal trainer. Personal trainer Nigel Sealy

works out of World Gym in Norwich and says no

matter what your goals may be, a trainer can help

you get there.

Most people fear coming in h ere and working

out, Sealy said. They dont know what to expect.

So the rst thing I do is get them a plan, then help

them execute that plan so they can get results.

Sealy said there is no one size ts all approach

to personal training, and the programs he designs

for clients are based on what each client wants to

accomplish.

My work day can vary from anywhere as simple

as taking a client for a walk, because I do have

clients who, thats where they are, to clients where

we do a lot of plyometric (jump) intense-type

training. I start with their strengths and we work

on their weaknesses.

Sealy said in the three years hes been a trainer hes

seen an increasing industry focus on the science of

working out, as well as a growing interest in mind-

body-spirit forms such as yoga and lifestyle-

based approaches to health and tness.

A lot of people come in and get too caught up

in just doing the gym-style, grunting-type stu,

he said.

What I try to do is get them to focus on not just

what exercise they do in the gym but what things

we can gure out for them to do in their everyday

lives. Its a total package approach to health and

being healthy.

ITS A TOTAL PACKAGE APPROACH

TO HEALTH AND BEING HEALTHY.

Trainer Nigel Sealy and client Tamara Carey.



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Getting CrossFitNo fear might be a good thing to have in your pocket if youre going to

take on CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program rapidly growing

in popularity across the country. CrossFit workouts are short and intense,

and use a variety of ever-changing moves to improve speed, strength

and endurance as well as lose weight and improve body fat percentage.

Each class features a workout of the day that might have participants

sprinting and rope climbing on Monday and lifting free-weights and

ipping tires on Wednesday.

CrossFit draws its movements from a variety of sports such as

Olympic weightlifting, track and eld, gymnastics, Strongman, rowing,

and powerlifting, said CrossFit coach and owner of SECT CrossFit in

Uncasville, Randy Tarasevitch. No other program is this comprehensive

and intense.

While CrossFit might push participants to the edge of their abilities,

Tarasevitch, who opened his studio in 2007 because he was dissatised

with the training limits he saw in typical gyms, said beginners shouldnthesitate to jump in.

A big dierentiator of CrossFit gyms is that you are coached during your

training sessions, he said, adding that CrossFits beyond-the-physical

benets include mental toughness and the sense of community that

comes from working hard with others.

[Beginners need] an open mind and a willingness to learn, he said.

Virtually anyone can do CrossFit.

SECT CrossFit oers numerous CrossFit classes for all levels throughout

the week.

BEGINNERS NEED AN OPEN MIND AND A

WILLINGNESS TO LEARN, HE SAID. VIRTUALLY

ANYONE C AN DO CROSSFIT.

CrossFit SECT owner Kasey Tarasevich, right, and Nick Dyro.



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The Meiklem Kiln Works and Centerspace Wellness Studio in Bozrah

ers ts own un que s ate o c asses an courses, com n ng a pottery

studio with yoga and healing arts such as reexology and holistic

nutrition counseling. Owner Lyndsay Meiklem, who began practicing yoga

in her 20s as a way to alleviate pain from scoliosis, said that while her twin

passions of pottery and yoga are both ar t forms, visitors to the studio will note as e to t row pots w e ma nta n ng tree pose or ownwar og.

The yoga is sometimes a necessity after youre hunched over your pottery

wheel, she said. But theres not always a crossover. Some people come to the

pottery wheel because they want to get their hands in clay and then discover

we have a yoga studio and other people come in as yoga students and discover

ur art stu o.

enterspace oers more than 20 yoga classes a week, including Yoga for

Dudes on Sunday evenings and a Therapeutic Yoga class on Friday mornings

t at s ot c a e ng ng an restorat ve.

e t ecause t ocuses on stretc ng an ts cam ng, sa m y onstant,

26, of Bozrah. Her mother, Nancy Constant, of Franklin, agrees, saying, the class

is relaxing but a good workout at well.

Meiklem said whichever class or yoga form people choose, its all about

listening to yourself.

e start w t peope rom w ere t ey are, an ts a a out non-u gment

and recognizing that youre not in a competition, she said. Yoga is not a

competitive sport, its something to be experienced on a personal level within

your own space in class. We really encourage people to come to our yoga space

w t n o e ar an an open m n .

NamasteWE START WITH PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE, AND ITS ALL ABOUT

NONJUDGMENT AND RECOGNIZING THAT YOURE NOT IN A COMPETITION.

Yoga instructor John Benbow, front, and Lyndsay Rae Meiklem.



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The beat of a different(exercise) drum

Helping people improve their everyday lives is what Jeanne Zuzels INCITE studio aims to do as

well. Zuzel, a holistic nurse, and her husband Timothy, started INCITE three and a half years

ago, after he lost his job as a scientist at Pzer.

That was a really interesting dilemma we found ourselves in, said Zuzel. We were in the position

of not being eligible for retirement and not having an income. We had to gure out what it was we

really wanted to do, and quickly.

Out of chaos great ideas are often born, and three and a half years later, INCITE oers up all manner

of healing arts, from yoga, energy work and meditation to exercise classes, massage, and wellness

counseling.

Were a full service center. Fitness is a part of what we do but were not a tness center, were

a wellness center and part of wellness is tne ss, Zuzel said. Weve found that the re are a lot of

exercise programs that enhance everyday wellness,

like yoga or our senior resistance band classes.

Incite also oers Drums Alive, a le-it-under-

seriously-fun movement class that has drumstick-wielding participants of all ages pounding away on

stability balls wedged into large, Rubbermaid-style

muck buckets for 30-60 mostly-choreographed

minutes. The freestyle moments in class encourage

participants to move and groove to the beat of their

own personal rhythm.

Drums Alive! is about coordination, rhythm and

focus, said Zuzel, who instructs the class. Its cardio,

its strength and stretching. We play fun music and

laugh and dance and move the body. Its everything.

We really love it.

INCITE oers two Drums Alive! classes each weekand plans to add more as the concept grows. Right

now were the only place oering it east of the

(Connecticut) river, said Zuzel.

WE PLAY FUN MUSIC AND LAUGH AND DANCE AND MOVE

THE BODY. ITS EVERYTHING. WE REALLY LOVE IT.

Incite owner Jeanne Zuzel.

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New Year, new you (Jan. 2013)