Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1197159
how cAre cAn helP c are From The Heart started in 1995 with two employees, three clients, and one referring partner. As of today, Care From The Heart has served hundreds of families within our community. By placing their trust in us to care for their loved ones, these families have forever enriched our lives. Care From the Heart is a family owned agency operated by Jeff Tucker, a firefighter, and Jackie Tucker, a nurse. Our vision is to serve families in need of care giving with gratitude, dignity and respect. When you contact us, to inquire about our services, a licensed nurse or case manager is available to speak to you to discuss proper utilization of services and available resources. Once we are able to determine your needs, we can make arrangements to conduct a complementary care assessment, either in our office or at your home. Often the call comes just before you're returning home from a hospital or rehabilitation facility. Our Case Manager is able to assign a member of our team to provide care to you, or your loved one, within a 2-3 hour window. We pride ourselves on our ability to staff assignments on an emergency basis. two locAl Fitness sPots: PArk Avenue Fitness & the BArre studio t here are several aspects to health and well-being. One is physical fitness. For many of us, working on this doesn't come naturally. As the end of the year approaches, and a new one begins, we need to make a conscious effort to fit exercise into our schedules. What exacerbates this is the fact that it's the rainy season, and therefore not easy to enjoy our traditional Santa Cruz County activities (taking a walk in the beautiful outdoors, swimming in the ocean or nearby pool, etc.). We decided to showcase a couple local fitness studios—one of them having just opened this year. Park Avenue Fitness Mary Doyle opened Park Avenue Fitness in January 2019. The Aptos-based business is comprised of three private personal training studios and has eight personal trainers. Joan Romero is one of Park Avenue's primary trainers. Combined, Mary and Joan have over 20 years of experience working with clients in Santa Cruz in various settings, including Capitola Fitness (where they met and currently still work at, in addition to Park Avenue). Between the two of them, they have worked in almost every gym in the county as well as in studios and doing home and outdoor training. All the personal trainers provide one-on-one sessions in 25- and 55-minute lengths. Also available: small group training in 55-minute sessions. Park Avenue's trainers enjoy working with exercisers at every level of fitness, and helping clients address their training and nutrition needs. They are ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified Personal Trainers, and ACE certified Senior Fitness Specialists, Orthopedic Exercise Specialists, Weight Management Specialists, Functional Training Specialists, and Nutrition Specialists. "Our philosophy is that the time the clients spend in training should directly improve the activities of their daily lives," says Mary. Mary and her colleagues believe that your 'basic structure,' life experiences, injuries, personality, and daily activities require not only a different approach to exercise, but also different exercises than the person sitting next to you. "Training with us is truly personal training," says Mary. Their goal at Park Avenue Fitness is to help you get and stay fit for your daily activities. "Our clients trust us to deliver a personalized workout in a completely private, light and airy setting. We are set apart from the typical noisy, crowded gym scene!" Many clients express they are happily surprised by the improvement in their workouts now that they are working out with no distractions. "They are not waiting for equipment as they might in a gym, and find they feel confident and able to try exercises they might not if they were in a more public setting." I asked Mary to elaborate on 'prehabilitation,' something mentioned on Park Avenue's Facebook page. "We work with clients to prepare for and recover from a variety of surgeries. People facing joint replacement surgery have plenty of warning that it is coming. It is important to work out properly to prepare for the surgery," she explains. "Recovery is much better and faster when the body is strong both physically and 'cardiovascularly.' In fact, we try to include some exercises that can be considered 'rehabilitation exercises' in everyone's workouts, depending on what their daily life requires. Hopefully if their joints are strong, they won't injure themselves in the first place." Sandee Frost, 72, has been a Park Avenue customer since it opened, going at least two or three times each week. Prior to that, she worked out with Joan Romero at Capitola Fitness. She has lost weight and firmed up. "I'm a breast cancer survivor plus just had a total knee replacement," says Sandee. "Both times, Joan worked with me and I healed quickly and much earlier than my doctors expected. Joan really takes a personal concern in my health and is constantly changing up my routine so I don't get bored. I can't recommend her enough." Mary 'pre-habed' 80-year- old Anna Guagnini's knee replacement. She has been working with Mary about three years, seeing Mary about three times a week. "Balance, fitness…Mary is amazingly knowledgeable about the body and how to fix aches and strains," says Anna. "Park Avenue Fitness is a great facility, and the staff is terrific to work with." Mary welcomes individuals, no matter what age or fitness level, to try Park Avenue Fitness. "Having a strong, fit and functional body is key to taking on life's challenges. We know that it is never too late to become fit for the things you want to do. Exercising can enhance your quality of life, and help keep you healthy so that you can enjoy a long productive life. You should always leave your workouts feeling better, straighter, taller and ready to face whatever is coming your way that day." Details: 2505 Cabrillo College Drive, Aptos, (831) 251-1810, parkavenuefitness.com The Barre Studio Every week, The Barre Studio in Capitola offers 25 barre classes, plus three cardio ones. As the web site states, each one-hour barre class is "a total-body workout that incorporates ballet-inspired movements with elements from yoga, Pilates and performance training." Owner Ashley Cramer emphasizes that although barre is ballet- inspired, it's not ballet. "You don't need to be intimidated thinking…that you have to be a dancer," she says. "If you can hold a barre, you can do a barre class." Barre classes target areas that women are most concerned with, says Ashley: arms, abs, thighs and glutes. They are designed to be attainable to all fitness levels, all barre experience levels, and all ages. "Our instructors are specifically trained to lead mixed-level classes, offering modifications (ways to make the moves easier) and progressions (ways to make the moves harder) so that clients feel challenged yet comfortable," says Ashley. "The fabulous instructors are always willing to help modify any move depending on where you are with your fitness level or if you have any limitations," says 44-year-old Heather Adamson, who has been a member of The Barre Studio for five years. "I love it there!" Heather goes two to four times a week. "It's not just a workout, but also part of my self-care routine," she adds. Class sequences are designed to be a full-body workout. Each class begins with a warm-up. A sequence of planks and pushups follows, then arm work, thigh work, stretching, glute work, and ab work. It ends with an eight-minute cool down stretch. "The unique sequencing works each area of the body to fatigue, focusing on one muscle group at a time before moving to another group," Ashley says. Customer Becca Scheiblauer, who is 39, has been going to the studio since May and takes two to three weekly classes. "As someone who was primarily a runner, I wasn't working out the rest of my body very often," says Becca. "When I go to barre, I get a full body workout. My arms are getting toned and I am noticeably stronger in my core; I can hold a two-minute plank now!" She appreciates the "challenging yet do-able" classes. "We say that you 'strengthen and lengthen' in barre classes, meaning that strength intervals alternate with stretching to improve strength and flexibility," says Ashley. "Barre classes have unique terminology like 'tucking' and 'down-an-inch, up-an-inch' that you don't hear in any other workouts, and we wear grip socks. It may seem foreign at first, but our instructors explain everything in a way that is easy to understand. Clients catch on quickly." Ashley founded The Barre Studio in 2014. On her 30th birthday, Ashley realized she wanted to leave her pharmaceutical sales job and open a business that would help people, particularly women, be healthier, happier and more confident. After spending years working in doctors' offices, she saw many "whose lives and health could be improved by simply moving their bodies." She envisioned a place that would foster community and inspire and empower its members through fitness. At that point, she had been taking barre classes for six years. Since there were no dedicated barre studios in Santa Cruz County, Ashley decided she would bring barre fitness to the area. She worked hard, and two weeks before her 31st birthday The Barre Studio opened its doors. A Barre Master Trainer, Ashley is certified in multiple barre techniques including Barre Certified by Exhale, the premier barre certification, and Barworks by Yoga Works. She created the format taught at The Barre Studio. "I picked from the best of all of my certifications and created my own style," says Ashley. She is also certified in High Fitness, a high-energy cardio class held three times weekly at the studio. "The Barre Studio classes and studio space are designed to help people create a lifelong healthy relationship with their bodies and their overall wellness." Through her workouts at The Barre Studio, Heather says she has a stronger, more toned body, "particularly the core and legs/booty. Plus, I always leave feeling so positive and in a much better mood than when I arrived." Becca shares this sentiment. "All the teachers are so caring. They've known my name since I started there, and always remember things about my life," she says. "It's a really warm, supportive environment." "Creating a positive relationship with your body is a key facet of overall wellness, including mental and emotional health. There's a lot of use of negative reinforcement in the fitness world," says Ashley. "I believe in working out because you love your body, not because you hate it." At this time of year, instead of New Year's resolutions focusing on things like weight goals, she says a better goal is to find the right workout. This should be something you really enjoy, so that it's sustainable long- term. Ashley hopes you'll join a class at The Barre Studio soon. A New Client Special is $99 for 30 days of unlimited classes. She shared an insider tip, not posted on the website: the New Client Challenge. "When someone completes 12 or more classes during their first month, they get a second month for $99 as a rewarding for all that hard work." Details: 2001 40th Ave. Suite C, Capitola, (831) 471-5950, thebarrecapitola.com by Tara Fatemi Walker by Tyler Schrepel, Community Liaison / IT Consultant The Barre Studio Front to back: Sarah Yarovoy, Studio Director; Sara Clevenger, Instructor; Megan Suttaby, Manager Mary Doyle - Personal Trainer and owner of Park Avenue Fitness