Press

Pilates focuses on core of health
By Marie Donovan / CNC Correspondent
Wednesday, January 22, 2003

WESTFORD - The key to fitness and total body health really begins at your "core," according to personal trainer Cheryl Turgeon

The Westford resident has worked in numerous genres of the fitness industry, but has determined that the core - what she describes as the hips, back and abdominal muscles - is best whipped in to shape by an 80-plus year old form of exercise called pilates.

"A lot of people skip their back and that's why they have back problems," Turgeon said.

Turgeon opened The Whole Body Studio, Westford's first pilates center, last week. She said she hopes to draw in new clients to work out at the Century Plaza studio, to join those she has already been working with as corporate clients over the past few years in the surrounding towns of Chelmsford, Acton, Carlise, Groton and Tyngsborough.

Much like yoga, pilates is intended to be practiced in a tranquil environment. Turgeon's newly-carpeted studio is adorned with potted plants and wall hangings intended to enhance the Zen-like mood she wants to create there. Turgeon said she intends to play relaxation, yoga and massage music during the 55-minute classes.

"People find that they're totally relaxed, but at the same time energized," Turgeon said.

Pilates classes involve a mix of stretching and strengthening exercises, intended to help participants develop long and lean muscles, rather than the bulky type often attained through weight training, Turgeon said

"That's because of the stretching while we do the toning," she said.

Chiropractors often recommend pilates to their clients because it helps to stretch and strengthen the back simultaneously, protecting it against many common injuries, Turgeon said.

"Pilates is good for people with scoliosis because it helps you get the balance of the muscles," she said.

Unlike yoga, pilates involves constant movement, rather than a series of long-held poses. So it is ideal for people who are a little too antsy to do yoga. For beginners, Turgeon conducts classes that use only a few props; namely a yoga mat, arc barrels, large beach ball, smaller plastic stability balls which clients with poor posture can hold to strengthen their necks, stability chairs and some contoured foam rollers she has clients hold to work particular muscles.

For more advanced pilates practitioners, she has purchased four large workout machines that are housed toward one end of the studio.

In addition to holding a grand opening ceremony last Thursday, Turgeon conducted free trial classes for prospective clients at an open house Saturday and Sunday. She recommends clients attend three classes per week, but said some only make it to one or two. Pilates does not involve much of a cardiovascular component, so Turgeon said she recommends that clients power walk, jog, bicycle, swim, cross-country ski or snow shoe a few days a week also.

Turgeon, 39, grew up in Westford and recently moved back here with her spouse, David Evans, and her two dogs, two cats and tank full of fish.

"I really love the town; that's why I really wanted to make sure I opened my business in the town," she said.

Clients can sign up for an entire eight-week session, or they are able to just pay by the class if they prefer, Turgeon said. She said Pilates is good for anyone over the age of nine, including senior citizens, because it involves less impact type exercises than step classes like kickboxing, aerobics and Tae Bo do.

"It's great for older people; easy on the joints," she said.

Turgeon was certified as a pilates instructor through the Physical Mind Institute, based in New York and New Mexico. She has also completed the Stott Intensive Reformer Training Program for Pilates instructors in Beverly.

Literature describing Turgeon's course offerings is available at the studio, located at 187 Littleton Rd., Suite D or at (978)692-1032 or www.Thewholebodystudio.com. In addition to Turgeon, there are three other Pilates instructors at the studio and classes take place Monday through Saturday, in the mornings, afternoons and evenings.

No smoke or mirrors to get fit
By Peter Costa / Staff Writer Westford Eagle
Thursday, October 9, 2003

The real reason people stop going to gyms isn't the cost or the commute, it's the mirrors.

"People come into a gym and they see themselves reflected on the walls everywhere. People just don't like seeing themselves - especially when they are unhappy with their physical condition. Also, if you're always relying on mirrors, you never know how to adjust your body without one," said Cheryl Turgeon, personal trainer and operator of The Whole Body Studio at 187 Littleton Road in Westford. There are no mirrors in her studio.

Out-of-shape gym users often have unrealistic expectations, she said. They are disappointed when they don't have six-pack abs after doing two sets of sit-ups or bulging biceps after a week of dumbbell curls. Only 20 percent of the population signs up for gym membership, according to Turgeon, and of that number, only about 5 percent goes to the gym regularly.

"I try to emphasize that the best way to make changes that will last is to take baby steps," Turgeon said. People usually need about eight weeks before they can change lifestyle habits, she said, so they have to stick with it.

But before her clients even get to work the exercise machines in her studio, they have to undergo a comprehensive inventory of physical and mental assessments. Turgeon examines the following seven "dimensions:" physical, emotional, intellectual, occupational, spiritual, environmental and social.

"These are all interconnected. Having something going on in your emotional life can affect the way you exercise," she said.

The Pilates Method, which Turgeon features at her Whole Body Studio, is an exercise system that seeks to improve flexibility and strength without building bulk. It was developed in the 1920s by Joseph H. Pilates, a physical trainer. Some of the first people to use the Pilates Method were dancers like Martha Graham and George Balanchine.

Turgeon emphasizes exercises that strengthen the stomach and abdomen, "our core" as she calls it, and finds that Pilates focuses on the stomach muscles.

Because many muscle groups won't fire unless the mind activates them, according to Turgeon, she also teachers her clients Yoga to help integrate mind-body functions.

The 40-year-old Turgeon, who lives in Tyngsboro, began to exercise with free weights after she was injured in a car accident when she was working as a semiconductor saleswoman about 10 years ago. She later decided to become a personal trainer.

"I made a lot of money in semiconductor sales but it wasn't rewarding. As a personal trainer, almost every day, I have people tell me how I have changed their lives," she said.

She cited one of her students as an example. He is a 60-year-old man who joined her studio suffering from heart problems and desperately needed to get back into shape. "We started on a regimen of exercises that included spinning (indoor cycling) and bicycling. He was able to increase his activity so that he could eventually participate in a 3,000-mile biking event. I just heard from him. He's in Italy and has just completed a triathlon," she said.

"Women tell me that after training for a period of time, they feel better and are more confident. It's funny how you can touch people's lives in ways not expected."

Womans Day
June 4, 2002
Even without a heart-rate monitor, you can still keep tabs on how intense your 're exercising, The easiest way is to perform a talk test. "You should be able to talk when need to - 'Look out for the cyclist' - but you shouldn't be able to carry on a nonstop conversation," says Mark Fenton. Your heart rate and need for oxygen will be elevated, but you won't be gasping for air.

"You should also break a light sweat," adds Cheryl Turgeon, personal trainer and fitness expert at www.AllWalking.com.

To most closely replicate what a heart-rate monitor does, Turgeon suggests checking your pulse frequently throughout your workout to make sure you are within your target zone. Place your index finger and middle fingers directly under your ear, then slide fingers down 2 inches until they lie directly under your jaw bone, pressing lightly. Count how many beats you feel in 10 seconds and then multiple that number by 6 for your beats per minute (bpm). It should be somewhere in your target zone which can be found below.