A fit new year

As Vestavia Hills folks gear up this January with new fitness resolutions, fitness-related businesses in the city have a few bits of advice on how you can make that decision, what your options are and how you can make it stick.

U.S. Taekwondo Academy, 790 Montgomery Highway, Suite 124

Jean Choung of U.S. Taekwondo Academy says the great thing about martial arts is that you can start anytime and see sweeping personal benefits. The Academy has been around for a decade.

Why are martial arts beneficial? It’s not only for physical fitness but also for building confidence, strength and discipline. We have classes for all ages, and we have students from age 3 to 69. Our youngest class, the tiny tigers, is for 3- and 4-year-olds and focuses on basic forms and techniques. But we have classes for adults taught by my husband, Tiger, who is a three-time world champion in taekwondo, which is Korean martial arts. And we have family programs, too. 

So families can come in and do this together? Yes, parents and children can come in and learn together. There’s a saying — you kick together, you stick together. All three of my children are doing it with us — they are all black belts, and they help as assistant instructors here.

Kiva Hot Yoga, 300 Old Towne Road

The community aspect is one thing that Kate Jenkins, owner of Kiva Hot Yoga in Vestavia Hills, says she loves about yoga classes.

What’s the benefit of yoga to you personally? It’s brought me to an amazing community of people. We’re close here, friendships are built here and it’s just a great environment to get healthy in. And the best thing about it is that it takes the place of your doctor, your physical therapist and your psychological therapist. It’s all of that in one trip, because it works every system in your body, not just your skeletal and muscular.

You say that sometimes people get confused about what yoga is. Can you elaborate on that? Some people worry that it conflicts with their Christian faith, but we are a faith-based business, and nothing we do is outside of our faith tradition. We want to know that everybody’s got a healthy spirit, body and mind. And with yoga, you’ll start to notice that it’s working on everything, all your systems — reproductive, digestive, immune, endocrine, everything.

What would you say to someone who has never done yoga before? Your first goal for your first class is to breathe and stay in the room. It’s like starting anything for the first time — just come in and do what you can. You don’t have to be a master at it. It’s a lifelong process, and we have classes specifically for beginners. We also have people of all ages, even into their 70s.

Cahaba Cycles, 3179 Cahaba Heights Road

Everyone knows how to ride a bike.

So goes the old saying — and Zach Davis of Cahaba Cycles says it holds weight. The key, he says, is just deciding that this is the year to get on one.

Isn’t cycling kind of intense for someone just starting out with new fitness resolutions? Not at all. It’s very low impact as opposed to something like running. It’s a very easy entrance into fitness, especially for someone overweight or older who is worried about the impact on their joints. There are so many different kinds of bikes too — road bikes, cruisers, even electric pedal-assisted bikes that help you do the work but still allow you to get some exercise. And bikes have some expense up front, but you aren’t going to pay every time you go out after that, like you would with a gym membership or to play golf. 

When and where do you personally like to ride? I try to ride to work pretty often, because it’s easy to get rolling that way. But my favorite is mountain biking.

Is it good for group fitness, too? Yes, there are so many riding groups in the area of all different types and ability levels that are great for accountability and community. There’s a list of them on our website at cahabacycles.com.

 LifeTime Fitness, 3051 Healthy Way

Steven Gum, member services manager at LifeTime Fitness, said the idea of community fitness is a core value at the 110,000-square-foot luxury fitness facility, which offers classes, workout equipment, basketball and tennis courts and indoor and outdoor swimming pools, to name a few things. People sense it from the get-go, he said.

 Tell us a little bit about the community aspect of LifeTime Fitness. Well for instance, in our Fit Over 50 class, we had an awards ceremony recently and heard a lot of great stories from our older population about how much the gym had impacted them. There’s a very active social component — people feel like they are part of something special here.

 What would you say to someone who’s a little bit intimidated about walking into such a big place for the first time? When they come here and get a new membership, we set them up for success. We help them build a plan. They meet with a fitness professional for an hour, talk about their goals and go through a personalized 45-minute workout. That way, when they come back to do it themselves, they have a starting point and know the things they need to do to start working toward their goals. And we have ways for them to get other kinds of coaching and follow up without spending any additional money.

So anybody can do it? Absolutely. We’ve got all the tools you need to achieve success. We like to say we have the best people at the best place. You’ve just got to come give it a try.