Workout Express has personal exercise space
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

Techno music pumps out of the speakers at Ladies Workout Express while women circle the 30-minute circuit of weight machines, step aerobics and free weights. Whether they are hula hooping or crunching on inflated exercise balls, the women are clearly having a good time squeezing in a half-hour of exercise.

Although the gym is packed with circuit machines and cardio equipment, the pink carpet and turquoise and purple walls keep the tone friendlier than at monstrous gyms with hundreds of members. Stars bearing inspirational phrases hang from the ceiling encouraging the women to "Believe!" and "Never give up!"

"I think what distinguishes us from places like Curves is that we offer so much more," said manager Melissa La Vallette. "We are a lot more like a conventional gym except we are smaller, more personal, and we cater to women."

The 30-minute circuits are mixed up every day, with intervals from 30 seconds to a minute. Alternating cardio, weight lifting, aerobics and a lot more, women keep their heart rates up throughout the workouts.

"The heart doesn't (slow down) for a good 30 minutes," La Vallette said. "The interval training keeps people in the fatburning zone. It's very effective."

One effective way to keep up a fitness regime is to pair up. The fit teen program encourages mothers to bring their daughters to the gym for a family workout. Teens work out free for a year when their mom joins- and both get a workout partner, which encourages them to come to the gym.

"It trains them at a young age to learn a lifestyle of being fit and to include activity and fitness in their lives," La Vallette said. "The idea is to prevent teen obesity. Then they won't have the issues we have when we're older, like diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol and blood pressure."

La Vallette said she has another set of workout equipment in storage and would love to get it installed at a nearby school.

"If you didn't grow up playing a sport, you ended up in P.E.," La Vallette said. "And then it's just running, exactly what nonactive kids don't want to do. The equipment is not intimidating, and it gets the job done."

During September, the gym is offering a focus on fitness and nutrition to encourage women to live a healthier lifestyle. The 12week program includes weekly nutrition and support classes. Also this month, Ladies Workout Express is hosting a Zumba class twice a week. Zumba is a style of dance-aerobics that incorporates Latin dances like salsa and flamenco.

A big draw is the gym's sauna area, complete with aromatherapy candles and white netting billowing from the ceilings. The nook includes not only a traditional sauna room but also a sauna bed. In addition to helping eliminate calories, La Vallette said the sauna's health benefits include body detoxification, healthy skin, and relief from joint pain and arthritis.

Ladies Workout Express opens at 6 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and is now open seven days a week.

For more information, call (818) 707-0120 or visit www.ladiesworkoutexpress.com.