Workout businesses offer exercise for busy individuals

Busy schedules. Busy lives. Some people are turning to venues that offer 30-minute workout programs to shed pounds and be healthy. That's about all the time they can spare.

Carrie Hammond, a real estate agent and mother of two, said she found her days filled with work, home and "being a baseball mom." She joined a 30-minute workout facility after dieting away 20 pounds last year. By adding circuit training to her day, she dropped another 10 pounds, she said.

"I like the convenience of it," she said. "You get in, you get out, you get on with your day."

Lisa Ryan, another Las Vegas mother, said that between home and work, the amount of time she could devote to a workout was -- none. She noticed a 1 2 3 Fit location opening near her home in the northwest and decided to check it out.

"The 30-minute part, that's what caught my eye," she said. "It's easy because it's only half an hour. I figure that's like watching one TV show."

In February, Ryan began working out each weekday after dropping her daughters off at school. She said she lost 19 1/2 inches and dropped 15 pounds. She might have lost more, but the muscle she gained meant weighing more but fitting into smaller sizes, a trade off she gladly accepted, she said.

"Now I'm a size 4 and I'm sharing clothes with my daughter, who's in middle school," she said.

Lisa Maloy is a personal trainer affiliated with 24 Hour Fitness at 3141 N. Rainbow Blvd. She estimated 40 percent of the members she sees there come in for 30-minute workouts.

"Some of them come in on their lunch hour," she said. "You don't need a whole hour to eat."

When it comes to quick workout facilities, Maloy said that a half-hour exercise plan is easy to stick with, allows for social interaction and puts a person around others with similar goals.

"And the quicker the workout, the easier it is to get used to it," she said.

Elyce Sassoon owns Curves at 1750 N. Buffalo Drive, Suite 110. The facility opened in 1993 and now boasts 300 members. All of them are female, "but we doesn't discriminate," manager Kathy Pickett said.

The 13 machines see their busiest use as soon as the facility opens, Pickett said. That's when 12 customers start their day with a workout.

"We have a crowd that's very dedicated," Pickett said. "They're here at 6 a.m."

Of those who first try the routine, she estimated that 75 percent stick with it. As many as 100 clients have been with Sassoon's Curves since it opened.

Brothers Eric and Adam Steward, who own and operate Forever Fit, 2400 N. Buffalo Drive, Suite 110, have a dedicated crowd, too, they said. Their busy times are between 6 and 9 a.m. and again from 4 to 6 p.m.

Forever Fit, with eight machines designed to hit the major muscles groups, is geared for men and women ages 50 or older. Their 70 members are split 50/50 between men and women.

"Our clients want to be around people who are the same age they are," Adam Steward said. "They don't want loud music and they don't want someone with a hard body working out next to them going 90 mph."

Steve Lake, who works in marketing, was there recently to try out the place.

"I think it's a great work out," he said. "I'm working on muscles I haven't used before."

At 1 2 3 Fit, 7121 W. Craig Road, owner/operator Cecil Levy has about 230 members, with 30 percent of them being men. The franchise inserts a cardiovascular workout into the mix to keep up the heart rate and has 30 exercise stations. Its literature states that clients can burn as many as 460 calories in a 30-minute workout.

"You're not going to get to be a body builder in here, but you'll get muscular strength, you'll get toned and you'll lower your resting heart rate," Levy said.

When Dave Levinson, 78, joined 1 2 3 Fit in mid-summer, he said he could "hardly do one side (eight machines). Now I can go all the way around and do all of them."

He also said his clothes fit better and he feels healthier overall.

An adult can burn from 299 to 599 calories in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, and from 112 to 225 calories in 30 minutes of resistance training, according to know-your-health.com. With a circuit training exercise routine, one is getting both types of exercise at the same time.

"Most medical and health-related societies now recommend 30 minutes, six times a week in order to maintain optimum health," said Dr. Mark McKenzie, whose practice is InternalMedicine Specialists, 2010 Goldring Ave., Suite 100. "That's a goal that's hard to reach for the average busy American. However, I think if we set the bar high, that even if we just come close, the average person will be way ahead in terms of their fitness."

The National Center for Health Statistics states that 58.7 percent of Americans adults are overweight and only 30 percent of the population regularly exercises. The United Health Foundation states that 25 percent of Nevadans are considered obese.

Monica Sprouse, 54, is not obese, but wanted to lose weight, she said. She said she hates working out, but goes nearly every day now that she's joined a 30-minute fitness place.

"I have a room at home with everything -- a treadmill, a bike that you can also use as a stepper, and a weight station and a TV to watch, but I don't use it," she said. "It was like work. It just wasn't enjoyable."

She lost two pant sizes since joining the 30-minute facility. Sprouse said that working out alongside others helps keep her motivated.

"It's like when you're home, you can eat a whole box of bonbons, where, if you're at a party, you'll only eat two because people are there," she said. "It's like that."