By Sara Strong
Women seem to be driving the exercise and fitness market in Rock County.
Last week, the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center Committee voted unanimously to turn the existing community room into a weight room for women only.
Manager Carol Wessels said it’s something members and non-members have shown interest in for years.
"It’ll meet the needs of people we have now who aren’t using the facility as they could," Wessels said.
As well as pleasing current members, Pool and Fitness Center Director Darrell Huiskes said women who don’t do any form of exercise will probably feel more comfortable doing so now.
The Pool Commission voted to spend $30,000 on new equipment for the overall facility, with most of the new weights going to the existing co-ed weight room.
The cardio room will also see some new equipment, but the biggest change will be in the women-only area.
The community room is now infrequently used as a party room and for different classes or staff programs.
Wessels said she’s personally glad to see the room get more use, and at the same time add variety to the facility. "We’re all really excited about it," she said.
The same theory of offering a comfortable atmosphere, centered on women and wellness, was put into practice through the type of fitness center offered at Curves for Women, downtown Luverne.
"There’s a market that is intimidated to some extent by the thought of a weight room," said Deb Meyer, manager of Curves for Women.
Curves now has 270 members, surpassing the business goal of 150 memberships by Christmas.
"We’ve gone above our goal by far," Meyer said. "Another thing we’re doing is offering classes on weight loss after Christmas and looking into adding more machines."
Even with another facility available, memberships at the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center haven’t suffered. Curves and the Pool and Fitness Center are hoping to reach an untapped market in Rock County.
The county facility still holds a steady 312 pool memberships and 418 fitness memberships.
The Pool Commission and management hope that the new weight room brings in more memberships. With the added members, more staff time will be dedicated to training and supervising use of the equipment.
The Pool and Fitness Center is also implementing a weight loss program called Choose to Lose.
Curves and the Fitness Center aren’t the only businesses that have shown a warm welcome to women who might otherwise not exercise. The trend of a friendlier atmosphere is national and regional.
Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System fitness centers have started offering "transitional" rooms that are well suited to seniors or people new to exercise.
Staying fit isn’t about vanity for a lot of people who exercise. Older women — up to age 89 in the case of one Curves member — exercise now more than ever as it increases strength and flexibility and helps prevent falls and even osteoporosis.
The new fitness room for women, which doesn’t have a specific name yet, should be available by Jan. 1.
New equipment coming to the Fitness Center:
leg extension
leg curl
lateral pull down
assisted chin dip
rotary torso
total chest
total leg
total shoulder
flat/incline bench
supine press bench
incline press bench
decline press bench
Smith machine
3-way press bench
preacher curl
cable crossover
thera crunch
glute press
inner/outer thigh
The Pool and Fitness Center is also getting a rubber mat to protect carpet in the weight room from damage caused by metal weights.
Manager Carol Wessels said some active members helped suggest some new purchases.