Visit Wellstar Health Place, Wellstar’s Fitness Center in Marietta

In April, I began doing personal training twice a week. I wanted to manage my own cardio conditioning and have Megan concentrate on muscle conditioning. I have knee problems and wanted to have her prescribe specific exercises that would help me build my core strength and muscle tone in my legs without further aggravating or injuring my knee. Megan always has each workout session planned out in such a way that I am usually working for different muscle groups in different ways every time I train. With her assistance, I’ve learned how to use most of the exercise equipment properly so as to get the best workout without injury. Even so, I still prefer to work out with her rather than on my own for a variety of reasons. First, I’d probably never push myself as hard as she does so I know I work harder and get a better workout with her help. Second, at my age, the last thing I need is an injury. Even now, she still corrects my form from time to time so as to avoid injury. Third, since I have scheduled time with her, it helps keep me committed to getting to the gym on a routine basis rather than sleeping in. Lastly, she does an incredible job of varying my workout routines so that I don’t fall into the trap of redundancy and lose some of the benefits of my exercise regimen.
 
At the end of July, I did another fitness profile so we could evaluate my progress. I was pretty amazed at the results. I improved in every single category so that my overall fitness rating was “excellent.” The fact that I was most excited about was that, in just four months, I reduced my body fat by 5.3% to a level on the low end of the norm.
 
I look forward to my personal training time and really enjoy the process of staying in shape. I began to tire of using the elliptical machine or cycle for my cardio workouts so I started experimenting with some of Health Club’s fitness classes. Now I’m totally hooked on Zumba, Tae Bo, and Pilates. Not only that, but I’ve also been able to start taking golf lessons and I have been able to get back out on the tennis courts for the first time in over 8 years. I even competed in the club’s little fitness Olympics and did well enough to win a complimentary body massage! I still experience some muscle soreness every time I train with Megan but I am no longer stressed and am sleeping so much better. I have more energy, I’m feeling great and my only regret is that I didn’t start down this path sooner!

My wife and I are regulars at Health Place, working out 5 or more times a week. For over 3 years we have attended Vicki’s Yoga classes. At first, we went from one to then two beginner classes a week. More than 2 years ago we added the Sunday afternoon Yoga 2 class. When a second Yoga 2 class was added by Health Place on Wednesday evenings, we became regulars also. Looking for a greater challenge, we are now transitioning from the beginner classes into the Saturday and Monday Power Yoga classes. We are in Vicki’s classes 4 days a week, building other aerobic, strength training, and stretching around our Yoga practice.
 
We are both currently stronger and more stretched than we can ever remember. This growth is due to Vicki’s incredible inspiration, for example, and the ability to instill confidence in us. She is always the last person to leave the room, taking time to answer questions and demonstrate poses to all who request her time. Whenever we have sent her an email, she replies in a timely manner with detailed answers, attaching articles or sending links to articles, and recommending or offering to loan DVDs. During class her directions are clear and precise, emphasizing basic fundamentals, and she walks around some of the time to help position class members into the poses. Everything she does builds our enthusiasm and makes us feel incredibly safe.
 
Health Place, Yoga, and Vicki have become so central to our lives. We love Yoga because Vicki loves Yoga and her students.

I am Robert Lee Wilbur, Jr. born on St. Patrick’s day March 17, 1931. I am 89 years of age, born in Marietta, Georgia.
 
I served in the military, USAF and Georgia Air National Guard for 42 years, 3 months and 26 days, retired 0-6 Bird Colonel January 1990.
 
I practiced law as a member of Georgia’s Bar for over 30 years, I was a trial lawyer and tried many types of cases including some criminal cases. This year I received a certificate from the State bar of Georgia for being a member for 50 years.
 
I had open heart surgery September 1977 with three artery bypasses. I had a second open heart surgery January 1992 with five artery bypasses. I developed diabetes in the early Eighties. I have been under Doctor’s care ever since and now on insulin daily to control this problem.
 
The reason for this statement to outline the over 20 years that I have been a member of Health Place, Kennestone Hospital and what my exercise program has done to keep me alive and have a good bountiful (?) life for all these years. I give credit to the full-time employees to assist me with my exercise and advise me the type of exercises that would help me to maintain a long life and full life. I must congratulate (?) all the Health Place employees for the way they have treated me. I have always received outstanding advice and professional manners from everyone. This has kept me interested to continue my exercises and to maintain my health into my 89th birthday. I have lived longer than any male on the Wilbur side.
 
I am proud and lucky to still be able to exercise at Health Place and congratulate management to maintain the outstanding personnel to instruct people like me.

What a relief it was when my personal trainer and good friend Patti Hungate welcomed me back to Healthplace after an absence of 89 days due to Covid 19. The shutdown gave me plenty of time to appreciate the contributions that Patti and Healthplace have made in my life. My name is Ernest. Next month I will celebrate 74 years of life on this planet. I have been receiving personal training at Healthplace for the past 21 years. I think this probably qualifies me as the longest tenured customer. My doctors tell me that if I had not made the decision to start my training back in 1999 I would likely not still be around.
 
I have a disease called Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. It is genetic and I have been afflicted since birth. The disease progresses very slowly which allowed me to live a fairly normal life until my early 50’s. I took a disability retirement after a 28-year career with the U.S. Treasury Department at age 52. Up until that point, except for an occasional golf game, I had not engaged in any type formal exercise program. Shortly after retirement I spent a week at Kennestone Hospital with pneumonia. It was during this hospital stay that my Neurologist, Joe Hormes, strongly recommended that I start getting some type of regular exercise. He told me that I would likely be in a wheelchair within 5 years if I did not. This got my attention. He gave me the telephone number at Healthplace and that’s how I got started. Now 22 years later I am still able to get around without a wheelchair. This would not have happened without the hard work, care and attention I have received from people like Patti. Thank you Healthplace from the bottom of my heart.

Many people have expressed unhappiness at the recent closing of the pool at Wellstar Health Place due to COVID-19 and Delta Variant. Certainly, I was not elated by the decision. I have become a dedicated devotee of the pool, swimming laps six days a week and participating in Hydro Power water aerobic classes thrice weekly. Nonetheless, the staff offered to mitigate the loss by offering land-based classes at the same times and with the same instructors across the week's activities, as well as the ongoing range of regularly scheduled land-based classes, the exercise equipment, and the indoor padded track. Let me assure everyone that I have found several positive features in that gesture of compensation.

For one thing, I found land-based classes with Amber Devey highly challenging. Some of the exercises that I can easily accomplish in the water take on new force on land, and Amber allowed both seated and standing options. It is a great workout! I felt tired and refreshed when it was over, and I felt that it was a good and helpful change to experience a new variation on the exercise routine. Of course, I want to resume swimming at some point, but in the mean time it will be wonderful to have new ways to try to get fit and stay that way!

Thank you to all of the Health Place Staff!