I have spent my whole life in Chicago, and as a result, Chicago transplants often say to me, “You’re used to the winters and the cold, aren’t you?”
The answer is no, I’m not a winter person. I don’t like the short days, the bitter cold, the ice, and the slush. In short, I’m just not a fan. I know I’m not alone, and I’m sure some of you would rather hibernate through the winter too.
However, since we can’t outrun Mother Nature, here are four ways to beat the Winter Blues by coming to the club:
1. Cannonball!
I’m the Head Lifeguard so obviously my list is going to start with the pool. Our indoor 4-lane, 20-yard pool is home to a variety aqua exercise classes. My favorite way to forget about the winter cold is to sit in the hot tub and turn on the waterfall, which makes me believe that summer is right around the corner.
2. Tennis Fun X 9
We have 9 indoor courts perfect for singles, doubles and Cardio Tennis. Ball machine usage is complimentary. Tennis is the foundation of our history, and our new tennis leadership team is excited to help you enjoy the game. We also provide a top-notch youth tennis program to introduce your kids to tennis.
3. Suzanne McCullough’s Favorite Things
Suzanne McCullough runs the Pro Shop at Midtown. She loves helping you find the right outfit, racquet, or shoes to help you better enjoy your workout or tennis game. Stop by the Pro Shop to check out the latest lines of clothing and accessories.
Suzanne also loves to play paddle. If you’re new to the sport, check out our 4 outdoor paddle tennis courts. We have both men’s and women’s teams. Stop by the Pro Shop and Suzanne will get you suited up in warm and efficent gear, put a paddle in your hand, and probably give you a few pointers on how to enjoy this cold weather sport. Paddle tennis is great way to stay active during the winter months, and a fun way to shake up your regular exercise routine.
4. Get Upstairs and Get Fit
Our Fitness department offers a wide variety of classes, including cycling, pilates, and yoga. Our trainers hold a variety of personal training certifications, including MAT and CrossFit. Whether you enjoy cardio or you want to build or tone your muscles, stop by the Fitness Desk to speak with one of our personal trainers to set up a session.
How do you stay active during the winter months?
This is the time of year we evaluate the year that’s ending and develop a game plan for the next year.
2012 can be your best year yet, and we want to help you achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.
Have you set a weight-loss goal? Our fitness trainers will work with you to build a fitness plan to help you achieve it. Our trainers are certified in many different areas of fitness and each of them brings a unique approach to help you feel great about your body.
If working with a personal trainer isn’t for you, then we have dozens of group exercise and cycle classes offered at different times throughout the day for your convenience. Check out Paula’s cycle class or Kokay’s Yoga class. Our instructors love meeting new people and introducing them to the world of group ex.
Doing your cardio or strength training by yourself is one thing, but when you have the support and energy of a room of people, it becomes an entirely new workout. Also, make sure to jump in the indoor pool and swim a few laps for that full-body cardio experience.
Looking to improve your tennis game in 2012? Our Tennis department develops not only seasoned tennis players, but also turns people who love the sport into players themselves. Whether via group or individual classes, our tennis team will work with you to help develop your talent. The Tennis department is also a great avenue for meeting new friends: our Cardio Tennis and Social Mixers are a great way to connect with other tennis players.
While you may set a New Year’s Resolution of losing weight or improving your tennis serve, you also might consider a different kind of resolution this year. Above and beyond the physical benefits of working out and playing tennis, Midtown offers you the chance to make and develop relationships with people.
Our club has always been about people first, so try something new in 2012: meet new members and associates and experience elements of the club that you haven’t before. Come in for coffee, try a new class, or meet a new trainer. Try that deep water aerobics class, or experience what you can learn about your body in a MAT session.
Let 2012 be a year of change. Resolve to break out of your usual routine a few times this year to experience everything that Midtown has to offer. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
What part of Midtown are you going to discover in 2012?
People often ask me why I began swimmning instead of playing a “real” sport like football or baseball. When I was a child, I usually answered, ”Because my mom made me.”
Today my view on swimming is very different and I don’t think there is a better, more complete workout you can do.
Here are four reasons why swimming delivers an excellent workout:
1. Swimming Reduces the Impact on Muscles, Bones, and Joints
When your body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50 percent of its weight; dunk yourself to the chest and that number reduces to around 25 to 35 percent; with water all the way to the neck, you only have to bear 10 percent of your own weight. The other 90 percent is handled by the pool. This allows a person to build their cardio without the impact of a treadmill.
2. Swimming = Resistance Training
Water is about 12 times denser than air. That means every stroke, kick, or curl with an aqua dumbell transforms itself into resistance training. As a result, competitive swimmers have toned and defined bodies, because their in-pool workouts allow them to stretch and strengthen almost every muscle in the body.
3. Swimming Helps You Breathe Better
My mom enrolled me in swimming at a young age due to my asthma. Indoor pools are usually not as dry as, for example, a gym or even the natural weather outside. Swimming can also strengthen lungs and promote correct breathing, which makes it a perfect workout for me and for others with asthma or other lung-related issues.
4. Swimming is a Blast
Any workout can become boring and repetitive if performed for too long, but swimming provides a lot of ways to shake things up. Work your arms and chest with a butterfly or breastroke on one day, focus on your legs with some long kicking sets on another day, and focus on breathing with some long-distance breathing techniques the next.
I have friends today whom I met through swimming 20 years ago. Group swimming or exercise classes give you the opportunity to not only build your endurance but also your relationships. The camaraderie and motivation that develops through swimming is unique to the fitness world. Whether you join a Master’s team or an Aqua Fitness class or whether you and some friends are just tired of the treadmills and Stairmasters and are looking for something different, swimming delivers life-long benefits.
Is swimming a part of your regular weekly workout?
Each Thanksgiving, we get together with family and friends (good) and sometimes we eat too much food (not so good). 
If you need to take a break between rounds of turkey and gravy, or want to pre-burn some of the 3,000+ calories the average person consumes on Turkey Day, the club will be open from 6 am to 4 pm.
Here’s our special schedule of Fitness Classes:
Cycle Studio
7:30-8:30am: Carol
8:45-9:45am: Sue
10:00-11:00am: Robyn
Basketball Court
9:00-10:15am Cardio/Strength Drills (men and women): Paula
Group Ex Studio
7:30-8:30am: Power Pilates/Abs & Strength-Nico
9:00-10:00am: Free Style Step- Kris G.
10:05-11:15am: Yoga- Pauline
Pool
9:00-10:00am: Deep Water- Susie P.
Happy Thanksgiving!
What are your plans to stay active over the long holiday weekend?
It’s that time of year when the weather turns colder, leaves and
temperatures fall, and shorts and tshirts are replaced with sweatshirts and pants. We turn the AC off and the heat up.
But, the one thing we don’t do is close the outdoor pool.
One of the coolest (partial pun intended) things about Midtown is that our outdoor pool opens up earlier than anyone else in the area; we opened the second week of April, and we close later than anyone else.
This year we are planning to keep the outdoor pool open until the first week of December. We turn the heat up and, if we have to, we will plow the snow away to make sure our winter warriors can get to the pool.
To celebrate and enjoy this chilly feature of Midtown we will be holding our annual Polar Bears for Parkinson’s Day on November 19th. This year we have added a few extra elements to the day’s festivities, as well as a great cause to rally behind.
This year, our Polar Bear Plunge celebration will support the Michael J. Fox Foundation to find a cure for Parkinson’s. Donations of $25 per individual and $50 for families is appreciated to participate in this fun-filled day. You will not only support the Michael J. Fox Foundation with your donation, but also Aquatics Supervisor Susan Kauffman.
In the past, Susan has organized a recurring Swim-a-Thon to help raise money for Parkinson’s research while also battling the disease herself. She has partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation and through the Polar Bears for Parkinson’s Day, you can help a community determined to defeat this disease.
Here’s what you can expect on Polar Bears for Parkinson’s Day:
Our Polar Bears for Parkinson’s Day is a great way to say goodbye to the outdoor pool and help support a great cause. We look forward to seeing you on November 19th for a Saturday of arctic fun.
Are you a regular “Polar Bear”? Who wants to see our GM, Rich Novelli, canonball into the pool on the 19th?
When I was a kid, gym class resembled a free-for-all rather than an organized learning session. I played
a lot of tag while avoiding the flying dodgeballs, leaping over the kids playing board games, and avoided the flying basketballs from those playing HORSE.
It was fun, but I wasn’t learning anything about fitness, and it certainly wasn’t as helpful as our new Youth Programming.
Our after-school classes have been revamped to help students explore fitness through coordination-building exercises and athletic skill sets.
In the past, our Youth Fitness Supervisor Seth Ogden developed a program to help kids get active and to teach them good sportsmanship and team play. These are still emphasized, but with a different twist.
This year’s curriculum is taken from the International Youth Conditioning Association, the premier international authority for athletic development and youth participant-based conditioning. The IYCA program is a fun way to safely teach today’s youth the skills and habits needed to live a healthy and athletic life.
This year’s Youth Program at the club is divided into three divisions by age group:
Guided Discovery Group: for children ages 6-9 and meets on Mondays and Thursdays. Primary emphasis is on coordination development and secondary focus on strength and speed. Coordination is discovered through balance, awareness in space, force production, rhythm and reaction exercises.
Learning Exploration Group: for kids ages 10-13 and meets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Primary emphasis is building on some basic techniques that have been taught in the past while adding more advanced coordination and exercise skill sets.
Circuit Training Group: for kids ages 12-14 and meets on Saturdays. Primary emphasis is on applying form to exercise. Group circuit training is introduced to develop strength, speed and better athletic performance.
The goal of our Youth Programming classes is to teach the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle and to encourage the development of new athletic skills. More information is available at the Front Desk, or you can contact Seth Ogden at Seth.Ogden@midtown.com.
Are your kids involved in our Youth Fitness Programs? What do they think of the classes?
Tennis has always been the backbone of Midtown.
Our Sectional Champions
We began as a tennis-only club in downtown Chicago, so it should come as no surprise that we produce tennis players at the highest level. For the fourth straight year, Midtown will be represented in the USTA Ladies 3.5 National Championships, held October 14-16th in Tucson, AZ.
The team of 18, lead by captain Lisa Aronson, has been dominant all year, going 9-0 as a team throughout the season, with a very impressive 40-5 individually.
The road to Nationals started the first weekend in August when the ladies traveled to Winnetka where they swept through and won the District Championship. This victory earned them the right to play at the State Championship at Burr Ridge.
The team set their sights on Indianapolis, Indiana for the Midwest Sectional Championship. The winner of this tournament would go on to represent the entire Midwest at the National Championships, but it wasn’t easy to get through.
On the first day of the tournament, the team played teams from Michigan and Ohio, both of which they defeated 4-1. On Saturday they took down Wisconsin 5-0, which set up the championship match with Indiana.
Going into that match, both teams were undefeated and the level of play was very intense.
“There were some tie-breakers that just left me saying, ‘Wow,’ “ said Todd Seltzer.
Our Midtown women’s team defeated Indiana 3-2 and earned themselves another trip to the National Tournament, where they will play teams from all over the country as well as the Caribbean.
“I am very proud of this team and very excited to represent not only Midtown Bannockburn but also the entire Midwest at Nationals,” said Seltzer, who saw the team get very close to entering the semi-finals last year.
This year, the Midtown squad will be in the opening round-robin bracket against North California, Minnesota, Virginia, and Tennessee. Seltzer said, “This team is as good as any team out there and I am excited to see what they can do.”
What advice or words of advice do you have for our ladies team?
We are quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of Rich Novelli’s arrival as the General Manager of Midtown Bannockburn.
Over the past eleven months, Rich has impacted many different areas of the club, from landscaping to securing new workout equipment. He truly hit the ground running.
You’ve likely seen him working out or in his office planning and working to improve Midtown. But, have you had the chance to stop and talk with California native?
If not, I encourage you to stop by his office, (located at the top of the stairs) and get to know your General Manager. Recently, I sat down with Rich to talk a about the past year, plans for the future, and a little bit about flying planes.
Tim: What were you doing before you came to Midtown?
Rich: I spent the last 10 years with a private equity firm that purchased private health club operations and provided transitional leadership as they would grow and get ready for the next stage in their evolution. Most recently, I was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as the Chief Operating Officer of a 25-club chain.
Tim: What has been your favorite part of the past year?
Rich: Building a team of managers and leaders with a passion for Midtown as well as getting to know the members while learning how to best serve the members of this club.
Tim: Is there anything you had to adjust to when you arrived here? Anything you didn’t expect?
Rich:Well, it had been about 10 years since I was really doing the day-to-day operational role of running a club, so it took a little bit of time to get back into handling the daily responsibilities and being around the club all the time. It was nice to get back into that rhythm and remind myself how much I enjoy rolling up my sleeves and being part of everything. It was kind of like riding a bike and has been really fun getting back to doing that. I just came back from Calgary so weather was not a huge issue.
I had heard a lot about the support that Midtown as a company offers its senior management to help them succeed. It has been so good to be part of a company that is always reinvesting in its clubs both financially and personally. They have really given me the freedom to run Midtown Bannockburn as my own business while at the same time assimilating the Midtown brand and its reputation as one of the top health club companies in the country, if not the world, into the product.
Tim: Who are some leaders you try to emulate or have learned from?
Rich: I have been fortunate enough to have some very strong mentors in my professional experience. Thomas Peters and his books Search of Excellence, Passion for Excellence, and really anything he has writing have been great driving forces for me. I worked at Citibank as the Director of Human Resources and learned a lot from my boss, John Phillips. He taught me a lot about hard work and making sure you have the right team around you and a good mix of people for support and to accomplish more than you could by yourself.
He taught me that business is much more than making money; it’s about people and making connections and relationships. You can run on a treadmill anywhere, but people (both members and associates) come to Midtown because of the relationships.
Tim: What are some of your goals for the next year at Midtown?
Rich: I really want to continue to evolve the business and elevate what we do. I want to continue to raise the bar in the way we care for our members and provide them with a unique experience through the evolution of new programs and services as well as building events that hit us where we are socially.
Tim:What do you do for fun and to relax?
Rich:Anyone who is a regular here has seen that I am a exercise fanatic. I like to practice what I preach. I really think the benefits of a healthy lifestyle extend beyond just the physical to emotional and almost spiritual effects. I enjoy all outdoor activies. I love football. I have my pilot’s license but I haven’t flown in a really long time. When you are flying a plane you can’t really be thinking about anything else other than flying; it has to be your priority.
Tim: Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Rich: I think that we have only begun to scratch the surface of regaining our spot as the jewel in the crown of not only the Midtown company but among the North Shore. I want to continue to strive to make this the third place for our members (work, home, and Midtown) and a great place to work for our associates. I want to create an environment where members enjoy working out, and employees enjoy working within.
What would you like to ask Rich?
The weather is starting to turn cooler. Pants and sweatshirts are replacing shorts and tshirts.
Fall is coming.
With the arrival of cooler weather also comes the start of Paddle season, which is played on our four caged courts. Bannockburn is home to both women’s and men’s teams, which compete with other local clubs and teams. Our Paddle Kickoff event this Saturday, September 10th, will be a fun way for others to get introduced to the sport in multiple ways.
Whether you are one of our Paddle regulars or have no Paddle experience at all, Saturday is going to be an exciting kick-off to the season.
The event ends with members playing round-robin-style against our special pro guests.
Here’s the timeline:
We will also have representatives from Wilson, Viking, and Fila at the club showing off the newest lines of Paddle racquets, balls, apparel, and shoes. Everyone will have the opportunity to start the new paddle season with the latest gear designed for both warmth and comfort.
Our own Suzanne McCullough, who is a Paddle Tennis fanatic herself, will also be on hand throughout the day with all of the Midtown brand Paddle equipment available for purchase. Fits Sock Company will be selling their ultra-warm and comfy washable Marino wool socks.
This Saturday is a fun way to celebrate the start of the Paddle season and learn about a sport that you might not have much experience with.
Do you play Paddle?
Just like bell bottoms and Go-Go boots, Group Ex is making a comeback.
Turn on the news or pick up a newspaper and you’ll see that group exercise is all the rage.
Why is Group Ex so hot, what’s involved, and where do you get started?
Group Exercise classes are fun and interactive. It’s hard to get social on a treadmill. First-time participants and more experienced fitness enthusiasts all work out together, encourage and cheer on each other, and then make plans to do it all over again at the next class.
Now that’s motivation.
Our club started the Power Sculpt movement and last month I took my first class. I’m used to working with heavy weights, so when the instructor and students all had 2 & 3 lbs weights, I thought, “This is going to be a breeze!”
Who knew this trend-setting Group Ex class would kick my butt?
Power Sculpt is based on a program from Tracy Anderson, who trained Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kelly Ripa. Unlike many programs that focus on increasing size and bulk, Power Sculpt allows participants to get sleek and toned. I highly recommend you try it!
Along with Power Sculpt, Spin and Kickboxing are also quite popular, because you can achieve a comprehensive workout that delivers excellent cardio, toning, strength, and conditioning in one single hour. Tuesday’s spin class with Robyn left me dripping with sweat and eager to return. One of my favorite parts was the upbeat music she played.
Group Ex participants are a diverse crowd. It is not uncommon to see the 55+ crowd actively engaging in Group Ex classes. Mat Pilates classes draw a large number of participants, as does the Drums Alive class, which focuses on cardio and the upper torso.
Our club offers over 100 classes a month, including Mind/Body programs such as Yoga and Pilates. Our 45 qualified instructors are continuously enhancing their education and certifications.
Now is a great time to take your first Group Ex class, or to try something different. Why not invite a friend to join you? Have lunch, enjoy a spa treatment, and relax by the pool during these final lazy days of summer.
Whatever your preference, just get out there, get fit, and have fun.
Who are your favorite instructors and classes?
