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Friday, April 20, 1984 5
Toning up for spring should be fun
By THERESA CORNELL
Reporter
With spring comes heat...and
then shorts...and then swim
suits...and then legs. Oh no,
not the legs!
Every bump and bulge that
was hidden under bulky sweat
ers and blue jeans is back out in
the open. But not to worry,
according to area exercise in
structors, getting back into
shape should be fast and fun.
The Waist Basket has been
open over a year and offers
exercises for toning. Instructor
Candy Leissner says the pro
gram features exercising and
stretching to music.
"We concentrate on losing
inches rather than pounds,"
Leissner said. "When you keep
exercising, your fat turns into
muscle and weighs more. We
keep charts on everyone's mea
surements to mark their pro
gress."
Leissner says a nutritionist
created four different diets for
Waste Basket members, all at
different calorie levels.
"The diets are very complete
and contain all of the food
groups," she says.
Leissner, who has worked at
Waist Basket almost two years,
says most people are motivated
to get into shape when they
squeeze into their swim suits or
see a picture of the perfect body
in a magazine.
"People say to themselves,
Tm going to exercise. I'm going
to look like that,'" Leissner
says. "It's hard to tell some that
they are just not built that
way."
But she says results from the
workouts occur remarkably
fast.
"Within a couple of weeks,
you should start to see and feel
a difference in your body," she
says. "That is, if you come regu
larly — about four to five times
a week — and eat a proper
diet."
Leissner says the most attrac
tive feature of Waist Basket is
the unlimited visits and the va
riety of class times offered.
Exercise classes are offered
eight or nine different times
during the week and two or
three times on weekends.
Members may also attend be
ginner, intermediate and ad
vanced classes, as often as they
wish for the student price of $30
per month or $70 for two
months.
The money spent will be re
turned in the form of well-
trained teachers, Leissner says;
50 to 70 jpercent of Waist Bas
ket's profits are spent on train
ing. The instructors, some of
which are previous members,
go through a four-week training
program that includes evalua
tions of cardio-pulmonary re
suscitation skills and knowl
Spring flowers
bring business
By KATHLEEN WEST
Reporter
Yellow daffodils, red and
yellow tulips, white Easter li
lies, purple iris. When think
ing of spring, flowers almost
always come to mind. But to
florists, spring flowers bring
more to mind than just
beauty; spring flowers mean
business.
"People like to buy spring
flowers," says Laurie Elmen-
dorf, who works at Nita's
Flowers in Bryan. Marilyn
Holik, an employee of Uni
versity Florists in College Sta
tion, says that several flowers
such as daffodils, tulips and
iris are available only in the
spring.
Anne Plant, a flower de
signer at Christy's Flowers
and Gifts in College Station,
says spring brings business
because everyone thinks "flo
wers."
"Spring enlightens a lot of
people," Plant says.
"In the winter people are
all bundled up. People liven
up in the spring and they like
to liven up their homes too —
with flowers."
Holik says spring brings
out the romance in some peo
ple.
"Sometimes in the spring
husbands will decide, 'Hey,
I'm going to buy flowers for
my wife,'" she says.
Jannette Parks, an em
ployee of Aggieland Flower
and Gift Shoppe in College
Station, says that one reason
spring brings business for
them is because of all the for
mal dances.
"Almost every Friday and
Saturday there are formals,"
she says.
She says their location at
Northgate helps them get
business from college stu
dents.
"Corsages and weddings
account for most of our
spring business," she says.
Holik says University Flo
rists has more wedding work
in the spring than the other
seasons. Weddings are popu
lar especially toward the end
of the spring semester as
graduation draws near. Parks
says.
Two spring holidays that
account for a lot of business
are Mother's Day and Easter,
Plant says.
Elmendorf says Mother's
Day is one of the busiest
times in the spring.
Easter season brings busi
ness from churches in the
community, Plant says.
edge of sports injuries, she
says.
"Training is an ongoing pro
cess," she says. "Our instruc
tors continually learn new tech
niques and routines to teach."
Figure World is an exercise
program that features weights,
two whirlpools and a dry
sauna. Manager Marcia Smith
says Figure World works with
its members on an individual
basis, beginning with a figure
analysis.
"The analysis is a medical
background of the person and
specifies areas of the body the
person wants to work on,"
Smith says. "In the figure anal
ysis we find out that more peo
ple are worried about spring
clothes like shorts and swim
wear. Before spring break, they
hadn't thought about it, but
now they are beginning to and
they want to do something
about it."
She says the biggest problem
areas for women are the hips
and thighs; those areas can be
improved with the help of exer
cise and Figure World diets.
"We have fad diets for those
who need to lose pounds fast in
order to get into a certain pair of
pants," she says. "We also have
long term diets which are really
better for your body."
Smith says once you start the
program, you don't want to
give it up.
"People have fun exercising
rather than seeing it as work,"
she says. "Exercise makes ev
eryone feel so much better, and
is social as well."
Smith says a new member
can save $25 to $50 by joining
on the first visit and can attend
any Figure World in Texas.
The newest fitness program
to enter the area is Jazzercise.
Instructor Cathy Lyles says Jaz
zercise is different from any
other program because its exer
cises are dance routines set to
music.
"We don't do a certain
amount of sit-ups and a certain
amount of push-ups, just a 50-
minute workout that touches
every part of the body," Lyles
says.
She says everyone desires the
perfect body, and that a good
exercise program and diet are
necessary for that perfect body.
"I definitely believe in watch
ing what you eat and enjoying
your exercising," she says.
Lyles saysishe tries to moti
vate members by smiling and
joking more, and finding the
right music.
"They're in there to feel good
and stay in shape," she says.
"Jazzercise is not boring be
cause of the variety of music,
movement and routines. They
must enjoy it because they keep
coming back."
Lyles stresses that classes are
not divided into beginner, in
termediate and advanced be
cause Jazzercise instructors do
not believe in competition
among members.
"If you're a beginner, you feel
you must become an interme
diate," she says. "You have to
work yourself. You can't go
home from a Jazzercise class
and say, 'she didn't work us
hard enough,' because every
one works themselves at their
own pace."
Lyles says members
shouldn't rely on Jazzercise
alone for weight loss, but also
on other activities as well, such
as jogging, bicyding, and ten
nis.
According to Lyles, Jazzerdse
is the largest exercise program
in the United States. Instructors
have to certified by the Califor
nia headquarters after months
of workshops and auditions.
"Even after you finally be
come a Jazzerdse instructor, the
learning process isn't over," she
says. "We are interviewed and
critiqued yearly."
Prices for Jazzercise are $18
for eight classes a month, $27
for 12 classes and $36 for 16
classes.
Despite the instructors' dif
ferences in exerdse programs,
they do have one thing in com
mon — they are all against diet
pills and gimmick spot-reduc
ing.
The Easter Bunny at Post
Oak Mall