Getting Fit
for Summer

by Dick Dorworth

In the Wood River Valley, physical fitness is a way of life to many, and among the valley’s strong core of professional trainers is a movement to encourage people, lifetime athletes and the completely out of shape alike, to get fit, stay fit, stay active, stay alive.

There is an abundance of excellent certified trainers associated with different medical and athletic facilities in the Wood River Valley, and each has his and her own personality and way of approaching physical fitness for the summer.

Here are three of them:

Aaron Stern is 32 years old and came to the Wood River Valley for “a fun summer” in 1993 after graduating from college and to finish an internship in personal training at the Sun Valley Athletic Club. Like so many people who live in the area, his fun summer turned into 10 years and is still continuing.
A college track and field athlete in the shot put and discus with a B.A. degree in Human Development and Performance from the University of Oregon, Stern supplemented his job at the Sun Valley Athletic Club working as a doorman at Ketchum’s Casino Club. After a couple of years he got tired of “doing what the doorman at the Casino Club has to do.” He decided to make a career out of physical fitness and health.

With the guidance and encouragement of Patty Daigh, a mainstay personal trainer at the Sun Valley Athletic Club, Stern decided to go through the process of becoming certified as a personal trainer. In 1997, he received his certification from the American Council on Exercise, and in 2000 he was certified as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Stern works at Zenergy and the Sun Valley Athletic Club, specializing in the “new wave” of professional training methods. He often works with “Resist-a-balls,” those 18- to 30-inch-diameter balls seen in most modern gyms.

“The advantage of the balls as opposed to a solid surface for exercises is that the ball moves,” says Stern. “This causes smaller muscle fibers to become engaged, and it makes the core stronger and makes movements on solid surfaces easier.”

He points to the spectacular recovery by Bode Miller from his knee problem prior to winning the combined downhill of the 2002 Olympic Games in Snow Basin, a recovery seen by millions of TV viewers, as an example of the kind of benefits that come from the type of training he offers. Most of Stern’s work is one-on-one, but he does teach a few classes.

“The thing I enjoy most about my work,” he says, “is that it helps people in many ways—putting off knee surgery, being able to pick up a child without getting injured, being able to take a hike, being able to recover from a skiing mistake and just feeling better.”

Diane Olson is a 49-year-old ex-banker and professor of marketing at Idaho State University who became involved in the fitness industry in 1982 while finishing graduate school. Olson has lived in Ketchum since 1994. She has a host of professional certifications, including that of “Certified Older Adult Personal Trainer” from the American Institute of Fitness Educators.

“My passion as a trainer is older adult training,” says Olson, who works at Ketchum’s Sun Valley Athletic Club and continues her education as a trainer concentrating on “older adults and their evolving needs.”

Though she is a personal trainer for all ages and teaches group exercise classes at the SVAC open to everyone, her work with older adults is unique in the valley.

“We need to do a better job at encouraging seniors to come to the athletic club and to feel comfortable there,” she says. “Staying fit is not just for studs.”

Working with the Blaine County Senior Citizens Center, Olson leads exercise classes for older adults at the SVAC. She also teaches individuals, one-on-one, tailoring programs for the needs of each person.

A Diane Olson senior citizens exercise class is an awesome sight, one that inspires and uplifts and makes every participant smile. It also is a significant step to a sound body, even one that has not been well maintained for, say, 40 or 50 years.
In one class composed of seven women and two men, all 70 years old or more, all of them in varying degrees of older adult unfitness. Olson begins by assuring her students, ”We are going to have a good time,” and emphasizing, “Exercise uses the joy factor.”

With country and western music as accompaniment the class begins with everyone seated in chairs. The first exercises involve simply rolling the shoulders and lifting the feet in time with the music. In the beginning only two are on tempo. The class progresses to clapping and arm lifts. “Don’t go too high,” Olson admonishes, “we want to protect the shoulders.” Then the group does seated stretching very much like yoga asanas.

Olson has a great smile and is a wonder of energy and leadership enthusiasm as she leads her class off the chairs and into marching in place and to live dancing with exercises—aerobics with stretching and light weights for senior citizens. By the end of the class all of the participants are more or less on tempo, and an observer is able to see a noticeable improvement in movements, enthusiasm and spirit in the group. And there are more smiles.

“We learn movement with meaning,” Olson says of her work. “That is, it helps us with the everyday actions of life—climbing stairs, reaching for something in the cupboard, lifting a bag of groceries or getting out of a chair.”

Diane Olson teaches movement with meaning, using the joy factor.

Connie Aronson is a native of Montreal who has lived in Ketchum since 1984. She opened her first private fitness studio in 1987, and she now owns her own business at Sun Valley Sports Medicine in Ketchum.

She also teaches unique flexible strength training classes at High Altitude Fitness in Ketchum.
Aronson describes skiing as “a lifelong love affair.” She also snowboards, runs, mountain bikes and rock climbs. She holds numerous professional certificates, and she emphasizes her own continuing education in her career.

She teaches “functional performance,” which she explains “requires the body to work as a whole, symmetrically balanced and coordinated. Functional core training gets people to be able to enjoy what they do.”

Among the physical activities Aronson helps people enjoy are golf, cycling and running, walking and hiking. She has several clients, for instance, who follow her regimen of diet and exercise to become better golfers.

“You can hit the ball longer with a good conditioning program that emphasizes strength and flexibility,” she says. “Trunk and lower body strength enable your upper body to turn better. Strong abdominals are the basis for a powerful swing. These core muscles support your spine and protect your back from injury. With a strong center you can really let it rip on your downswing and follow through.”

Like Olson, Aronson is proactive in helping older adults maintain healthy bodies. She points out a University of Connecticut study that shows a three-month training program for a group of people over 70 improved their balance by 100 percent. She also brings up the alarming statistic that by 40 most people are losing 1 to 2 percent of their strength every year as muscle diminishes and is replaced by fat.

An individually designed, properly performed strength training program improves muscle mass, bone density and the strength and integrity of connective tissues, Aronson says. Such a program is especially beneficial, she says, for menopausal women who are rapidly losing bone mineral density.
One of Aronson’s clients says, “Training with Connie has picked up my attitude, confidence and spirit.”