Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Staff High Five: Tim Parrott

We say it with pride quite regularly, our amazing staff in corporate and senior living fitness centers are what help us serve our clients so well. Their strong educational background in health and fitness helps us set the bar high while their exceptional creativity and relationship building skills allows them to keep their members engaged and asking what’s coming next. Since we have the privilege of getting to know our staff across the country, we thought our followers might like to as well. Join us monthly as we throw a different NIFS team member a High Five.

  • TParrottName: Tim Parrot
  • City, State: Nashville, TN
  • Years with NIFS: Four years
  • Position: Fitness Manager
  • What brought you to NIFS: I came onboard with NIFS as a health fitness specialist near Chicago, IL. I was attracted to the opportunity to help older adults live longer, better lives using my education and fitness skillset.
  • What is the most impactful moment you have shared with a member: While a typical workweek is full of hundreds of interactions with members, I’m always encouraged when any member fights through a hard life event. While some breeze through surgeries or other setbacks, other members have a really hard time coming back. Working with Physical Therapy and other community leadership that value NIFS, I am impacted whenever I get to be a part of their recovery.
  • What separates a NIFS fitness pro from the rest: NIFS has done a great job distancing ourselves from the inconsistent staffing standards of the fitness industry at large. Based on the need for experience, education, and specialized certification when working closely with older adults, NIFS sets the bar pretty high. Another huge distinguishing factor are the supervisors that communicate clearly and welcome conversations about new ideas.
  • What is your favorite thing about working at your client site: My favorite thing about working at my client site is being part of a community that prioritizes and invests in the health and wellness of their residents. A big example of this is the Healthy Life Center that will soon celebrate 2 years of operation. Having an intentionally designed fitness center, pool, and dedicated group exercise studio makes all the difference in my work and residents’ lives.
  • What motivates you: I am motivated by an internal drive to be the best husband, father, and version of myself that I can be.
  • What is your favorite hobby: I love to woodwork and have created lots of furniture and cooking accessories for our home.

    Interested in learning more about our staffing services? Click below for what best fits your needs.

    ACTIVE AGING   |   CORPORATE FITNESS

Topics: nifs staff

Active Aging: Avoid Getting Rusty, Move More!

GettyImages-1287271703Actress Helen Hayes lived by these words, and lived a full and happy life well into her 90’s. So what do we mean by this motto….if you rest, you rust? Simply put, our bodies are made to move and if we become sedentary, our bodies get “rusty” as in our joints become stiff, our bones can become brittle and we lose muscle mass.

Many senior citizens are very active and live by these words, however there are still many that are not on board. I have heard over the years from inactive seniors that their fear is they will be in more pain. They already suffer from osteoarthritis and feel that exercise will make them feel worse. In actuality it is the exact opposite. Inactivity is causing the joints to become stiff and “rusty”! So how do we convince an inactive senior that it’s never to late to get started? How do we convince them that if they begin an exercise regimen that they will have less joint pain? We can start by giving them sound data from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).” Their stance is that physical activity is essential to optimizing both physical and mental health and can play a vital role in the management of arthritis. Regular physical activity can keep the muscles around affected joints strong, decrease bone loss and may help control joint swelling and pain. Regular activity replenishes lubrication to the cartilage of the joint and reduces stiffness and pain.” So now that we have them convinced, what are the best exercises for arthritis? We always want to include the modalities of cardiovascular exercise to increase endurance, strength training to increase muscle mass and prevent bone loss and lastly but probably most important is stretching to increase flexibility. Before starting an exercise program always consult your physician. Once cleared, one of the best places to be is in the pool! Aqua Aerobics, water walking or swimming offer the bouncy of the water to help ease joint pain and many facilities keep the water temperature warm at 78-83 degrees, which is considered therapeutic. Most aqua aerobics classes also offer strength training with aqua dumbbells and stretching at the conclusion of the class. If water isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps try a gentle yoga class, a chair yoga class, a low impact aerobics class or Tai Chi for gentle movement and balance. If group exercise classes are not to your liking, you may want to exercise in a fitness center. Cardiovascular equipment such as the stationary bike or a NuStep are great ways to increase your endurance. You might consider working with a personal trainer for help with strength training and flexibility and working with a trainer also helps with accountability.

The ACSM recommends exercising 150 minutes per week which is 30 minutes a day, 5 times per week. If you’re just getting started, work towards this goal. Just remember that famous line from Helen Hayes, “If you rest, you rust”! Keep moving forward, we’re not looking back!

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Topics: staying active

Staff High Five: Luci Wyatt

We say it with pride quite regularly, our amazing staff in corporate and senior living fitness centers are what help us serve our clients so well. Their strong educational background in health and fitness helps us set the bar high while their exceptional creativity and relationship building skills allows them to keep their members engaged and asking what’s coming next. Since we have the privilege of getting to know our staff across the country, we thought our followers might like to as well. Join us monthly as we throw a different NIFS team member a High Five.

  • LWyattName: Luci Wyatt
  • City, State: Indianapolis, IN
  • Years with NIFS: 2.5 years
  • Position: Fitness Center Manager
  • What brought you to NIFS: I didn’t learn about NIFS until after I graduated from college (UIndy). I saw the job posting and as any good candidate would, I researched the company. After that, I was drawn in by the research partnership that NIFS has with IUPUI and that NIFS is a very unique commercial fitness center by being the only one. Furthermore, that the main NIFS building was the site for the Panam Games.
  • What is the most impactful moment you have shared with a member: There are so many to choose from! From providing challenging workouts to the active aging members, to my most recent feed back from a special member, but the one that sticks out the most would be when I was managing a corporate site, I had a member start coming to my group fitness classes that was in need of motivation. She started unable to do most of the core exercises, even with modifications. I kept encouraging her to just try her best and that time will be the key. Sure enough, about 6 months in she was able to keep up with me in the core class and even hang in there some of the younger class goers.
  • What separates a NIFS fitness pro from the rest: Working for the corporate fitness side of NIFS, we are able to be literally and figuratively closer to our members. We have more of an idea of what the work environment is like for our members and can meet the needs of what their “long day” brings. We can also encourage our members to come see us at the fitness center when the fitness center is usually just steps away from their desk. This advantage helps build confidence and consistency in our members’ returning for services.
  • What is your favorite thing about working at your client site: I enjoy the different backgrounds of people, like, we have engineers, graphic designers, lawyers, executives, account managers, and the like. When all of these different people come to the gym, it seems to level the playing field. And of course, when I would teach in person group fitness, I’m the boss!
  • What motivates you: It’s cliché but, I love working with people. To define “working with”, I love to get to know them on a personal level, what their likes and dislikes are outside of fitness, how they decided to take the path they are on for their career and so on. I love the stories that people carry with them, depending on their age, they could be walking time capsules. When members reach out to me about wanting to participate in a program or service, it’s my chance to become part of their story.
  • What is your favorite hobby: I love to garden and tend to my house plants! It’s always exciting to get a new plant baby.

Interested in learning more about our staffing services? Click below for what best fits your needs.

ACTIVE AGING   |   CORPORATE FITNESS

Topics: nifs staff