Exercise Institute helps clients chart success

SANDPOINT — The Exercise Institute is all about bringing people the fitness they need in the form that best fits into their lives.

Located in the Old Power House in the heart of downtown Sandpoint, the innovative fitness business is all about giving clients the fitness routine they need to stay healthy, fit and active while packaging it into a brief enough time frame that even the busiest person can accommodate.

“Our clients are usually either busy professionals age 35 and up or baby boomers who are thinking, ‘They’re going to keep me alive until I’m 90 either way — I can either be carrying around a golf bag or an oxygen tank,’” said Mike Teater, business owner and personal trainer.

According to Teater, exercise plans don’t need to be full of complexity and mystery. The Exercise Institute specializes in avoiding the three main pitfalls that keep people from achieving their best health: lack of time, lack of knowledge and lack of support.

The Exercise Institute focuses on workout routines that have a relatively low stress threshold on the body. That’s especially important to ensure that joint health is not impacted. After all, there are few impediments more aggravating to an active retirement than bad joints, Teater said.

To avoid the exercise stress that harms as much as it helps, the institute emphasizes sustained weight repetitions. By prolonging individual reps, the targeted muscle groups receive thorough, complete exercise while minimizing stress to the joints. Furthermore, all exercises occur under the watchful eye of a qualified trainer, so clients are sure to get full benefits from each 15 minute session.

The routines are also crafted to shed fat — the desirable form of weight loss — while maintaining and building muscle mass. Teater said that within the first six weeks of membership, men typically lose 12 to 18 pounds of fat while gaining inches in the chest and arms, while women usually lose 8 to 12 pounds of fat while shedding inches in the waist, hips and thighs.

Exercise Institute personnel can also chart an individual’s progress right down to the client’s percentage of body fat. By feeding a quick round of diagnostics into a computer, a centralized server analyzes the data and returns the complete info to the Sandpoint location, allowing clients to chart their progress in real time. That’s enough encouragement to keep most people dedicated for the long-term, Teater said.

“We’re with you every step of the way,” he added. “You’ll be able to see how strong you’re getting right on the graph.”

The Exercise Institute is located in Suite 206 of the Old Power House, 120 East Lake Street, and can be reached at 263-4093.