As the new year unfolds and swaths of people across the country set resolutions for self-improvement, a luxury gym in downtown Charleston is spearheading a nine-week challenge designed to motivate Charleston residents to achieve their fitness goals.
The Longevity Club’s challenge, running from Jan. 8 to March 8, focuses on fat loss, muscle gain and overall well-being.
Setting New Year’s resolutions is a common tradition in the U.S. According to a recent poll by YouGov, an international online research group, 34 percent of adults in the U.S. planned to make New Year’s resolutions.
The poll found 1 in 5 U.S. adults is resolving to start doing each of the following in 2024: be happy, exercise more, improve their physical health, eat healthier, improve mental health or lose weight.
Aligning with this trend in goal setting, Longevity Club owner Jennie Brooks said the gym saw a substantial increase in new memberships in December and that has continued into January.
“It’s always good to set a goal, but make sure it’s realistic,” Brooks told The Post and Courier. “Be consistent and thoughtful about it because that’s how you stick with it, and that’s how you get the results.”
The challenge costs $500 to enter and includes two InBody Composition Scans, a custom-made meal plan, weekly check-ins from one of Longevity’s nutrition coaches and daily movement goals based on the individual’s body scan results. The challenge is open to all members of the public.
Craig Demers is one of the nutrition coaches spearheading the challenge. “The greatest plus-minus ratio wins,” Demers said. “ So if you gain muscle or lose fat, that’s a positive ratio. If you lose muscle or gain fat, that’s a negative ratio.
The InBody scan is a body composition analysis that measures your body and provides a detailed report that includes your weight, total skeletal muscle mass, total body fat, total body water and a full segmental muscle and fat analysis.
Demers said the first 30 people to sign up will be included in the challenge. The top three winners will receive prizes, including gift cards to Whole Foods and free private sessions with Longevity Club personal trainers.
Ann Willis, a member of the Longevity Club since 2019, joined the gym after years of complications with an ankle injury back in 2015 and 2016.
“When I started with Longevity, I was very worried about my ankles,” Willis said. “I still hadn’t gotten full use of them back, and I felt it had affected my balance quite a bit.”
Willis said she’s seen the benefits from her training and nutritional counseling in real time. She remembers walking down the street one day recently and tripping over a rough patch in the sidewalk.
“It was amazing I did not fall,” Willis said. “I was able to catch myself, and I totally attribute that to the functional strength training I do with my trainer.”
Willis also has regular discussions with her trainer about her eating habits and nutritional needs.
“It’s helped me eat healthful foods, including vegetables and balanced portions,” Willis said.
For more information on setting healthier goals for the new year, visit https://health.clevelandclinic.org/new-years-resolutions.