For the last 30 years Pat and Erv Pfeiffer have fostered and adopted 15 children. From a very young age, nine different children with special needs have joined their family permanently.  Most of them are grown now, but four continue to live at home. This is the inspiration they need to stay active at The Pointe. “We have to stay in the best shape we can, because our four children with special needs are going to be at home with us for a long time. We need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of them,” said Pat.

“Fall Back Into Fitness” is a phrase you see everywhere this time of year. The phrase gives fitness centers a way (an increasingly un-clever way) to get patrons motivated to try something new. Who says springtime is the season of rebirth? The fall season can be even more invigorating than spring......especially in St. Louis.

Jacob and Jamie Bode know the value of being active. Together with their three daughters, they are a very active family, and not just in athletics. “We value a lifestyle of activity, and it’s something we want our girls to know is a priority in life,” said Jamie. “Because it’s not necessarily about the physical look of your body. It’s how you feel and how you treat your body so you can be more productive in the things you’re called to do.”

Fitness centers may have different rules, clientele, and atmospheres, but the protocols are the same. No matter the situation, it all boils down to using common courtesy. The three examples above could just as easily be named clean up after yourself, be kind to others, and put things back where you find them. As long as you error on the side of common courtesy and common sense, users in a fitness facility should get along like one happy family.

Marilyn Davis is one of the only people in her family who exercises on a regular basis because she knows exercise is one of the biggest keys to slowing down the aging process. There are two more crucial things. “Comradery or interaction with other people is really important as well as eating a healthy diet. But exercise is number one,” she said.

Although there are many benefits to regular aerobic exercise, the benefits most are interested in are weight loss and weight management.  To succeed in any weight management program, a person’s main concern are calories.  This concern includes calories consumed and calories burned.

Kay Barnes first joined The Pointe so she could have a place to work out with her daughter, who you may recognize as one of our incredible front desk attendants, Lexi.

Avoiding the summer fun of swimming pools, lakesides, and ocean beaches is one way to deal with the anxieties of swimsuit season, but who wants to avoid summer fun!? The best way to attack the season is to disregard what other people think and make the changes you know you need to make and make them for life. 

Taylor Sutton is an inspiration to many people.  “Always persevere, don’t dwell on the small things. There is so much more to life than the one thing that you may dwell on or let hold you back,” said Sutton. These are wise words coming from a 24 year old. But Sutton has some firsthand experience when it comes to perseverance.

Shrinking can be a positive, negative, or both when it comes to our goals. Our bodies' sizes can be manipulated through eating and exercise habits. Healthy bodies aren't necessarily a specific size or weight. Body size parameters are, however, associated with greater or less risk for lifestyle disease (type 2 diabetes and heart disease). If that's not motivation to attain a particular body size, then vanity usually is. How, then, does shrinking help and hinder reaching those body size goals?

It’s springtime which means it’s time to breathe new life into your fitness routine. New Year’s resolutioners statistically start to fall out of their well-intentioned fitness routines in March and April. Spring is all about new beginnings and new life and it is the perfect time to add some spring to your fitness routine. 

Some people think they live “boring” lives. “I don’t do a lot of exciting things,” claimed this month’s member of the month. But it’s often these unsuspecting people who make a quiet difference to those around them. Which is the case for April’s Member of the Month Betsy Kaempfe and is exactly why she was nominated.