Hub of Health

With the newly expanded Fitness Center set to unveil a set of upgraded fitness machines this month, iNTOUCH examines how the Club is helping Members adopt healthy habits.

Forty-two new fitness machines. Seventy square meters of additional space. The new-look Fitness Center will allow Members to tap into technology, customize their workout and exercise on the latest cardio and strength-training machines.

Besides expanding the devoted stretching area and making the fitness space more user-friendly, the Club is ensuring it remains at the forefront of fitness trends by investing in the most up-to-date equipment, according to Recreation Director Scott Yahiro.

“If you want to work out on top-of-the-line fitness machines, you can do that here,” he says. “But the expertise and motivation from our trainers, as well as fellow Members, can also help you reach your fitness goals.”

Several Members explain how that combination of man and machine has helped them find fitness success.

Michael and Lynne Taylor
Goal: Maintain general fitness

Seasoned fitness veterans Michael and Lynne Taylor were bemused when Club trainer Hideaki Hongo handed them a rubber ball the size of a cantaloupe.

“At first, I thought this was kind of weird. It was 40 minutes of working out and 20 minutes of stretching [with the Yamuna ball],” says Michael Taylor, 52. “The more I did it, the more I realized I was making a lot of progress, and the better I felt.”

Lynne Taylor, 50, says Yamuna body rolling is comparable to yoga, yet also stimulates the core and relieves pain common with strenuous exercise.

“We have done workouts that leave you feeling depleted, and you are hesitant to continue,” she says. “Hide’s sessions are challenging, sustainable, all-encompassing strength workouts. …And he was my first friend in Japan.”

Trainer: Hideaki Hongo
“I helped clients using oils and stretching, but I needed to do something more. I trained with [Yamuna ball practitioners], and there were noticeable differences. For example, you feel taller because it opens space around the joint and it fixes posture. With weight machines, you build muscles, but you make them shorter. That’s why you have joint and knee pain. If you use the ball, you stretch the muscle while making it stronger.”

Ethan Enders
Goal: Row for a college team

Sitting on the Concept 2 rowing machine in the Fitness Center, Ethan Enders is focused. His lithe arms and legs are taut and his eyes are glued to the monitor, as he sets a rhythmic pace.

Enders, 15, recently won first place in his age group at a Japan indoor rowing competition. His personal best time of 8 minutes, 7 seconds in the 2-kilometer race placed him in the top third in the country.

“I was lucky,” says the Yokohama International School ninth-grader, who began rowing three years ago.

Enders trains on the water once a week at a Yokohama rowing school. In 2015, he attended the Bulldog Rowing Camp at Yale University, where he trained in an eight-man boat for the first time.

He uses the Club’s rowing machines three or four times a week in preparation for what he hopes will be a spot on a university rowing team.

For an upcoming school project, he intends to virtually row 1,000 kilometers and raise money for charity.

“Rowing teaches you a lot about teamwork,” says Enders. “You can’t try to row as hard as you can because you have to stay the same pace as everyone else. If you don’t work as a team, the boat won’t function, the boat won’t move.”

Emily Teo
Goal: Recover from injury

As Emily Teo walked through a field in Singapore one night, she stepped in a drainage ditch. She fell sideways, wrenching her right knee and tearing the ligament. “You never expect such a thing to happen to you,” says the Club Member, 59.

A metal plate now runs the length of her knee. Teo regained the ability to bend her knee, but it was painful. If she dropped something under the bed, she didn’t bother to pick it up.

When she moved to Tokyo in 2014, the doctor told her not to bother rehabbing her knee “because I was not a tea ceremony teacher.”

“This made me feel very sad,” says Teo. “I got [Yuko Furuya] for my personal trainer. She encouraged me to try everything and to train at the highest level.”

Teo says she now climbs stairs as fast as “energetic children,” and she plans to climb Mount Takao this summer.

“I can use the knee as much as I did before the injury,” she says. “Thanks to [Yuko’s] expertise and passion.”

Trainer: Yuko Furuya
“I want my clients to enjoy life to the fullest and be confident about who they are. That is my thought process when I plan the workout. My goal was to make [Emily] feel relaxed and motivate her to not dwell on the injury. I want her to enjoy the exercises and not think of it as rehab.”

Michael Gay
Goal: Run the 2016 Tokyo Marathon

Michael Gay lifts his T-shirt to reveal Japanese letters tattooed on his upper back. The message translates as “Live for the moment.” Gay had the tattoo inked as motivation to remain focused on his training.

Over the years, the 45-year-old struggled to stay committed to his fitness goals. Finally, he signed up for this year’s Tokyo Marathon. Over the ensuing seven months, he worked with trainer Koichi Uesaka twice a week in the Fitness Center.

“I did a 30K training run a week and a half ago, and no issues,” says Gay, four days before the marathon. “I’m ready, I’m excited—it’s going to be fun.”

In February, Gay broke the 4-hour mark in the 10th edition of the marathon. Now he is preparing for the Cebu Ironman 70.3.

“I didn’t even know where the gym was a year ago,” he says. “Now everybody is like, ‘Hey Michael,’ because I’m here at least five days a week.”

Trainer: Koichi Uesaka
“In 60 minutes it is impossible to do everything, so I focus on strength training. I also spend time on body manipulation to improve range of motion. There has been a huge improvement in [Michael’s] strength level. He can lift double [the weight] from when he started. He doesn’t look like a typical bodybuilder, but he is really pretty strong.”

Jim Mori
Goal: Lose weight

When the Club moved to its temporary facility in Takanawa in 2008, longtime Member Jim Mori couldn’t work out as regularly as he would have liked. As work pressures increased, so did his weight. He gained 20 kilograms.

Mori’s doctor recommended he hire a personal trainer to provide motivation. For the last five years, he has worked with Taisuke Yamamura at the Fitness Center.

“That is a key part of it actually: recognizing people that are there all the time,” says Mori, 61. “That is reinforcing to see people I know that are doing the same thing with similar objectives.”

The main component of his health regimen was diet. Through portion control, he cut 1,000 calories from his daily intake.

Within two years, Mori had lost 27 kilos. He now focuses on staying fit, increasing flexibility and improving core balance.

“It has probably taken 10 strokes off my golf game on any given day,” he says. “Also, I have higher energy level. …I am much more efficient at work and am able to react quickly on business opportunities.”

Trainer: Taisuke Yamamura
“By combining diet with exercise and weight training, you increase body muscle mass, which increases metabolism. The first target was focusing on the big muscle groups, like legs, chest and back, to activate the metabolism. Now we are focusing on small muscle groups for toning.”

Words: Nick Narigon