Vincent Wiese has spent the past 17 years working on one thing, his health, and throughout those years he learned about the benefits of healthy eating and being active.
Vince’s Gym started 15 years ago under a different name in the Barrhead Mall. The name was changed after moving to their current location. The gym was designed and built by Wiese and his wife Leanne.
The gym offers a number of services including personal training, nutrition advice, a shake bar, and gym equipment.
“Depending on what your level is, generally if people need help, they’ve never really been to a gym, so we offer a free starter program,” Wiese said.
After the first program any additional training comes with a cost.
“It’s kind of up to you to come up with your own program, or come to us and we can set you up with a more advanced one,” Wiese said. “Unfortunately very few people make that attempt.”
Wiese said he thinks people may be too intimidated to ask for help.
“We end up finding that a lot of people will start coming, and we will get them started but they don’t see the results that they want,” Wiese said, adding for him it seems most gym users expect to see results right away.
“I think everybody expects everything really quick, and there’s nothing quick,” Wiese said. “There’s a proper way to do it and that’s putting in the time and effort.”
Wiese and his wife will set up a program for people looking to improve their fitness level. The user’s goals and age are considered when creating the program.
Many seniors take advantage of the initial program, Wiese said, and use it to build a small amount of muscle mass, adjusting their workout as they continue to improve.
“It’s kind of cool because they start that way and then pretty soon they are asking for a little bit more help,” Wiese said.
Another point Wiese emphasized was the importance of nutrition.
“We are really big on nutrition here,” he said. “That’s what it all boils down to is nutrition.”
Wiese added that weight training and cardio are also important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
“Cardio is fantastic for cardio-vascular reasons only, cardio is not for weight loss,” he said.“With tons of cardio, you lose muscle mass.”
When cardio is sport specific it can be valuable, however for just the average person it can do more damage than good.
Wiese explained when doing immense amounts of cardio, muscle mass is lost.
“The more muscle mass you hold, the higher your metabolism is, the higher your metabolism is, the more fat you burn,” he said. “There’s two ways of upping your metabolism, one way is to gain muscle mass, the other is to eat lots of good clean food.”
Low calorie and shake diets are temporary fixes, Wiese added.
“You’ll stop at a certain point, you won’t have any muscle left, and your metabolism is completely screwed,” Wiese said.
Wiese said they offer other services through a trainer in the city, who is available for those looking to make a life change.
When it comes to the benefits of being physically active and eating healthy, Wiese said they are endless.
“Just the way you feel, that’s all I keep hearing,” Wiese said, adding benefits include joint mobility, muscle tone, and an overall better quality of life experience.
For more information visit the gym’s Facebook page, or call 780-674-4880.
Keep an eye out for more health and fitness features in future editions of the Leader.
