Working out should offer something for everyone, many believe.
A local fitness center opened its doors to the community, with that very ethos in mind, on Friday, October 9.
Westchester Square Physical Therapy held its second annual Wellness Expo, providing a great chance to come check out the facility at the Hutchinson Metro Center. Located in the tower at 1250 Waters Place, residents got a peek at the state-of-the-art facility, where staffers perform physical therapy on patients recovering from injuries.
The facility also serves as a gym for people who need special care when working out.
WSPT invited 13 different vendors, including many different organizations in health care and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, to participate.
WSPT offers not only physical therapy, but also aquatic therapy in a modern Hydroworx Therapy pool that is ideal for people who have recently had surgery or have conditions that don’t enable them to exercise comfortably on land. The built-in underwater treadmill allows users to walk and perform cardiovascular exercise in 90-degree heated water. WSPT also boasts a Wellness Program that offers yoga, pilates, zumba, self-defense, personal training, and massage therapy.
WSPT director David Seidler said that the facility is much more than a physical therapy center, though all of the people at WSPT performing therapy have master’s degrees or doctorates and are experts in treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.
“We are a physical therapy center and we treat people who have had different kinds of injuries,” Seidler said. “In addition, we offer a wellness program for people who have never been to a gym before, have a medical condition, or a history of being inactive and never have really exercised in their lives.”
Seidler said that WSPT is a good gym for people who have not exercised regularly or who are overcoming injuries. The physical therapists on staff can guide them safely through exercising. He said that he and his staff work personally with all the people who come to WSPT to make sure that when they work out on machines, treadmills, in the pool, or with weights they are exercising in a safe and effective manner.
Nimrod Montalvo, who has been coming to WSPT for two months as he recovers from an injury, said that with help from the staff of WSPT he has been able to recover a great deal of movement. He has had four operations.
“I have already regained a great deal of mobility which I have not had since the accident,” Montalvo said. “I am not at 100%, but compared to where I was before, this is Heaven.”
Montalvo said that he enjoys working out in the pool because the jets help perform exercise he could not do on land.
There were several demonstrations, including that of the TRX Suspension Trainer, which uses body weight with a flexible handlebar system, providing an alternative to working out with an exercise machine. It was developed by Navy SEALS, and is a leveraged body weight exercise, from a device that hangs from the ceiling.
The TRX trainer is just one of many innovative exercise elements at WSPT.
For more information call (718) 409-9444.
