Serving the residents of North Shore Towers since 1995Volume 18, Issue 4 April 2013

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GAP: Gym, Aerobics, PoolsNST Country Club’s Gym Stronger Than Ever

MADELYN STEIN PHOTOS

Gym Subcommittee Chairperson Danny Cavallo.

Now that spring has finally arrived, North Shore Towers snowbirds are returning to their nests at the co-op. This is the time of year when people’s minds gravitate towards getting back into shape, but whether (no pun

intended) it is warm or cold outside, the climate is always pleasant inside the NST gym, especially for the GAP (Gym, Aerobics and Pools) committee’s highlighted activ-ities and events that contribute to the community’s many enticing amenities.

The GAP committee was formed in 2010, and its cur-rent chairman is Bd. Director Fred Chernow, a resident since November 2009. His committee involves more resi-dents directly than any other, when you consider all the aspects it encompasses. Beyond the GAP acronym these include the billiard and boxing rooms, plus the very pop-ular VIP Room Happy Hour. “Hundreds of residents are part of these activities every week,” Chernow said. “I en-joy chairing this operation, especially now when we have such competent, concerned chair people for each of the subcommittees.”

Representing the “G” of GAP, the gym is one of the most popular gathering places for the community all win-ter long, and also serves as an integral part of the fitness routine of most of the members. This year more gym equipment has been ordered and delivered, the billiards

By Gloria Ann Keyloun room was remodeled, and the boxing room upgraded. Sub-committee Chairman for the Gym Danny Caval-

lo is a fitness enthusiast himself, who shows his passion through his dedicated time and effort assisting on the GAP committee, while accommodating the dynamic population of the NST fitness members. “You get every type of health-minded individual using the gym facilities on a continuing basis,” Cavallo said.

The gym is open to all members and promotes exercise and physical activity, and remains popular year-round, Ca-vallo explained. “We see men and women from all ages that have an idea of what their own fitness regimen is,” he said. “What we stress to anyone who comes in the gym is to find a fitness regimen that works for his or her lifestyle, and everyone is welcome.”

In this dynamic, active community, the people who come to the gym range from the faithful fitness enthusiast that shows up at the same time every day, to the individu-als who come in certain days every week, as well as those who come into the gym wishing to engage in any physical activity for the purpose of incorporating exercise into their lives. “Everyone has his or her own personal fitness level, so we make it a point to accommodate everyone’s fitness goals,” Cavallo said. “If you want to workout a lot or a little, any form of exercise is good, and we continually stress the importance of it.”

The Towers gym also has a boxing room for the in-dividuals looking to enhance their physical conditioning through the pugilistic arts. One member may want to come in to work the speed-bag, while another may work indi-vidually in the boxing room with a personal trainer.

Residents can focus on the fitness components of box-ing techniques to engage the mind and body-movement connection, where areas of agility, flexibility, coordination and overall balance are improved. Members are free to come in and work with a trainer to enhance their physi-cal conditioning, challenge the speed-bag, practice on the heavy bag, and even test their agility on the free-standing lifelike training figure for realistic training with a variety of techniques.

The gym opens at 6:00 am and closes at 10:00 pm, and features separate locker rooms with sauna, steam, and showers. Members can avail themselves of a variety of fit-ness equipment in the gym, as well as boxing, aerobics and billiards rooms. “We make sure we have the right equip-ment for someone who wants to exercise at their own pace, yet offer solutions to those who never used the gym,” Ca-vallo added. “This gives the residents a chance to see their options, take advantage of trying out what they like, and communicate their interests, as we work to enhance the gym and equipment for all members of any fitness level.”

Cavallo is instrumental in providing a close rapport with the members, and seeks to enhance their fitness-train-ing routines. An extremely personable, warm, and engag-ing individual, Cavallo is a retired law enforcement pro-fessional, and is passionate and familiar about the mental and physical agility one needs to keep physically fit for

their daily lives. Keeping an ongoing relationship with the residents, he

also has a keen eye for the esthetic appeal of the gym area, and likes to recommend ways to improve the attractive-ness of the facility. He studies what kind of equipment is essential, and makes certain that members are comfortable with the furnishings. He also provides a voice for those looking for alternative conditioning and fitness methods utilizing the equipment in the gym, and communicates these suggestions to the Bd. of Directors.

Veteran NST trainer Cari Heiman explained the mixed population using the gym equipment. “Early in the morn-ing, late at night, and on weekends, the younger members who work use the weights and more sophisticated resis-tance equipment,” she said. “During the daytime we have more mature residents who favor aerobic and cardio ex-ercises. Most welcome are the recently acquired second

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Aerobic Subcommittee Chairperson Dacia Horowitz.

“What we stress to anyone who comes in the gym is to find a fitness regimen that works for his or her lifestyle, and everyone is welcome.”

Gym Chairperson Danny Cavallo