Exercise programs at LA PALESTRA are driven by two fundamental principals: First, a focus on Health and function, rather than aesthetic goals, and second, a deep conviction that exercise should be viewed as a process, not as a means to an end. We begin each program with a comprehensive medical and physical evaluation that identifies what a member needs to become healthier and more functional. Then we ask each member to define a specific goal for themselves, whether it be completing a marathon, or eliminating back pain, climbing a mountain, or remaining healthy and fit during pregnancy. We then design a custom-tailored program designed to achieve both the requirements discovered in the evaluation, and the specific goals of the individual.
These goals are focused upon real-world activities because our decades of experience in training have taught us that aesthetic goals—beach-friendly biceps, a washboard stomach—are fleeting, unsatisfying and unsustainable over the long term. Instead, our philosophy is to instill in our members an appreciation for the practice of exercise. We emphasize the notion that a disciplined, integrated approach to fitness is something you do for your entire life, as a way of making the most of life, whether it means having the ability to lift your grandchildren without hesitation, or remain healthy and strong for a game seven, well into the playoffs.
Our programs, regardless of the specific goals, all share one thing in common: an emphasis on achieving balance. Balance between exercise, nutrition, rest and stress. Balance between your body's muscle groups, balance in the literal sense of the physical stability that forms the foundation of muscular strength; and balance in the figurative sense of the correspondence between how you perceive your body, and what it can actually achieve. And finally, balance in your life: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social.
Each member works under the guidance of a personal advisor to accomplish his or her goal, and the evaluation and assessment process is repeated bi-annually to ensure constant forward progress. This cycle of evaluation and re-evaluation forms the foundation of our exercise program, and is the core organizational methodology underlying everything we do.