Top-notch Workout

Mehl Center helps reporter get fit for upcoming Fergus Falls fun run

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, April 26, 2008

Let me begin by saying I have never been a standout athlete.

Sure, I dabbled in sports growing up. I played soccer most summers, learned to swim at the local pool and took tennis lessons from a graying man who brought a tin of Jelly Bellies to each practice.

But let's face it, I got a lot of "Participant" ribbons and rarely the blue ones. I was never the fastest, the strongest, the most agile or coordinated. I never had the kind of athletic "it" I occasionally saw in other players, and sometimes I was outright afraid of the ball or the diving board. That and the popcorn-flavored Jelly Bellies.

So it was with some trepidation that I recently signed on for a five-week stint at Athletic Republic, the sports training facility located inside Lake Region Hospital's Mehl Center in Fergus Falls. I'd heard quite a bit about Athletic Republic before the Mehl Center opened this winter and knew it as a place designed for top-notch athletes. From my initial understanding, its intensive programs, innovative equipment and professional trainers catered to serious athletes looking to be the best in their fields.

This, I later learned, is true. The majority of Athletic Republic's current clientle are middle school, high school and even college athletes who have the drive and determination to train for their sports at a higher level than many of their competitors. In short, these are the kinds of kids who would have kicked my butt had Athletic Republic existed in suburban St. Paul circa 1994.

Yet what I also learned during my time at the Mehl Center is that the facility serves a broader audience — people who are injured, out of shape or training for a particular event like a marathon or triathalon. Even someone with my athletic history can find her niche at the Mehl Center and here are a few reasons why.

The programs:

From my first visit to the Mehl Center, Athletic Republic Coordinator Tom Uvaas made it clear the experience would be tailored to my goals.

“We want to have fun here, we want you to enjoy it,” he told me. “I don’t care what level I coach. It’s always fun with a purpose.”

Initially I didn’t have a specific goal in mind, but knew I wanted to improve my running, an activity I’ve enjoyed since joining cross country on a whim late in high school.

With Tom’s guidance, I followed a modified version of Athletic Republic’s eight-week Acceleration Program. The full program offers a series of 20, two-hour small group training sessions, with extensive pre- and post-tests, as well as access to resources on Athletic Republic’s Web site.

My twice-weekly visits lasted an hour and a half each and involved a combination of running and weightlifting. I can’t think of a session in which Tom didn’t OK the agenda with me or ask me how I was feeling that day. He’d sometimes modify my schedule depending on the workouts I’d completed on my own or offer me a choice of, say, running or biking.

I doubt this kind of individualized attention is unique to my experience. Whether the client is looking to train for a specific sport, improve a certain fitness area or simply start an open-gym-type membership, the Mehl Center’s Athletic Republic offers a range of options for a variety of people.

The equipment:

The first time I visited the Mehl Center, Tom introduced me to the treadmill to beat all treadmills. With speeds up to 28 mph and inclines approaching 41 degrees, the machine is always operated by a trainer from the floor while the trainee steps on the treadmill from a platform.

Like much of the equipment in the Mehl Center, the facility’s two treadmills are positioned in front of mirrors and within range of a small video camera. These tools were key in helping me evaluate my running style — everything from arm positioning to stride length to breathing pattern.

With the mirror I could watch myself as I ran; with the video camera I could play back my performance. Dartfish Video Analysis allowed Tom to isolate individual frames from my run and point out my strengths and weaknesses.

When I wasn’t on the treadmill, I was often lifting weights, which I rarely do on my own initiative. The weightlifting equipment at the Mehl Center is specially designed by Athletic Republic to mimic the kinds of actions athletes experience while playing a sport.

The plyo press, for example, requires an athlete to lie on her back with her legs at a 90-degree angle, feet positioned vertically on a platform. Known as plyo jumps, pushing away from the platform sends the athlete sailing back from the machine, simulating the action a swimmer takes off of a pool wall or a volleyball player takes from a gymnasium floor.

Perhaps my favorite training tool at the Mehl Center is the swimming pool, which I visited twice. The pool is only four feet deep, but with a current that moves at nearly 4 mph, it packs a punch.

A great thing about the pool, Tom told me, is its role in rehabilitation. For injured athletes or anyone facing chronic pain, the pool offers a chance to get in shape without stressing what hurts.

I should add that sports training is only part of what happens at the Mehl Center. The building is also home to Lake Region Hospital’s Lifestyles Center, a site for cardiac and pulmonary rehab.

“What’s really beautiful about this facility is it’s a multi-faceted facility,” Tom said. “At the same time as you’re working (in the gym), you may see someone here for rehab and working on his knee.”

I could go on and on about the other equipment the Mehl Center offers — a plyometric floor, a netting system for power hitting and kicking, and a skate treadmill for hockey players. But perhaps the best way to fully appreciate these fitness tools is to stop by the Mehl Center and see them for yourself.

The people:

What really adds to the Mehl Center experience is the staff. There’s more than one reason Tom Uvaas was named this year’s Class A Boys Swimming Coach of the Year, and I lucked out in getting to work with him.

Joining Tom on staff is Jarrod Asumus, coordinator of education and another full-time trainer. Athletic Republic recently hired four additional part-time trainers as well.

Any observer can tell these staff are knowledgable, passionate and caring, and just seeing their enthusiasm makes a person want to do her best.

That’s why I’m not ready to say good-bye. I’ll continue to make weekly visits to the Mehl Center as I prepare to run the YMCA’s half-marathon in early June. I can’t say I predict a top finish but I will venture this: When I cross that finish line June 7, with the race and my Mehl Center visits behind me, you’ll be looking at one pleased “Participant.”