Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Home gym offers convenience, flexibility

Ride the exercise bike and watch the morning news on television.

Take a break to do paperwork.

Then, walk on the treadmill and listen to music on the radio.

Break again, this time to return some phone calls.

This is how the day goes for Ike Sisane since he installed a small gym in his home in Williamsburg, Va.

Instead of huffing and puffing through his entire exercise program at one time, he does 15- to 30-minute workouts scattered throughout the day. That way, his body rests and recuperates before he moves to the next piece of equipment.

His final push of the day may be pedaling the bike at 9 p.m. while he watches some TV before bedtime.

His goal: To get his 72-year-old body in shape by exercising two hours daily.

Why build a home gym instead of joining one? Convenience and flexibility motivated him.

“I didn’t want to travel to any location outside my home and wanted to fit my athletic needs into my work schedule as an innkeeper,” he says.

“I know it will work.”

Sisane’s personalized fitness center is located in a two-story carriage house behind his home, where he operates the Williamsburg Sampler Bread and Breakfast.

His late wife, Helen, used the carriage house as a carpentry shop when the couple was renovating their home and getting ready to open the B&B in 1984.

Now the smell of sweat has replaced the sawdust. An exercise bike, treadmill and multi-station workout machine stand where there used to be a table saw and router.

The bike is positioned so Sisane can watch an elevated television near the ceiling. A small fridge keeps bottled water cool and convenient, and a radio pipes in music.

Artwork on the walls depicts active lifestyles such as golfing and boating.

Sisane particularly likes a large painting of fire escapes along the exterior wall of a tall building in New York City, his hometown.

“I thought: how can I slip that into the gym?” he says while showing visitors the modernistic artwork. “It’s all about climbing.”

His other motivation to stay active is a little less subtle. A small sign on a wooden rocking chair reads: “Exercise or the rocking chair.”

His daughter Karen, a physical education teacher in Luray, Va., helped him select the equipment, which cost about $4,500. Upstairs, there’s a portable two-person sauna that ran $3,500.

“The bike is a low-grade one, which is just fine,” she says. “We made sure the treadmill is a good one because that’s very important.”

Sisane says he’s never been an athletic person, but he stays active walking to downtown Williamsburg, traveling to places such as Mexico, and cooking for guests at the B&B. He takes medication for cholesterol and blood-pressure problems, and recently had a kidney stone removed.

“My physician has always given me a passing rate,” he says. “For me, I was always concerned that my belt kept getting tighter.”

Bellying up to the buffet table has been bad for him over the years, he says, so now he handles those times a little differently. Instead of reaching for starchy and fried foods, he chooses more vegetables and fruits.

The ice cream sundaes at buffets are definitely a no-no, he says. As a result, he weighs 155 pounds now — 32 pounds less than a year ago.

But he still enjoys his favorite evening snack — a glass of red wine and a few crackers.

“I think it’s important to still ‘live,’” he says.

Choosing equipment

Ike Sisane’s daughter Karen Riddle, a physical education teacher in Luray, Va., helped design the Colonial Williamsburg Tazewell Fitness Center. Here are some of her tips on selecting exercise equipment for home use:

• Establish a realistic budget for equipment and stick to that budget so you do not overspend. Compare prices online and in area stores.

• Determine what equipment you will actually use and invest in only those pieces.

• Try equipment before buying it. Join a fitness center for a day in order to use and test the types of equipment you’re thinking about buying.

• Purchase quality equipment that will endure workouts. Look for a treadmill that tests your heart level, has numerous incline adjustments and has a user-friendly “on-off” button. Pick a bike with a smooth sitting area and good back support.

• Choose a mix of strength and cardiovascular equipment. For example, you want a bike, treadmill or stair master for a cardiovascular workout (recommend 20 minutes three times a week). For strength training, look for a multi-purpose machine that works the upper and lower body (use three times a week, leaving a day of rest between workouts).

• Whenever possible, include a floor mat to make it more comfortable to do push-ups for strength training.