VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — As we get older, completing exercises that were once a breeze can feel more challenging.
Physical therapists say pushing yourself too hard can have consequences, which is part of the reason why a fitness studio in Virginia Beach has opened its doors to people who want to stay or get fit with professional guidance and encouragement.
Bryan Bach owns The Exercise Coach fitness studio in Virginia Beach. His studio aims to make people feel more comfortable working out, specifically senior citizens.
"I think there are some people who go to the gym and are intimidated by the machines and by the younger folks that seem to know what they're doing," said Bach.
Bach says inexperience at the gym can set the stage for injuries, but giving up on the gym entirely does a great disservice to a person's body. He says both his mom and brother were obese and passed away from complications related to it.
"My brother actually passed of an infection his body just couldn't fight off. And my mother... they said that her heart just stopped," said Bach.
According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 33% of adults in the United States are obese. In Virginia specifically, the CDC reports that about 30% of people are obese.
What makes Bach's gym unique is its use of artificial intelligence, or AI, during workouts. Here's how it works: AI details the strength of the person using the exercise equipment and uses resistance to help them strengthen their body. This eliminates the need for using heavy weights, but still achieves the same effect by providing resistance.
The studio's trainers guide clients through exercises that use the bio-adaptive robotic equipment - the first of its kind in Hampton Roads.
"The workout meets people where they are at for older folks who maybe haven't been active or haven't been active recently. It's really a great way to start building strength and enhancing their overall health," said Bach.
He says 40 minutes of exercise a week is effective because of how the machine adjusts your body to build muscle.
"Because we are moving slow, we have absolute control over the weight and we don't need to worry as much as getting injured," explained Bach.
Marc Adams, who runs a physical therapy clinic in Norfolk, also emphasizes the importance of injury prevention to his clients. Many of his patients are active adults who have developed sports injuries from doing workouts that were too strenuous.
"When you lose muscle, when you gain weight, when you lose mobility, you have to take a step back and readdress the foundations of your health," said Adams.
News 3 asked Adams if the pressure the AI equipment used at The Exercise Coach puts on the human body differs from weightlifting or running on a treadmill.
"I would assume that a computer would be fairly calculated as long as it didn't malfunction and would be safe to gauge pressure and in some instances be able to making a certain level of pressure that even a barbell or dumbbell wouldn't be able to do because of physics," said Adams.
Adams says it might not be for everyone depending on where they want to be on a fitness journey, though it might be an introductory exerciser to mitigate the risk of injury or at least try it out.
