Local real estate broker keeps his employees fit through unique ...

Bill Gladstone begins his workout wearing a crisp white shirt, dress slacks and shiny leather shoes. A wireless earpiece keeps him connected to his cellphone.

Gladstone is a Lemoyne-based commercial real estate broker. Several of his employees stand nearby, watching the boss warm up.

Like many small-business owners, Gladstone continually wrestles with employee health care costs.

He plunged into fitness a few years ago. Now he?s a devotee of a routine offered at Synchrony ChiroCare in East Pennsboro Township.

He hopes his employees buy into it as well ? so much that he pays their monthly fees and allows them to go during work time.

In his mind, even 10 minutes a week is better than nothing.

Gladstone?s first exercises take place on a power plate. The machine resembles a treadmill, but has a round platform that vibrates 40 times per second while Gladstone?s feet remain stationary.

?Some people call this the microwave of exercise,? says Michael Bennese, the chiropractor who owns Synchrony ChiroCare and who designed Gladstone?s workout.

The power plate concept was invented 40 years ago by Russian scientists trying to enable astronauts to stay fit and avoid bone loss while in outer space.

According to Bennese, each vibration causes the muscles to contract and relax. At 40 times per second, this results in an intense workout involving many muscles, including the core.

Gladstone does a handful of sets, each one lasting about 10 seconds. One involves keeping his shoulders back and chest out as he presses his upper back against a post while the power plate vibrates.

During another, called the bird dog, he supports himself on one hand and one knee, with the opposite limbs outstretched, as the machine vibrates.

Growing popularity?

Power plate equipment has become popular in gyms in recent years and has been touted by celebrities including Madonna.

According to Bennese, who is certified in biomechanics, many professional athletes do training that involves the power plate.

But he says nonathletes, including older people, can benefit from a power plate-centered routine that takes as little as 15 minutes per week.

The intense vibrations, he says, cause a high percentage of the available muscles to become involved.

The benefits of a brief routine can include the ability to engage in physical activities longer before fatigue sets in.

For people who are older, it can improve the ability to walk or stand for long periods without getting a sore back, do yard work, or pick up a grandchild, Bennese says.

Gladstone, whose clothes are unrumpled and who hasn?t broken a sweat, moves on to his next exercises.

These involve four exercises on two machines. With each exercise, he presses or pulls as hard as he can for five seconds. An electronic screen shows how much force he generates, and compares it to previous workouts.

The overall routine is called ?BStrong4Life,? which claims to improve strength, posture and overall health in less then 30 minutes per week.

Gladstone?s routine involves other exercises, as well as chiropractic treatment.

He doesn?t ask his employees to do the same routine. Theirs is more basic, taking only about 10 minutes.

Providing health benefits

?Gladstone, 63, says providing good health benefits has always been a high priority.

But rising health insurance premiums have forced him to shop for new coverage each year and shift costs to employees in the form of deductibles and co-pays, he says.

All the while, he has tried to invest in employees? wellness, hoping he will benefit in the form of lower health care bills and higher productivity. He says he also hopes to help his employees improve their overall well-being and ability to enjoy their nonworking hours.

Gladstone has long paid toward gym memberships, giving employees up to $500 per year toward gym expenses if they go at least twice per week.

The economic downturn forced him to withdraw the gym membership perk for a few years, but he has restored it.

To that end, he decided to also offer Bennese?s program. It?s voluntary; four of his five employees opted to participate.

In Gladstone?s case, he?s convinced the training has enhanced a fitness routine he launched several years ago.

Focusing on posture?

For many years, Gladstone?s life involved long work hours and little physical activity.

Finally, he began working out at a gym and discovered he felt better.

Then Gladstone, who says he typically rises by 4 a.m. and works into the evening, wanted a way for he and his wife to spend more time together.

They chose ballroom dancing, which gave another boost to his fitness routine.

However, dance instructors continually told him to stand up straight, a position he found he could no longer maintain.

That led him to Bennese, the chiropractor, who took images of Gladstone?s spine and found it had become curved in a way that caused Gladstone?s head to hang too far forward.

Bennese conducted a basic exam in which he examined the alignment of the head over the rib cage, the rib cage over the pelvis and the hips over the feet.

If any of those relationships are out of whack, muscles get overstressed, leading to pain and other physical problems, he says.

?If that is happening, the body is coping by using excessive muscle contractions to hold that body part up,? he says.

Standing straighter?

After several months, Gladstone says he feels stronger and better and stands straighter.

?You don?t want to be hunched over as you get older. It?s bad for business. It?s bad for your health,? he says.

His employees, who have been doing their routines for more than a month, don?t claim dramatic changes, although they say they?ve noticed benefits.

Mostly, they say it has been helpful to learn about the importance of posture and become aware of deficiencies in their postures and how to improve it.

?It?s cool to see how you increase each week,? says Leah Wentz, 29, referring to the exercises that involve mustering as much force as possible for 5 to 10 seconds.

Chuck Bender, 29, says he?s ?new to fitness,? and began a running routine a few months ago.

He says he?s noticed some increased definition in his muscles and will consider moving to a more involved routine.

Katie Warrell, 29, Gladstone?s daughter, goes to the gym regularly, where she runs and does aerobics and a strength routine.

She says she has learned from Bennese?s program.

?It definitely made me more attuned to my posture at work and at home,? she says.

Gladstone can only hope they?ll stick with this routine ? or any routine that leads to improved health and well-being.

He says he has achieved one goal.

?When I take an interest in them, they take an interest in their work,? he says.?

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/11/wellness.html

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