By Raquel DeSouza
Do not just work out harder, work out smarter. Know what you are doing and most importantly, why. This is the mindset Meredith Chiapello encourages at her women’s fitness studio, Karma Vitality in Chantilly. She has been teaching fitness classes since 1994 and her studio just had its one-year anniversary this spring.
We spoke with Chiapello about her new program for couples that is meant to be an inexpensive, active and bonding date alternative to the typical dinner and a movie package.
When and why did you start Date Night?
We had our first one May 29. It’s our members and their significant others. It was a 30-minute spinning class with a 30-minute yoga class. I think it’s a really healthy way for couples to spend great quality time together doing something that’s healthy for each other. And in something like a workout, you’re going to support each other, so if it’s difficult, you will be the person to support your spouse and encourage your spouse.
How does Date Night fit into your goals of being a women’s gym?
I think that women need a lot of support to stay—we all need a lot of support to stay healthy—so when that support is also at home, it counts. So we would like their spouses to see what it is that they do here and the kinds of things that they do. Sometimes as couples get on in the relationship, they may not really talk to each other. It’s a way to encourage them to talk to each other and ask about their day.
What was the feedback from the husbands who participated?
They loved it. Many of them had never done yoga before, and some of them had not done spinning before. I think it gave a lot of validity to the girls because they realized that it was challenging, that it was difficult. One of the gals said she would do yoga and come home and be very tired. Her hubby was like, “All you do is just lay there and breathe,” and she’s like, “It’s more than that, you have no idea!” So he came out and said, “Wow that was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be.”
How has your health psychology master’s degree influenced how you motivate people?
Hugely. Everyone is motivated by something different, and that’s the trick. That’s why we specialize in small groups. You have to spend time with them to find out what it is for them that motivates them and use that to help them. Yelling and screaming at people generally is not a very effective training technique. We also say in here that the bad karma stays outside and only positive things are said inside. We don’t say “I can’t”; we don’t say “I won’t”; We don’t say “I suck.” Maybe you say, “I can’t do that today, but I’ll work on being able to do that.”
Is there a workout that sticks with you that is tried-and-true?
I think what’s going to stay with us and what I would like to see more women embrace is strength training. The No. 1 disability for women in the United States is frailty. So all the other injuries we see with women stem from frailty. We see osteoporosis; we see hip replacements, broken legs and broken hips—it’s all from lack of strength, and strength training is the only way to continue to keep your strength. It helps us from getting overweight as well because it keeps our metabolism up. So many women are living such longer lives, and they need the ability to take care of themselves.
Karma Vitality Fitness Studio
Date Night June 26: (spin and strength class)
15100 Enterprise Court, Suite 300, Chantilly,20151; 703-870-3701
$20 per couple
