Joann Malys TRX class at the Old Forge tennis courts.
Physical fitness instructor Joanne Maly has seen the popularity of her Total Resistance Exercises/Training (TRX) classes grow so much in Old Forge over that past year-and-a-half, that new teachers have been trained to allow for expanded class offerings.
TRX was developed by a Navy Seal, Randy Hetrick, who served overseas for years and needed to develop a means of keeping his troops in shape without weights and machines.
Joanne Maly with TRX gear. Photo by Wende Carr
He created TRX, which uses the person’s body weight as resistance. The straps used are compact and extremely light weight—ideal for packing and travel, and they can be used anywhere.
“It’s a great form of exercise that incorporates body movement on all the different planes on which we function,” Maly said.
Joanne Maly has been a certified personal trainer and a strength and conditioning coach for 25 years.
During her college studies, which included a PhD in Physical Therapy, Maly ran the weight room at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and taught aerobics. Her PhD thesis at Utica College was on childhood obesity.
She participated in bodybuilding competitions and has a goal of doing one more, since she’s reached a chronological milestone.
Maly is a licensed physical therapist whose practice, ADK Physical Therapy, is located in Barneveld. She’s practiced physical therapy for over 27 years and hopes to be operating in the Old Forge area soon.
Maly first got excited about TRX when she saw how effective it is with total joint patients.
“In one hour, it exercises every muscle in the body,” she said. “It’s a great workout to keep somebody strong and functional. I just fell in love with it.”
Maly’s daughter Marissa Pavlus, Haley Josephson and Marie Birtle are currently helping teach TRX classes for Maly. She also plans to teach twice a week in Boonville this summer.
Maly and Birtle recently traveled to Boston for training in Rip Trainers, a resistance cord with stick which works the body core and adds rotation, adding versatility to exercise programs. It will be added to her list of classes offered locally.
“A lot of people want to take the class but fear the intensity of it,” Maly said. “So, this summer, we’re adding two beginner or lower-intensity classes, for people to start out slower.”
Those wanting to register for classes, can go to Joanne Maly’s Facebook page, or to the ADK Fitness page. Changes to class schedules and location are announced on ADK Fitness page. Maly can be reached by text at 3698318.
Maly’s current schedule for one-hour classes is Tuesday at 5 and 6 p.m., Thursday at 6 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., and Saturday at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The lower-intensity classes will be held on Monday and Wednesdays at 7 a.m. at the Park Avenue Building gym beginning Monday, June 3 with certified instructor Josephson.
Indoor classes at the CCD Center (in rainy weather) are limited to 14 participants due to space constraints. Classes at the lakefront tennis courts can accommodate 20 students. When renovations of the pavilion at North Street are complete, classes will meet there.
The cost is $10 per session or $72 for an 8-session punch card. Interested parties can participate in classes as frequently as they like. Classes tend to be co-ed and mixed in age groups, from high school to folks in their 70s.
Participants work at their own level, so someone training for a half-marathon can be in the same class as a beginner, according to Maly.
“TRX incorporates everything I would do in an exercise program as far as strength training, flexibility, balance and a lot of core and abdominal work. It meets the goals of what everyone’s here to do—get stronger,” she said.
Upbeat music makes the exercises more enjoyable and the time pass quickly, she said.
