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Personalized training reaches PR

In her home at the end of Uscandia Lane Elaine McFarlane has the space, the equipment, the expertise and the energy to help people on the Point set and meet fitness goals.

“I want to be busy. I want to feel the energy in here,” said the owner of the recently opened Exercise by Design, a licensed and registered exercise studio that specializes in Pilates but incorporates everything from weight training to cardiovascular workouts.

“It’s a whole program for a whole body workout,” said McFarlane a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor. Depending on a client’s condition and goals she may put together a step or slide cardio workout with Bowflex or Olympic style weight training and Pilates mat work, or exercises using the medieval-looking Pilates Reformer.

McFarlane is also certified in rehabilitative exercise therapy to help strengthen an injured back or weak hip. Her rehabilitative work has given her experience working with seniors, which she hopes to continue doing with her new venture.

She also wants the studio to be a place for local teens to make working out a social time. “They could bring their own music in,” she said. “You want to have energy and you want to have fun. I’m good at my job and I can give that to people.”

McFarlane’s insistence on maximum inclusivity is spreading into her pricing as well. “Anybody can come in and have a good workout,” she said. “I’m making this affordable for everyone.”

While the studio won’t be like a subscription gym, where users can drop in and work out on their own, she welcomes ideas such as joint training/workout sessions where friends can share the cost of the trainer and facility, and will offer small classes in areas where there is interest, such as perhaps a weekly step class or Pilates mat work class. An hour of training or rehab work will cost from $20 to $40, split between session participants, and one of the spots in a class would be $10 to $15, depending upon the number of participants.

McFarlane and husband Stuart have owned the Uscandia Lane home for five years but are just now really settling on the Point, after a hiatus in Texas. “Before I was doing in-home personal training in Vancouver,” she said. She continues to teach Pilates at the Wellness Center in Tsawwassen. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” she said, “training, teaching, learning.”

To sign up for a training session or find out more about classes call 945-2342.

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