South Bay Accent (CA)

February/March 1999

MEET THE BOD SQUAD

Author: Sherri Eng

At the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. when sensible citizens are still fast asleep or at best yawning over toast and coffee, Rapp huffs and puffs, strains, grunts and sweats as he flexes against hundreds of pounds of weight resistance on a leg press machine that resembles an updated Inquisition torture device. You think of Mel Gibson in Braveheart, drawn and quartered by beasts of burden marching in opposite directions. You think of bursting tendons and screaming ligaments and howling quads as you watch Rapp gasp down great gulps of air and quiver with the strain of flesh against steel.

But Rapp apparently doesn’t know that steel always gets the last laugh, for as soon as he’s done pumping 500 pounds with his all-too-human bent knees, he leaps up and runs over to a weight stack where he grabs a pulley with both hands and ferociously tugs it across his body, neck arteries gorged. Then he high-steps across the floor, sweat now running down his face in torrents - a monsoon, in fact - to his next destination, the punching bag, where he does a Muhammad Ali rat-tat-tat-a-tat with two flying fists against the leather, sweat now gushing from his face and body, creating a weather disturbance all its own. And so it goes for an hour for Roxy Rapp, lean and mean, three days a week, every week.

A casual observer might think that Rapp is a superstar athlete training for battle or simply a lunatic hell-bent on self-punishment. But no, Rapp isn’t a pro football player or baseball star or a candidate for the next Jerry Springer show, “Guys Who Love Dumbells!” He’s a real-estate developer in Palo Alto. Like many time-pressed Silicon Valley movers and shakers, Rapp has little time to hang out at a gym waiting for weight machines and workout equipment to become available. Time is money. Or maybe even more valuable. So instead, he heads for the privacy and one-on-one attention of his personal trainer.

Unlike trainers who operate out of commercial gyms such as 24-Hour Nautilus or Gold’s Gym, a fast-growing contingent of fitness gurus now bypass these operations. Instead they travel to your home or they invite you, the client, to their private workout facilities. Of course such a luxury doesn’t come cheaply - private trainers charge $40 to $60 an hour, typically more than the monthly membership at many commercial gyms. But then, in this situation you and your abs get all the attention; nobody’s spraying their soap on you in the shower; and for that amount of time, anyway, you get to turn every muscle in your body over to an expert’s care. Rapp, 60, from Portola Valley, started going to AXIS Personal Trainers in Menlo Park two years ago in an attempt to keep his bad back in healthy shape. Three mornings a week, he puts himself through a procession of exercises with AXIS trainer and owner Scott Norton. Working like a benevolent drill sergeant, Norton watches every move Rapp makes, making sure each weight is lifted properly and that each exercise is performed with precision.

“All right big guy. C’mon, c’mon, one more!” Norton says into Rapp’s ear, like a ringside coach whispering to his boxer.

Another of Norton’s clients, Sheryl Ross, 41, of Menlo Park, says that at commercial gyms, “it’s a big meat market. Here, we’re doing our own thing. It’s not about how loud you are or what you’re wearing.”

Ross adds that she’s never felt self-conscious at AXIS. “I’ve lost 15 pounds since I started workout out a year ago,” she explains.

As for Rapp, straining toward cut-and-buffed perfection - well, his back is now better than ever. He skis without pain, enjoys lower cholesterol levels and has more energy to keep up with his kids. If he’s almost a senior citizen in age, in body and spirit he’s primed for action. That’s what personal training can do.

“This has been fantastic for me. This is the first time I’ve enjoyed skiing, because now I feel more balanced,” he says.

It was Scott Norton’s own injury that led him into the world of personal training. A linebacker at the University of Utah, Norton suffered a career-ending knee injury during his freshman year. Although the injury effectively put an end to his football-playing days, he calls the accident “the greatest thing to happen to me” because it put into perspective the importance of rehabilitation and preventive medicine. He remained with the football team, but as an athletic trainer instead of a player.

“I saw both sides as a trainer and a player,” says Norton, who, at 32, carries himself with athletic grace. He’s 6’3” and 215 pounds of non-fat. “I wanted to take those experiences and bring them safely to the general population.” With that in mind, Norton opened AXIS two years ago. The airy studio boasts the newest fitness equipment, along with a high-end shower facility replete with toiletries and towels. Clients nosh on free bagels and gourmet coffee after their workouts.

Norton and his 14 trainers don’t simply count out reps for clients. They first assess the client’s physical fitness and help identify goals. They then devise a plan to meet those milestones. Norton assigns one trainer to each client for the hour-long sessions.

“Some trainers (at other gyms) are just babysitters - they just stand next to you and count,” says Susan Thomas, 42, who has been going to AXIS for the past year. “I want someone who will coach me and not let me get hurt. I don’t need someone to count for me.”

While some of Norton’s 350 clients participate in competitive sports, most are work-a-day, middle-aged professionals trying to ward off the flab that comes to easily with business travel and power lunches.

Norton’s philosophy is to keep people “functional” so that they can better perform everyday tasks. Maintaining a healthy back is often a big focal point for desk-bound Silicon Valley workers.

“To be a fabulous trainer, you have to understand how the other person feels,” Norton says. “I need to step into their shoes.”

“Everything they do here will make them feel better out there,” he says. In addition to prescribing standard exercises using free weights and weight machines, Norton has come up with some innovative activities to get into shape. For example, you might see his clients bouncing a medicine ball off a tilted trampoline, jumping over low hurdles, or tip-toeing through an agility ladder lying on the floor. These exercises help build a healthy spine and maintain balance, Norton explains.

“You also want to keep it fun, so you don’t get bored,” he explains.