THE GREETING-CARD INDUSTRY has dominated the invention of holidays for far too long. A rival was bound to arise. And who better to muscle Hallmark out of the way than a gym?

Local fitness chain Sport & Health has declared today, Jan. 15, National Resolution Day. Celebrating requires no gifts, no new outfits — not even a party. Just head to any location (see Sportandhealth.com to find one) for access to equipment and classes, one-on-one time with a trainer, a nutrition report card that rates your daily meal plans, and a movement analysis.

The latter is something every new client at Sport & Health clubs has been offered for the past year as part of an initiative by Mitch Badkin, the company's senior vice president of fitness. At other gyms, "the typical approach is to take you to resistance equipment and just say, 'You look like you could handle 50 pounds.' And then as you're pulling and pushing, they're trying to correct your form. Instead, let me watch you move before I ask you to push or pull 50 pounds," he explains.

Watching you move can be as simple as looking on while you take 10 steps. In seconds, he or one of his trainers can tell whether your hips are tilted, you favor one leg, or turn your feet out when you walk.

For more information, you might be given the overhead squat test, based on research from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Just lift your hands overhead and grip a bar with your arms shoulder-width apart, then squat. It's an easy way to gauge the strength and flexibility of feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and neck.

Can't make it down all that far without hinging at the hips? It's a sign your calves could use a good stretch. Does your belly want to protrude? Your hip flexors might be tight from too many hours in front of a computer screen.

The process can help pinpoint causes of pain and discomfort, sometimes in unexpected ways, Badkin adds. A chronic headache, for example, could begin with a slightly turned-in knee that starts a domino effect up the spine whenever you take a step. "We want to help you do whatever you do — play with your kids, run — do it better and with less chance of injury," he says.

When the trainer is done with you, probably in 10 minutes or less, you'll leave with some ideas of exercises to correct your problems, like single-leg squats and foam roller stretches, and maybe a resolution you didn't know you had, like building stronger back muscles. And that might be a better present than anything you hauled in during December.

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Posted by Vicky Hallett at 12:00 AM on January 15, 2008
Tagged in Fit , Lifestyles , Top Stories