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Private training environment fits for some in Glenview
From left to right, Sandy Schwarz, personal trainer Kim Vanderveen and Yvette Finegan perform a core exercise, something Vanderveen feels is truly important when it comes to preventing injuries and promote overall fitness. | Jackie Pilossoph~for Sun-Tim
Fit Your Potential
Glenview
(773) 620-6669
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Updated: January 15, 2013 1:58PM
GLENVIEW — For the past year and a half, Sandy Schwarz and Yvette Finegan have been going to Kim Vanderveen’s Glenview home two or three mornings a week.
But, the women don’t go there for coffee and chit chat. The purpose of their visits: business. They’re there to get in shape. Vanderveen is their personal trainer.
“I was doing group fitness classes for a long time,” said Schwarz. “But I was looking for a way to get to a level of fitness that was personalized and customized for my level of fitness and for injuries and flexibility.”
“Going to a gym can be intimidating, and here, I get the benefit of working out with Sandy, who I know so well, while working toward a goal and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Finegan.
Vanderveen trains clients at their homes, or in her home gym, which is fully equipped with weights, medicine balls, bands, Bosus, and a boxing bag. It’s a career that the 47-year-old Glenview mother of three teenagers said has turned out to be truly fulfilling.
“My passion is to change someone’s life and to help people realize their potential,” said Vanderveen, who is a certified personal trainer and a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. “I absolutely love working out, and I’m a pretty hard-core work out person. I love to share my knowledge and help clients really meet their goals.”
In her one-hour sessions, Vanderveen incorporates plyometric exercises, including kickboxing, ice skating and burpees along with strength and weight exercises. There is also a huge emphasis on core work.
“I do a lot of planks and balance techniques for core strengthening,” said Vanderveen. “If you have a solid core, it’s going to prevent injury and give you a more overall level of fitness, as well.”
Most of her clients have come from word-of-mouth, and they are individuals or small groups of two to five who feel more comfortable in a small, private environment versus a gym.
Each client receives his or her own, personal exercise plan created by Vanderveen, and no two workouts are ever the same.
“I don’t want my clients to get bored,” said Vanderveen, who worked in financial planning for Montgomery Ward for 10 years before changing careers. “I use different exercises and different equipment each time to keep it exciting and challenging.”
“When you take a class, even though the instructors are great, it’s the same routine over and over, and they don’t change it up,” said Finegan. “Kim keeps it interesting. She’s constantly bringing in new equipment and trying new things.”
“She pushes us so that the workout is tough, but her positive energy helps get me through it,” said Schwarz. “Every workout is different. I love that. It’s always a blend of strength, cardio and core.”
Vanderveen charges $45 per hour, but her rates are flexible for group and/or more frequent sessions.
Other trainers charge higher rates, but I want to make sure my clients can afford to come more than once a week so that they can get better results,” she said.
Vanderveen, who began running and strength-training 15 years ago, said being a personal trainer is almost like being a therapist, and that it helps her and her clients have balance in their lives.
“The best thing about Kim is that she is eternally positive and optimistic,” said Schwarz. “Whatever is going on in our lives at the time, she helps us through working out, and uses fitness as a way to stay mentally and physically strong.”
“This is not all about losing weight,” said Vanderveen, “It’s about feeling better and being healthy.”
