Workouts with three-dimensional twists

Andrew Edwards

Body Design is banking on a machine that looks like it belongs in a

Gothic castle.

Owner Susan Tobiessen believes the Gyrotonic system is the future

of exercise. The machine incorporates an elaborate mix of wheels,

lines and weights on a wooden frame and is designed to allow users to

turn, bend and stretch their joints and muscles.

“This equipment is a lot like Pilates, but it moves the body

three-dimensionally,” said Tobiessen, 45, of Newport Beach. “It’s

wonderful for elongating the spine and moving it in three

dimensions.”

Demonstrating various exercises, such as the “arch-curl” and the

“the Buddha,” Tobiessen showed off some of the Gyrotonic’s

capabilities. In some exercises, Tobiessen straddled the machine’s

bench to lean forward and rotate two large wheels attached to the end

of the bench. Turning the wheels caused her to rotate her shoulders

and move her back up and down as she turned. Other techniques

required her to lift weights attached to a pulley system in a

technique that resembled a cross between aerobics and modern dance.

“It looks very dance-y, but once you learn the movements, it

really rotates the spine,” she said.

A former physical therapist, Tobiessen has owned Body Design since

1986, and her gym moved to its third location last month. She started

out in a small space on Coast Highway. Now, Body Design fills 6,800

square feet across the way from Fashion Island. Above the Edwards

Theater complex on Newport Center Drive, exercisers are afforded both

cityscape and ocean views as they work out.

“At first I didn’t know if it was going to work,” Tobiessen said.

“It’s above a theater; it’s all red carpeting. But then I thought,

you can’t buy this view anywhere.”

Body Design is intentionally very different from the large fitness

chains that dot suburban maps. The most noticeable differences are

that Tobiessen’s gym is a lot prettier than the typical multi-gym,

and that the clientele are almost exclusively women.

Tobiessen said she thought of her concept for Body Design when she

was working as a physical therapist in the 1980s. She said women who

came to her for rehab work would get back into shape and continue

exercising at large gyms after their treatment, only to return with

new injuries.

Tobiessen, who employs 18 personal trainers at Body Design,

decided many people need a professional to teach them how to

correctly work out, and that women would feel more comfortable

exercising in a feminine environment.

“It’s very laid back, very friendly, and it’s not typical of other

gyms because it’s very personal,” Body Design physical therapist Amy

Fischer said.

All trainers on Body Design’s staff have college degrees and are

required to take classes as long as they are employed at the gym,

Tobiessen said.

Clients are required to work with a trainer at least once a week.

Body Design member JoLane Thomas started exercising at Tobiessen’s

gym for physical rehabilitation work. She agreed with Fischer that

Body Design is a pleasant place to exercise and also is impressed by

the place’s Gyrotonic machines.

“For me, it was the next step, because I’ve done Pilates for about

12 to 13 years,” Thomas said. “This is movement at a deeper core for

me.”