The economy has affected everyone’s life in every aspect including working out.

Trends depend on many factors, said the survey’s lead author, Walt Thompson. Take Pilates, which dropped off the survey’s list from No. 9 last year. Thompson believes the economy made Pilates equipment and specialized instructors too expensive for clubs to maintain. He’s not sure if Pilates will make a return to the top 20, but he doesn’t expect a few of this year’s trends to stick around long.

A wellness center is a facility whose primary goals are to promote healthy living in order to prevent disease and illness. These centers are typically run and staffed by a group of physicians, but in some cases, they are staffed by specialists such as acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists, and fitness experts.

Wellness centers can be found in a variety of settings from college campuses and hospitals to strip malls. Many corporations contract with wellness centers to provide programs for employees (called corporate wellness programs), and there are also specific programs for seniors, moms-to-be, and children. So the first step in choosing the best wellness center is to determine the type of program you’re looking for. Next, determine your goals, then choose which wellness services you think might help you reach your goals.

If you are not part of a corporate program or any of the groups listed above, you’ll still find plenty of individual programs at just about every wellness center. After you have determined your goals (stress relief, pain relief, fitness, prevention, etc.), seek out centers that address these issues. The types of wellness services offered is not the only factor you should consider. The best wellness centers have a number of things in common including:

-Focus is on patient health
-Active in contributing to the rebirth of health care
-Seek to successfully unite health maintenance, disease prevention and the treatment of acute and chronic conditions through both conventional and the alternative healing arts
-Offer patients a comprehensive treatment regimen
-Provide the best medical advice
-Have multidisciplinary centers offering medical doctors, doctors of chiropractic, physical/occupational therapists, massage therapists and other professionals who work together as a dedicated team to reach an accurate diagnosis
-Have doctors and specialists skilled at designing treatment plans tailored to each individual patient
-Offer cost effective and time saving integrated health care
-Offer a “whole body” healing approach
-Share the philosophy of caring and concern for their patients that provides for a mutual pleasant experience
-Offer convenient hours, ample parking, and little to no waiting
-Employ physicians and staff that make continuing education a priority in order to stay abreast of new developments in patient care
-Keep patients informed of their conditions as well as short and long-term goals

Finding the best wellness center in your city or town will take some work, but in the end you’ll find a center that you feel comfortable with and one that has your best interests and wellness in mind. The best place to begin your search is online. It’s possible to find a local wellness center directory, but directories such as these do not list all of the centers in your area. Many of the wellness centers in the directory pay a fee to have their names listed.

When searching for wellness centers in your area, all you have to do is enter “your city + wellness center” into any search engine. Next, choose 5-10 wellness centers and browse through their websites to find out about services, pricing, and credentials. You can also try typing the name of the center into a review site such as Yelp.com to see what real customers/patients have to say about it.

Many wellness centers offer a free consultation. During this meeting, you can ask any questions that concern you, take a tour of the center, gather additional literature about the staff and services, and examine any credentials that are on display. Keep in mind that professional wellness centers will have this information on display in examining rooms, offices, and studio areas.

If you want to dig a little deeper, check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as many wellness centers operate as private practices.

Although I would recommend a lower volume, higher intensity approach, the article below I recently re-read has some great info on getting the job done with quality instead of quantity. I’m glad to see articles in mainstream magazines debunking the myth that more is better.

There are many ways to grow from just 2 sets. Try each of these and see what works best for you.

Take the first set to failure:? You should not be able to complete one more rep than the set calls for.? For the second set drop the weight by 5% – 7% and try for the same number of reps.

Perform your first set with about 90% of the load you can use for the number of reps the set calls for (about 2 reps shy of failure).? Then load up your second set and take that to failure.

Take both sets to just one rep shy of failure:? This is a good safe option that minimizes risk for injury and overtraining.

Take both sets to failure:? Use this option sparingly (once or twice a month) and only if ou’ve got a year or more of training behind you.

“MF Trainer.” Mens Fitness oct. 2007:127