Nancy Benson is a strong-minded woman who wants to put suburbanites in the swim of things.
Benson, the Midwest Champion of the Fitness America Pageant for the last two years in a row, is a body builder, a fitness expert, a personal trainer and the designer of Swimnastics, aerobic weight-training classes held in swimming pools. It was at the height of the aerobics trend, in the late ’70s, when Benson decided to swim against the current and develop a class that could accomplish both aerobic and strength goals in water. She was immediately able to support herself financially from the success of Swimnastics, which is her own registered trademark; she now teaches about five exercise classes a day throughout the suburbs.
“I believe in that old saying `If you find a job that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,”‘ Benson said. “I always wanted to do something in the athletic field. I went into business at College of Du Page, and I thought if I could make fitness into a business, I’d have it made.”
Apparently, she has it made. She teaches in Oakbrook Terrace at The Du Page Club and at Exercise Playce in Oakbrook Terrace Tower, at Oak Brook Bath and Tennis Club and Oak Brook Chiropractic Center, at Yaeger Fitness Center in Downers Grove and at Lisle Executive Center.
Benson, who lives in Oak Brook, spends about three-fourths of her work time teaching Swimnastics, and about a fourth on personal and rehabilitation training, either at clients’ clubs or their homes. She has also done an instructional video, “Swimnastics,” and does promotional shows and competitions.
Benson, whose Scandanavian descent shows in her long blond hair, has been interested in swimming and fitness for as long as she can remember. She grew up in Warrenville, where she spent many hours in “Lake Anita,” a backyard pool named for her mother, who had always envisioned living on a lake.
“My brothers and sisters used to throw me in the pool when I was little to practice their life-saving skills,” Benson said, laughing. As the youngest of five children, “I had to swim to keep up with them. They were 10 to 15 years older than me. I had a great childhood.”
Her Wheaton-Warrenville High School career reflected her interest in fitness: basketball, volleyball, track, baton-twirling and cheerleading. Today, she dances, weight trains and joins in an hour or two of workouts a day while teaching.
“You have to have some type of training program going for yourself, in the pool or in the gym, to get your body healthy,” she said. “You’ll enjoy life more, you’ll look great, you’ll feel great. I just turned 33, and I’m feeling good.”
Strong words, but then Nancy Benson is a strong woman. In fact, she was one of only four women finalists in the American Gladiators competition when the live tour appeared at Rosemont Horizon last year.
“The tryouts were tough,” she said. “The women had to do 40 fingertip pushups, then running events and ladder relay races that were all timed.”
Benson continues to enter competitions whenever she can, believing that such events are part of a larger trend to recognize women’s athletic ability.
“I think the fitness pageant might take over the beauty pageant,” she predicted. “It’s opening up a lot of doors for women and inspiring everyone to get in shape. In the ’60s, women weren’t encouraged to weight train. In fact, they were discouraged from doing it. But women can’t get Hulk Hogan muscles; they get tone, they get nicely shaped muscles, which is much more attractive than flab.”
Elaine McDowell would certainly agree. The Oak Brook woman has lost 45 pounds in the last six months under Benson’s tutelage.
“She’s not only a good trainer,” McDowell said, “she’s fun to work with and she genuinely cares about her students.”
Kristen Drees, operations manager at The Du Page Club, has known Benson for three years, and has seen ongoing evidence of her caring nature. “She brings out a crowd of people who I don’t think would work out if she wasn’t there,” Drees said. “She’s had a following from the day she started at the club, and those people are still with her. Anyone can take her swim classes, and she works with them at beginnner, intermediate or advanced levels. I’ve taken her class, and it’s an intense but very low impact workout.”
People take the classes for reasons as varied as their personalities. For Mary Giblin of Elmhurst, it’s the fact that her cholesterol count is down to 210 from 305 in six months, and although medication is a factor in that, she believes increasing her fitness played an equal part.
Heidi Rybarczyk of Downers Grove got her doctor’s okay to take classes to keep her in shape during two pregnancies. Jean Resech of Oak Brook testified that Swimnastics increased bone mass that was deteriorating because of arthritis and osteoporosis.
Why are her clients doing so swimmingly?
A recent class held at Exercise Playce demonstrated why her clients keep coming back come hell or high water. As 18 students gathered for her 5:30 p.m. class that Monday, they grabbed Aqua-bells and Hydro-tone barbells; most of them donned optional Hydro-tone boots, futuristic-looking lower leg gear that has a plastic shield to increase water resistance and thereby increase the effect of the workout.
The first 10 minutes is a thermal warm-up, starting with power walking; outfitted with the boots, the movement is similar to that of cross-country skiing. Then, grabbing the swim barbells, which look like rods with giant marshmallows stuck on each end, Benson tells the class to make bubbles.
As students rapidly dip the plastic foam “weights” under the water, stengthening the muscles in the upper body, the water suddenly bubbles as turbulently as if someone had just dumped an economy-sized box of Tide into the pool.
“The bar is very light out of the water,” Benson said later, “but when you push or pull it through the water, it creates resistance. It’s great for all people. Elderly people can work at their own strength level, pregnant women can use it, and an athlete can push and pull faster to get results out of it.”
Some days, Benson jumps into the pool to work out with the class. On this day, she chooses to shout directions and encouragement from the pool deck, where she can check form.
“Remember our goals,” she shouts, “and think of the specific things you’re working on. Don’t settle for average when you can have awesome. Awesome just takes a little more work and discipline.”
At the pool wall, students do abdominal exercises, then leg and lower body work-leg extensions, swings, scissors and figure eights, all with the legs at least partially under water.
“Keeps your abs (abdominal muscles) pulled in,” Benson directs, “don’t scrunch over, tuck your tush.”
The last 20 minutes provides aerobics: jumping, kicks, sprints, backward jogging and side lunges. Aqua-bells, hand-held plastic domes, increase resistance as the class power-walks through the pool. They also help maintain balance during the other moves.
“Submerged in the pool,” Benson said later, “you lose 90 per cent of your body weight, so it’s low impact. That’s why doctors recommend it for athletes and rehab patients, because is causes less stress on joints and bones. It gives you buoyancy, whereas aerobics can damage knees. Compared to aerobic workouts, this is much more of a strength and conditioning workout.”
Finally, after a heart-rate check, the cool down helps students recover resting heart rates with slow stretches and deep breathing. As class ends, students leave the pool invigorated and refreshed; about half hit the showers and the others head for the hot tub to relax mind and muscles.
“I don’t know what I like better,” Diane Jones of Darien said, “the water, the aerobics, the hot tub or the showers. I don’t like to sweat, so this is the perfect class for me, and it does release stress.”
Joining a class offers use of the facility where it’s held; Benson allows students to make up any class they are unable to attend at their usual time.
Swimnastics rates for eight weeks are $60 for two classes a week, $75 for three classes a week, or $85 for four classes a week. Personal training rates are arranged with individual clients.
Linda Tait of Oakbrook Terrace came to class because of debilitating back pain.
“She cured it,” Tait said. “It strengthened my whole body. And it’s safe. Doing this kind of thing is dangerous, but not if you’re in the water. I think Nancy’s the best instructor I’ve seen.”
Lennart Palme of Oak Brook is one of the three men in the class. He’s a health enthusiast who is taking the class with his wife, Ginny.
“We’re into sports fitness, weight management and longevity,” he said. “We chose this class over others because of Nancy’s knowledge of the body and how to exercise it. She takes good care of us; she’s a hard taskmaster, but she’s a caring taskmaster.”
“It helps so much with flexibility,” Ginny said. “I play tennis, and I don’t want any exercise that could give injuries. Here you have the tension and the support of the water. Plus, this is a gorgeous place; it’s a sensual thing, it’s good for your head and your body.”
Many of Benson’s clients come to her by such word-of-mouth testimonials, and many are referred to her by Dr. Philip Claussen of Oak Brook Chiropractic Center, an expert in sports fitness who is a strength and conditioning coach for several Chicago Cubs.
“I had heard through people coming into my office that she was doing a program in the water,” Claussen said, “and that’s an excellent thing for people who are having chiropractic problems. So I was sending my patients to her long before I met her because of her client recommendations.”
Eventually, Benson and Claussen met, and within three months, found that they were, as Benson put it, “a great team,” both professionally and personally. They’ve been going together for the last three years.
“People whom I’ve sent to her come back and say she’s got tremendous ability, tremendous capacity to motivate people,” Claussen said. “And some of these people can be difficult to motivate in the first place because they’ve never taken exercise class before. She develops specific exercises for people who have bad backs or whatever the problem is. I don’t think you’ll find anyone more dedicated to her patients than Nancy, and that’s the main reason why she’s so successful.”
She is also dedicated to her own contests and fitness promotions and is currently gearing up for the Miss Fitness competition to be held at Navy Pier on May 15. Benson also noted her gratitude for several local sponsors who fund those competitions.
“I often tell students, `If you try your best you’ll have no regrets,’ ” she said. “Trying out for the American Gladiators, Dr. Claussen and I prepared a workout a schedule to help with agility and reflexes. I’d use the climbing wall at Edwards Hospital to simulate one of the events. When show time came, I was prepared and ready to go.”
In addition to her personal missions, Benson is also on a mission to reach as many people as she can with the message that fitness is a lifestyle, not just a New Year’s resolution that’s forgotten by Valentine’s Day.
“This is a way of life,” she said.
