A lot of heated seats at Mountain Valley

Local fitness instructor Monica Miller has put new energy into the sit/fit workout genre

KELLOGG — The old cliché, teamwork makes the dream work might be played out, but it still holds true in certain instances and Prospect Fitness and Mountain Valley of Cascadia are one of them.

Prospect owner Monica Miller designed a series of sit/fit workout videos for the residents of Mountain Valley, which have them getting some exercise and really enjoying themselves.

The path to the videos was a long one, but one that Miller is happy about due to the timing of it all.

“In all honesty, the idea for the videos doesn’t belong to me. It was Rehab Program Director and my dear friend, Tara Lodi’s brainchild. She is the one who approached me about the concept, and she is the one who facilitated everything,” Miller said. “She had been asking me to do this type of low impact workout for a while, but the project kept taking a backseat. As disruptive as COVID has been, it’s had this paradoxical positive effect of making people reassess priorities, cut to being able to set time aside to focus on this project for Mountain Valley.”

Sit/fit videos like the ones Miller created are common in nursing homes, however unlike the common videos, Miller’s are more personable and specific to the residents at Mountain Valley, which keeps them motivated when they are unable to leave their rooms.

As a fitness instructor, Miller has cultivated a following by combining intensity and fun into her workouts forcing her students to challenge their perceived physical limitations, but the sit/fit style was a complete change in style.

One that presented a new challenge for Miller.

“I’ve established a reputation for delivering high-energy, somewhat intimidating fitness classes, so to slow down and come up with a program for participants who have limitations such as being chair-bound or fall-prone, or limited mobility was more challenging than any high-intensity interval training class I’ve designed,” Miller admitted. “The workout having to be virtual added another element of difficulty but because I had already started making the transition to online content for my regular classes, that part wasn’t quite as daunting. Between teaching to an empty room and having to construct a program that could be done entirely from a chair, I was in uncharted territory.”

Fortunately, Miller had the guidance of Lodi to make sure that she was making them easy to follow, but challenging enough for people who were more physically able.

Over the last few weeks Miller has created and produced two sit/fit workout videos.

As a person who is both serious about what she does as a fitness instructor, but also embraces the idea of being human and that humans are not perfect, Miller is perfectly willing to admit her struggles.

“The first one was a little clumsy. Verbally and physically cueing the class was unlike anything I had ever done. Not being able to interact, get immediate feedback, or help them break down the steps was frustrating,” Miller said. “The second video was better. Having one under my belt and hearing about the positive reaction gave me confidence. The video focused more on dance fitness which is my bread and butter. We did a little chair salsa, stepped it out to some ‘Wham!,’ and by the end we were shimmying to ‘Dancing Queen.’”

The videos being well received may be an understatement as the staff at Mountain Valley have seen a dramatic change in their residents and staff’s willingness to get active with a sit/fit video.

It also allowed them to utilize a special piece of technology that allows them to broadcast videos to every individual room in the skilled nursing facility.

“The way she personalized the music, it was like she was talking directly to them,” said MVC CEO Emilee Kulin. “We are very lucky to have that channel-2 system that makes every single resident room accessible if they choose. We had staff members that took their breaks when the video was being played so they could do it with the residents. It was such a creative way for a local business to show support — we are so thankful for Monica.”

As a small business in a small community, Miller wants to be as much of a benefit to her community as possible and the opportunity to get involved with Mountain Valley and perhaps bring some levity to a frustrating time for the people in it.

“The best part about working on this project is the effect it’s having on the residents,” Miller said. “I have visited Mountain Valley and I’ve gotten to meet some of the people and know that a break in routine goes a long way. Even if someone finds the videos annoying, rolls their eyes when I make a corny joke or mistake, I like to think it’s a small distraction from whatever negativity that may be circulating in their life.”

Prospect Fitness Studio is located at 110 S. Division St. in Kellogg.