Dubuque, IA Health and Fitness

Patricia Hockin, a devoted mother with an MBA, has something else up her sleeve: she’s also the founder and owner of Miss Pole. After deciding that her life needed some serious changes, Patricia enrolled in pole-dancing classes and was so inspired, so enthusiastic, and so dramatically altered that she decided every woman should have the opportunity to feel confident, strong, and sexy. Hence Miss Pole was born.

At Miss Pole, she leads classes that explore the sensual and physically challenging aspects of pole dancing and sensual dance. She leads beginner, intermediate, and advanced pole-dancing classes that cover hundreds of moves that tone the entire body. Other classes include lap dancing, burlesque, and sexy/sassy stretching.

For years, Jennifer “Bhavani” Sebastian used her calming voice and lighthearted humor during stressful work at an emergency communications center. Despite helping others in crisis, she struggled find peace in her own life. Upon meeting Rama Berch, creator of the Svaroopa method of yoga, she discovered what was missing: a sense of self-acceptance. Yoga became an agent of change as she learned to teach relaxing, Hatha-inspired poses and lead pain-melting yoga-therapy sessions. During her signature Svaroopa classes, props such as blankets, blocks, and chairs help bodies achieve optimal alignment during sitting, standing, and inverted poses. Jennifer circulates the room, showing students how to adapt the poses to different levels of strength, flexibility, and Rubik’s cube mastery. Bolstered by deep breaths and hands-on alignments, the exercises gently release tension from the sinews attached to the spine. As muscles unclench, bodies may gain mobility and shed chronic discomfort.

Shortly after brothers Eldon and Clarence Klauer co-founded Klauer Optical in 1939, they found themselves making binocular lenses for the United States Navy during World War II. Today, the company's work orders have changed, but the Klauer name remains. Clarence's grandson Jeff oversees the operation, and Eldon's son Charles fabricates the store's eyeglasses and sunglasses.

Staff members not named Klauer include certified opticians Douglas Spyrison and Barbara Washburn, who examine patients' eyes for vision problems and hidden lasers at the shop's two locations.

The techniques that Lauren Birkel imparts to her trainers are the same ones she used on herself while preparing for and completing the rigorous Ironman World Championships in 2005 and 2011, as well as the France-held International Triathlon Union Long Course World Championships in 2007. With this history of achieving difficult goals, Birkel knows how to inspire students without commissioning a band of rabid coyotes to chase them while they run.

She and her many cotrainers use these thoroughly tested methods of motivation to push students toward healthier lives in one-on-one, small-group, and large-group training sessions. She decks out her indoor studios with all the necessary equipment for personal-training sessions and isn't afraid to lead all-outdoor boot-camp academies in the heat or rain.

When 9Round founder and IKF Light Middleweight Kickboxing Champion Shannon "The Cannon" Hudson isn't dominating combat rings across North American and Europe, he is taking care of his two children. It was with his kids in mind that the seasoned black belt crafted his signature workout¬—a challenging professional fighter's training regime compacted into a hectic, schedule-friendly 30 minutes.

Today, certified trainers in 9Round gyms across the nation lead students in Shannon's workout, guiding classes through its nine rounds of aerobic, anaerobic, and resistance-training exercises. Instructors vary the rounds each day, supplementing body-weight exercises with jump ropes, punching bags, and free-weights. Coaches also encourage diets of fruits and lean meats and counsel students against common dieting pitfalls, such as skipping breakfast or storing smoothie surplus in unmarked laundry-detergent bottles.

Megan Ryan Kaiser doesn’t remember her first hot-yoga session as a transcendent, transformative moment. She recalls the feeling of intimidation that almost sent her packing. Over time, the class did enhance her life, but it might not have without the support of a welcoming community of students and instructors. She struggled to find such an affirming place to pose after moving to the Madison area from Los Angeles. Instead of continuing her search, she decided to build the community she sought by launching Dragonfly Hot Yoga.

Students of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels flock to the studio’s award-winning classes, which range from beginner-friendly Intro to Yoga sessions to Advanced Flow routines filled with challenging inversions and arm balances. Spacious classrooms let students move freely, and flooring specifically designed for hot-yoga classes repels sweat and odors. During most yoga classes, the room’s temperature rises to 85–105 degrees, which promotes flexibility and toxin release. The instructors also lead traditional fitness classes, including a boot-camp-style workout filled with resistance training, calisthenics, and plyometrics. Before and after classes, students bond over tea and books in a lounge that’s as cozy as a fireplace wearing a hand-knitted sweater. To help busy parents integrate yoga into their routine, the studio also offers childcare during many morning classes and private yoga sessions, which can be scheduled at a convenient time