Villa Park, IL Health and Fitness

Green grass and blue skies bookend the boot-camp classes at Bulldog Bootcamp. Leading the outdoor workouts, owner Greg Major and his team of seasoned fitness instructors spur their students on by shouting words of encouragement and tearing Chicken Soup for the Soul books in half. Major—a decorated bodybuilder and inline skater—has been a certified personal trainer since 1989, and has since picked up the credentials to teach CrossFit’s Level 1, Football, and Kids programs. He and his staff stage CrossFit classes at Bulldog Bootcamp’s training facility in Forest Park.

477 Club Fitness founder Lynette Miller and her trainers can whip any client into shape with Zumba, boot camp, cardio kickboxing, or even personal training. But perhaps the most distinct aspect of 447 Club Fitness—the one that garnered attention from Oak Park 365 in 2009—is the staff’s commitment to childhood fitness. They offer several programs designed just for kids, including a circuit-training program that utilizes age-appropriate equipment and kids’ dance classes that teach foundational steps and which slow songs to request at school dances.

For more than 20 years, Dr. George Gauthier has practiced holistic medicine and rehabilitative healing. But his experience hasn’t diminished his humility or approachability; he prefers that his patients call him "Dr. George" or, more simply, “Doc.” First intrigued by natural health and drug-free medicine as a student, Dr. George has since translated this to his work as a licensed acupuncturist and chiropractic physician. He also provides massage therapy, nutritional counseling, and ear candling, an ancient cleansing technique that improves hearing, earaches and headaches, as well as a propensity to identify with soy candles.