Health & Fitness in Palo Alto

With a staff of trainers made up of former professional and collegiate athletes, Extreme Fitness Boot Camp motivates both men and women to take on healthy habits for life. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the troupe hosts rigorous boot-camp classes at three different locations. During the sessions, these experienced trainers push boot-camp attendees of all fitness levels through plyometric circuits, strength and agility drills, and plenty of cardio exercises. The company can also provide nutritional tips that—when coupled with these vigorous workouts—can help clients shed fat on tummies, sculpt muscles in arms, and sprout smart second heads from necks.

In its role as Bay Chiropractic’s dedicated massage center, Bay Bodywork possesses one thing other massage centers don’t: proximity to a full chiropractic team. Whether they’re consulting with the doctor to bolster an existing treatment regimen or working with a client to heal a new issue, the center’s massage therapists are uniquely qualified to mend both deep-seated issues and general aches and pains. As a result of their medical surroundings, the therapists specialize in the results-oriented techniques of therapeutic, deep-tissue, and sports massage, which can not only relieve tension but also shorten injury recovery time.

The doctors at Bay Spine Centers draw upon decades of combined experience as they treat a number of painful conditions with an innovative technique known as nonsurgical spinal decompression (NSSD). They use a computerized traction device that targets the damaged area before gently stretching the spine and increasing the space between the vertebrae. The negative pressure can promote healing and relieve pain emanating from the nerve area, which can become crowded by disk material or codependent chair cushions. Designed to provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery, the process typically addresses discomfort that cannot be resolved with traditional chiropractic care or physical therapies.

My Gym Children's Fitness Center, which currently has more than 200 international locations, began more than 30 years ago as a structured place for children to safely play, acquire new skills, and romp off a sugar buzz. All classes are organized according to age level—starting as young as 6 weeks—and designed to incorporate the latest physiological and psychological research. Tiny Tykes gets babies moving with help from their parents, Mighty Mites teaches toddlers self-reliance and beginning sports skills, and Champions, a class for kids aged 6–8, emphasizes the importance of using teamwork to master more complex sports skills and achieve group goals such as building a human pyramid to reach the cookie jar. My Gym's energetic instructors are experts at using music, dance, and gymnastics to build youngsters' strength and self-esteem. The noncompetitive environment fosters creativity and hands-on activities boost children's learning retention and fun quotient.

Though Core Studio's workouts blend elements of Pilates, resistance-training, and strength-training, the company's entire program has three core methods: SPX fitness, Core Barre, and RealRyder indoor cycling. Each of the studio's instructors are masters of both. The Core SPX workout has a specific science designed to work muscles toward their limits and the heart toward victory. Armed with this knowledge, the instructors motivate clients to sweat through flexibility and core-strength-enhancing workouts in four classes: Core SPX, Core Barre, Core Cycle, and Core 30/30, a blend of SPX and Cycle. SPX workouts use the Megaformer, a state-of-the-art Pilates reformer that relies on spring resistance, whereas Cycle classes use the RealRyder indoor cycle—a stationary bike that isn't actually stationary. As it turns and tilts with riders, mimicking the motions of a real bike ride, the machine encourages functional movements, such as pedaling faster to escape a pack of invisible wolves.

At Premier Plastic Surgery, board-certified plastic surgeon James Newman, MD, FACS and his fellow board-certified plastic surgeons enhance beauty within their state-of-the-art surgical suite. Dr. Newman completed his residency and a fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University, where he now serves on the clinical faculty. He completed an additional fellowship with an emphasis on laser surgery after recognizing the large role lasers now play in surgical procedures. The renowned surgeon also lectures internationally and has authored more than 30 surgery-related scientific publications and a coloring book.

Dr. Newman and his staff perform a variety of medical procedures, ranging from face-lifts and Vaser ultrasonic liposuction to minimally invasive body-contouring and enhancement techniques. They can also combat signs of aging via nonsurgical means, including dermal fillers that smooth wrinkles and Vaser Shape sessions that, like a rearview mirror in place of a bathroom mirror, make bodies look smaller.