Health & Fitness in Phoenix

Dr. Kenneth Pettit has flourished in every corner of the medical world. After completing his degree in osteopathic medicine from Western University College Of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA, he went on to work as a family practitioner for Comprehensive Family Care, partner in Comprehensive Hospice and Palliative Care, and the owner of Desert Ridge Urgent Care. A member of both the American Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association, Dr. Pettit has appeared at or near the top of the Ahwatukee Foothills News's Top Doctor poll every year since 2007, landing in the top three in 2008 and 2009 and winning the crown outright in 2007 and 2010-12.

When he's not busy racking up awards, Dr. Pettit works as the medical director of Luminescence Aesthetic Medicine. Here, the doctor shows off his equally impressive medspa training, which includes certifications from Rocky Mountain College of Electrology and Laser and Candela and membership in the Academy of Medicine and Laser Surgery and the American College of Phlebology. True to this experience, he and his team preserve youthful complexions and figures using a blend of traditional spa services and advanced technology. Patients can feel at ease as Dr. Pettit shows off his skills with dermal-filler injections and laser treatments for a range of aesthetic purposes, such as hair removal with GentleLase and a Sciton MicroLaser peel, which erases signs of aging such as fine lines and monocle scars. Beyond laser therapy, the clinic also refines skin with facials and peels that call on Obagi skincare products.

Growing up in Cape Town, South Africa, Fred Schofield spent many hours playing rugby, tennis, and cricket with his brothers. One fateful rugby game would change his career path and his concept of health care altogether. Schofield was kicked in the back, and began to suffer lower-back and neck pain. He considered seeing a chiropractor, but his father, a traditional medical doctor, did not approve. After nine years of suffering, Schofield went for his first chiropractic adjustment anyway, and the pain began to disappear.

Inspired by his own transformation, Schofield moved to the United States in 1978 to attend Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. He even led the Palmer rugby team to two championships and was asked to play on a national level. Since Schofield and his wife fell in love with Arizona's climate, he has been helping the Phoenix community recover from chronic pain and disease for nearly three decades. He also devotes part of his time to teaching at institutions such as Life Chiropractic College and Palmer College of Chiropractic, and providing instruction for the Illinois and South African chiropractic associations.

At Atlas Chiropractic Center, Dr. Schofield uses his firsthand familiarity with pain and a wealth of experience to adjust the spines of everyone from professional golfers to expectant mothers. He supplements adjustment techniques such as the precise Gonstead method or the instrument-based Activator method with the expertise of an on-staff nutritionist, Susan. She can recommend herbs and supplements based on the results of hair analyses and a nutritional survey.

Thirty minutes, once a week. That's all it takes at Hubbard Family Swim School for a young child to master breath control, find their buoyancy, and backstroke straight into the world of swimming. Classes are broken into eight swimming levels, beginning when children are only 2 months old. In Baby Splash, instructors and parents both enter the pool, where they help little ones build a confidence in water. Beginning at age 3, students can dive into more difficult classes such as Jellyfish and Lobster, so named for the ocean species with the most Olympic gold medals. Masterful strokes can take kids into Hubbard Family Swim School's recreational teams, which compete during the summer.

Of course, the aquatic lesson plans are only as good as the instructors themselves, and Hubbard Family Swim School boasts an expert faculty at its locations in Phoenix, Peoria, and Mesa. Each of these swim instructors gets ample hands-on training and continuing-education courses throughout the year. Floating atop this sea of talent are Bob and Kathy Hubbard, the company's founders. Both grew up as active swimmers, and they made sure that each of their eight kids learned to swim at a young age—something that led to countless hours of boating, swimming, and snorkeling. Hubbard Family Swim School is the manifestation of their two loves: family and swimming.

The specialists at Brody Massage each possess a minimum of five years' experience in their industry, which helps them pinpoint trouble areas and efficiently shoo away tension during each massage treatment they perform. Within private treatment rooms with walls adorned with Asian-inspired rice-paper dividers, therapists listen to their clients' desires in order to customize a variety of massage modalities, including reflexology, shiatsu, Swedish, and craniosacral therapy, which targets specialized points of the skull, face, and neck with massage techniques and all-natural spearmint oil. Meanwhile, detox treatments soak clients' feet in ionized water in hopes of liberating systems of harmful toxins, such as heavy metals, parasites, and socks.

Though Brody Massage is now a mecca for massage services, it didn't used to be. Its roots as a massage and spa supplies distributor still show today on shelves that brim with massage oils and aromatherapy supplies. The shop floor features even more tension-melting essentials, as its gleaming dark wood supports massage tables, barber chairs, and magnifying aesthetician's lights for reading the abort code written on the skin cells of every human.

As a 23-year-old junior, Tom Hatten didn’t spend his evenings at the raucous parties or ice-cream socials associated with college life. Instead, he’d spend the waning hours of his evenings waiting by the dryer for the last batch of towels before collapsing into bed. In the morning, he would lug them to Mountainside Fitness, the gym he opened as a student that he has thrown all his energy into maintaining ever since.

Today, the humble 4,800-square-foot space has bloomed into nine gyms that average a sweeping 41,000 square feet. Tom’s vision of creating a friendly neighborhood gym that greets each guest with a warm towel underscores every decision he makes for the different locations, from the colorful kid-care spaces to the entertaining group fitness classes. Personal trainers plan regimens tailored to each client, helping them lose weight, build muscle, or target the muscles that will help build a better golf game. Clients can create their own routines with the help of cardio and weight machines, or explore the different amenities at each location, such as saunas, rock-climbing walls, and indoor basketball courts.

Jenny and Rachel spent years trying workout programs ranging from running to Tae Bo, but they couldn't find an exercise regimen they actually enjoyed. That is until Jenny stumbled across Pilates+. She was immediately hooked by the innovative workout program, which fuses Pilates, cardio, and strength training, and it wasn’t long until Rachel jumped aboard too. Today, the duo helms The Body Lab, where they and their staff of certified trainers spread the word about their favorite workout regime, which has been written up by numerous members of the press.

Each 50-minute Pilates+ class uses a machine called the Megaformer—a modern take on the traditional Pilates reformer that is designed to strengthen and tone both the upper and lower body. Performing slow, controlled movements, students move through a series of more than 50 exercises per class, exercising multiple muscle groups “to failure” each session to produce quicker results than traditional Pilates sessions. The Body Lab also leads group classes a la carte, as well as monthly memberships and one-on-one training for clients.