Ingrid Ruschienski, longtime member of the RiverPlex, born in November of 1943 first got into fitness in 1972. “I’ve always been into fitness, not like this though (small group and semi private training options here at the RiverPlex), since 1972 at the YMCA. We were part of the first aerobics class....

The Holidays can be tough when it comes to staying on track. If you didn’t get a chance to read Jessica’s last blog post on some tips and tricks to help you this season, please click here. But, we thought it might be helpful to give you some recipes for your meal prepping or to take as a...

Here’s a story of two of our own and how they met in the military. Melissa is a group exercise instructor for us at the RiverPlex and her husband, Steve, is a prior GRIT instructor as well. Melissa Fruendt: Melissa joined the 182nd Air National Guard in February of 1998, three days after her 1...

October 6 1966. “This day doesn’t mean anything to anybody except for me. This was my 21st birthday and the day that I was deployed. “ Some of the stories Richard told me, we aren’t going to share in this blog but they were extremely emotional. “I graduated from Woodruff High School in 1964. 7 days...

If I had the key to happiness wrapped up in one word, would you want to know what that one word was? In positive psychology research, GRATITUDE is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their h...

In recent years the words “mindfulness” and “meditation” have become quite a bit more mainstream. But, what do they mean? Are they the same or different from one another? It’s funny to me that the concepts of meditation have been around for as long as thousands of years and it’s just now becoming po...

As much as we love the holiday season, it’s no secret that it can be also be filled with stress, especially if you’re trying to stay focused on your health. The constant hustle and bustle doesn’t leave much time to focus on you or your wellness goals and health can often be tossed to the wayside, ho...

Are you a cancer survivor or know a survivor who deserves to get back into their daily routine but is struggling to figure out how? Sponsored by OSF cancer support services, OSF at the RiverPlex offers a Get Active class for any and all cancer survivors. This class is free for anyone of all ages, me...

Although the Holidays aren’t officially here, there’s never a bad time to start planning ahead to maintain your healthy lifestyle. We hear it time and time again just as the New Year hits; flocks of people start looking into joining their local gym. Most with the mindset of whipping themselves...

Karen, an avid distance runner, a longtime participant in RPM, SPRINT, and Body Pump, and long time member of the RiverPlex found out in February of 2015 that she had breast cancer. “Every year I have a mammogram. I’ve been doing that since I was in my thirties. In 2015 I went in for my annual mammo...