Fitness
Suit yourself: OHM Fitness' wearable workout technology set to make NJ debut
Boutique fitness brand OHM Fitness is set to make its New Jersey debut.
Scheduled to open by early February, the 2,500-square-foot studio at 201 Kinderkamack Road in Park Ridge will offer group exercise classes that utilize electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) – a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved wearable technology that packs the benefits of a two-hour workout into a low-impact 25-minute session.
As part of its grand opening, OHM Fitness is offering a complimentary 30-day trial, giving attendees an opportunity to experience the high-tech workout for themselves. Additionally, participants can sign up for a 20% off discounted membership, according to franchisees John and Janet Mok, a husband-wife team from Wayne.
John Mok – who owned and operated three European Wax Center locations for a decade and two Amazing Lash Studios for four years – said, “We are eagerly anticipating the opening of our new facilities.”

“We believe this next generation of fitness will attract the diverse population of northern New Jersey, appealing to health-conscious residents, time-pressed individuals/parents, the tech-minded and those previously concerned or hesitant to engage in traditional gym-based exercise,” he said.
In commenting on their new venture, Janet Mok said, “Once we tried OHM Fitness for ourselves, we instantly knew it would stand out from the rest. It offers a unique value proposition within the fitness industry.”
“The wireless EMS technology allows us to provide both gentle, joint-friendly movements for individuals with musculoskeletal concerns as well as intense, comprehensive workouts for those seeking a deeper physical challenge. Once you slip on the EMPower suit and try a class, you get what all the hype is about,” she said.
Co-founded by Doug Payne, formerly with European Wax Center, Massage Envy and Orangetheory Fitness, OHM Fitness opened its first studio in Arizona in June 2022 and has since sold more than 150 total franchise licenses across 10 territories, including New Jersey.
Within the Garden State, OHM Fitness also plans to open 30 locations over the next three years in partnership with Jake and Alyssa Kapneck, a married couple and franchisee team.
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Fitness
Skip the 10,000 Steps: The One Exercise That Matches a Full Day of Walking, according to a Fitness Coach
On Instagram, Zarina Manaenkova advised taking short intervals of squats could deliver the same impact as a full day of walking. “Ten squats instead of 10 thousand steps,” Zarina’s post read, referencing a study that equated ten squats every 45 minutes with 10,000 steps. Manaenkova explained the science behind her claim, stating, “When your muscles actively contract, they produce very important compounds that influence your brain, metabolism, and even your fat-burning processes. Meanwhile, a simple walk does not have this effect. So, if you want to stay young, squat.”
Fitness
A deload week over Christmas will help you hit your goals, experts say – here’s how
Has the idea of taking a break from your fitness routine this Christmas left you with more fear than cheer? Good news. Rest days are a legitimate cornerstone of muscle recovery – a hard-earned chance to kick back and allow the past week’s gains to catch up with you, and never has there been more reason to do so than now, when Christmas is here, and, TBH, we deserve a bloomin’ break.
Besides letting up on any mental stress you may have amassed over the year, extended breaks from training help keep you motivated and, plot twist, there are also physical benefits that come from switching the squat rack for the sofa. They trigger powerful physical and biochemical changes that help increase your muscle mass over time.
Your body needs regular breaks to adapt to sustained training. It’s not the work itself that brings your goals into fruition – like enhanced muscle mass and a deadlift PB – but the time you spend recovering. The training is just the stimulus; during rest periods you experience a cascade of biochemical, neural and hormonal changes that cement those changes in your body as it’s the time for your muscles to repair and grow back stronger.
If you don’t regularly take time to recharge and regenerate, you simply won’t cash in on the results you’ve already paid for. Play the hero long enough and you could even suffer overtraining syndrome (OTS), the result of excessive muscular, skeletal and joint trauma.
This could cause a rise in circulating monocytes – a type of white blood cell linked to immune function – which leads to:
- Low energy;
- Reduced protein synthesis;
- Poor sleep;
- Reduced performance;
- A drop in hormone production
Pretty much everything you need to ensure muscle growth and energy production get shut down.
You keep training because you want to achieve your goals. But by overtraining you force your body into survival and protection mode instead. To some, a week away from the gym might seem counterintuitive. Two weeks might seem like heresy. However, in reality, it could be your key to success. When you take a week or two off from the gym every 12 weeks or so, your muscles, tendons and ligaments repair themselves, and the glycogen energy stores in your muscles and liver are replenished.
Best of all, you won’t lose any of your hard-won gains: studies show it takes four to six weeks of pure inactivity – we’re talking proper bed/boxset rest here – to see severe catabolic breakdown. After one or two weeks off, you won’t suffer a significant drop in strength, power, body mass or size – or witness a noticeable gain in body fat.
And it takes even longer to see any decline in aerobic capacity, stamina or VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise, according to BUPA). A week without loud, crowded gyms and rushing to get to spin class will also do wonders for your mental freshness.
You’ll feel sharper, your enthusiasm to return to your workouts come January will surge, and you will have neutralised all the tiredness and irritability associated with overdoing it. So cut yourself some slack and plan in a week of (COVID-friendly) festive fun. Truth be told, you’ll do a lot worse by overtraining than you ever could by taking time off.
Expert source: Ian Aylward, lead strength and conditioning coach at Perform St George’s Park
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
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