European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse By Ruth Youngblood United press International executives successful in every venture except keeping themselves fit Are trimming away a with the advice and camaraderie fan exercise consultant who makes House a Van loaded with trampolines bikes weights rowing machines a Cross country ski simulator Treadmill and body Monitor no equipment. Douglas c. Comstock visits the Homes of Busy professionals whose careers have outpaced their bodies. These people realize the importance of fitness but it s the last thing Hoy have time for Comstock said. Still they Don t want to look or feel like As president of a firm providing health and maintenance programs at corporations the 30-year-old Comstock said he noticed those who did t attend the sessions were often lop executives who needed the exercise the most. Endless successions of business conferences phone Calls and trips were keeping Many from participating in any exercise program Comstock said. What they needed was a personalized professional service in their Homes regardless of the hour. Although an initial attempt to generate interest by mailing 2,500 letters to prominent executives failed to spark a single response Comstock was t discouraged. While visiting firms during the fitness classes Comstock talked about bringing his state of the Art sports equipment to the houses of corporate clients. The proposal spread by word of Mouth and soon aroused the curiosity of enough men and women to keep Comstock and three instructors Busy from Dawn until late at night. The key factors Are time and Comstock said. They Don t have enough hours in their Days to exercise at a club and they always feel there is something else Thoy could or should be the enthusiastic one on one participation and encouragement of Comstock or his instructors All with degrees in physical education provides the motivation frenzied professionals need. Richard Brenion a 40-year-old Developer of shopping centers and office buildings who also produces Rock n Roll concerts maintains the kind of hectic Pace typical of Comstock s clients. An admitted sports machine Bronson said i was the kind of Guy who got excited ran out and bought All the equipment i could find but could never Force myself to use it. My Home was a sportsman s Paradise. I must have signed up for six different courses at health centers and never showed up he added. Bronson met his Mentor at a sports equipment show where he went to buy a new Treadmill. Doug said he would t sell me one. That what i needed was motivation not fancy Bronson decided to give the 13-week program a try providing Comstock showed up at his Home at 5 45 . I needed discipline and he put together a plan that worked Bronson said adding he lost 20 pounds has Tower blood pressure and is More relaxed. Alter finding Success in the one area that had eluded him Bronson admitted Comstock s concept of gradually increasing exercise was hardest to Tollow at the beginning. I m kind of compulsive and it was very frustrating starting off slow and then quickening the Pace. I wanted to do everything faster and Doug had to hold me Back Erma Bombeck saturday november 30, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 exercise consultants direct at Home workouts House Calls for fitness t a or new York times Woholo an Duwve get a Ham wort oof from an afr Obici int tractor. La t the new Way of keeping trim. In dealing with Success driven people Comstock says he has tried to develop a program that s practically fail proof. He contacts his clients doctors to learn if there Are any special problems and every session begins by measuring physical dimensions. As Comstock guides each participant through the hour of stretching weight lifting and aerobics he logs pulse rates intensity of workouts repetitions and durations and makes recommendations for the next class. But he also makes sure the participant has fun. By alternating Between the different pieces of equipment exercising with them coaxing and shouting insistence on meeting goals is an essential for the program to work. If you have a Guy pounding on your door at 6 o clock in the morning three Days a week there s not much you can Comstock said they re paying me $45 an hour for motivation. And that s How i get you can t open a paper or Leaf through a Magazine anymore without a travel Agency beckoning you to go on a tour. Not just an Ordinary sightseeing tour but one geared toward your particular interest. You crave chocolate you can travel to Switzerland and stay until your skin Breaks out. Romance novel aficionado rub elbows with the likes of Barbara Cartland. Shopper they la Book you in a grand sweep from harrods to Bloomingdale s with a medical doctor in attendance who will treat you for credit card Burns. There Are theater Tours mystery junkets Art excursions and historical Battleground expeditions. I be had Rny Lair share of Tours lingering in the louvre Lor 16 minutes putting the Luggage outside the room at 5 30 ., chatting for hours about your irregularities. Something happens to a woman who eats 17 Continental breakfasts in 19 countries in 14 Days. She is never the same warm fun Loving seeker of Beauty she was when she was Young. Frankly you could t Budge me out of my chair unless someone comes out with a sleep tour. Now wait a minute Don t Tell me there Aren t thousands of people out there who want nothing More from a vacation than to do what they can Nevei do at Home. Sack out. We could Start Oft in my. Vernon a. Where George Washington slept and then push on whenever everyone got dressed and read to go to upper new York state along the Hudson River where the Patron Saint of sleepers rip Van Winkle dozed off. In a Day or two when we All rested up from lunch we d drop off in Washington d.c., and visit Congress where life is real Laid Back and a lot of people nod off and we could join them from the visitors gallery. For those still Able to function we could go to London and visit the site where Ebenezer Scrooge slept and dreamed of christmases past present and future. Maybe when we had gotten a Lull head of steam we could go to Russia Board a train Sleeper of course for Moscow and sleep through a russian Ballet. The sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky. I see it As a Leisure trip spanning Lour or five weeks sleeping in every morning and falling asleep in some comfortable chair somewhere at night. No one would be expected to carry on a conversation and the Only time you d hear a voice would be if someone talked in his sleep. Usually they get some celebrity to go along to give the tour a flavor. I can think of no one More fitting than Robert Mitchum. I never know ii he is asleep or awake anyway. I daresay it is one trip where you d arrive Home rested and refreshed Lor a change ready to tace your Job and your responsibilities head on. And As your husband settles Down in his chair comatose at 9 30 p.m., what a wanta bet he sighs and says. It s Good to get Home and
