‘New’ fitness trends have a familiar look
By Renee Stewart
Fourteen percent of the population, at best, engages in structured and consistent exercise on a weekly basis, according to a local fitness trainer and business owner.
That figure only magnifies Lonna Mosow’s commitment to fitness when you consider that she’s been in the field for more than 35 years and is often credited for introducing the Twin Cities to group fitness, Pilates and Gyrotonic regimes.
The Minnetonka resident was born in Colorado and lived in Eden Prairie in the 1970s. In 1972, she introduced the Twin Cities to the television workout program, Figure Fitness, which ran for more than 12 years. She opened her fitness facility in 1974 in Edina, before moving to its current Eden Prairie location on City West Parkway in 1989. The Lonna Mosow Workout Studio features a fitness facility with classes, equipment, massage therapy and a boutique. In addition, the facility houses the Lonna Mosow Center for Mind Body Fitness, which also opened in 1989.
To say that Mosow has been involved with fitness for 35 years is not exactly accurate. Her fitness appetite was whetted at a very young age. Beginning when she was only 6 years old, Mosow studied dance and continued with local, amateur companies, and later studied in New York in the 1960s.
Her perspective on the fitness world comes from the dual spectrums of a business owner and as an active participant, thus she has witnessed firsthand the industry’s growth and changes.
“There’s been a whole evolution of fitness,” Mosow observed, noting that fitness began as a passive experience – hop on the machine, wrap the vibrating belt around the hips, and wait for the pounds to wriggle, jiggle free.
Personal trainers were far off on the horizon, and, “It was up to the individual to sort through things,” Mosow said. She also felt programs were basically based on techniques developed in high school gym classes and military venues – great for some, but not for the masses.
Then, along came Dr. Kenneth Cooper, who published the groundbreaking book “Aerobics” in 1968, changing the way millions of Americans thought about their personal fitness, sparking the realization that creating a healthy cardio workout was important.
Mosow said group workout classes began to pop up, and she introduced the Twin Cities to that concept in the 1970s. Exercise suddenly suited up with new movements and thumping soundtracks and became more dynamic, educational, instructional and social.
Health clubs began morphing into “all in one” centers, complete with workout facilities, racquet courts, cafes, salons and business meeting venues.
Along the way, personal training evolved, but it all began with house calls.
“We went to people instead of them coming to us,” Mosow recalled.
Today, people can go to fitness clubs and seek out trainers who are more skilled, educated and able to tailor a more personalized regime. Interestingly, those group workouts are changing, too, and are mimicking outdoor activities – spinning and rowing classes mirror biking and crew fitness and trekking on the treadmill has all the earmarks of a power walk or run.
Mosow observed that fitness programs are targeting the needs of the adults, who are more and more facing a host of physical issues related to aging, and youth, who might need to address weight and other physical issues.
“We’re also looking at more of a full service,” Mosow said, adding that trainers are becoming more specialized and developing an alignment with the medical community. This marriage of medicine and fitness could find rehabilitation and post surgery needs met in a fitness environment, she said, with doctors’ recommendations turning into prescriptions for fitness and exercise programs.
Mosow has been in business long enough to realize, “You have to be on top of the game,” she said. “I’m kind of a visionary. I’m really looking ahead. You need to look ahead to know where you need to take people.
“My mission is to help people shape their lives and that means mind, body and spirit.”
As she’s watched the fitness world evolve, Mosow has noticed a pattern – a cycle that is completing itself. For example, Pilates, while new to some, is 80 years old. Exercises or fitness trends might appear with a new name or a different look, but Mosow said you can’t get too far away from the basics.
“A sit up is a sit up no matter what prop you use or what machine you sit on,” she said.
Whatever direction trends or the exercise flavor of the month may be, Mosow seems determined to stay abreast of the fitness world as long as it continues to meet her mission – “I’m genuinely committed to helping people shape their lives.”

Lonna Mosow
Lonna Mosow, who is sometimes referred to as the “Mother of Twin Cities Fitness,” holds a variety of credentials, including certification through ACE – Personal Trainer and Group Workout; the AFAA; the Physicalmind Institute; and the Pilates Method Alliance. She is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise, the American Aerobic Fitness Association, the Physicalmind Institute, the Pilates Method Alliance Inc., and the International Dance and Exercise Association (IDEA). Her professional credits include co-authoring the New York Times bestseller “How to Trim your Hips and Shape your Thighs;” creating and starring in “Plane Aerobics,” an in-flight workout video for Northwest Airlines; and creating The Custom Workout, a one-of-a-kind custom-designed personal workout video (Travel Companion), according to her Web site www.lonnamosow.com. Additional information is available by calling 952-941-9448.