The New Frontier: Fitness for the Face

Think your fitness routine works all your body’s muscle groups? What about the muscles of your face?

Sports Club/LA in Washington, D.C., offers a 30-minute class, called Face Val U, said to help firm--and improve blood flow to--muscles with names you may never have heard, such as the platysma of the neck and frontalis of the forehead.

Valeria Georgescu’s “nonsurgical face-lift” exercises are designed to tighten and tone facial muscles, which stretch and tighten the skin, thereby easing the appearance of wrinkles. The veteran fitness instructor began offering the classes several months ago after watching aerobics students squint and pinch their faces while working out.

“It works for busy people at lunch. You don’t have to change, you don’t sweat, and you can come in any type of clothes,” said Bobby Mellott, the club’s group exercise manager.

Sports Club/LA hopes to begin offering similar classes at its locations in Los Angeles and New York.

But you do need to do your homework for best results. Students are advised to attend at least two classes each week and to do the 20-minute program on their own twice weekly.

--Jane E. Allen