Jess Tries It: Contrast Therapy

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — Usually when WWAY anchor Jessica Keisling walks into a gym for “Jess Tries It,” someone is about to make her work.

This time, she was told to recover.

Lakeside Fitness is the vision of husband-and-wife team Briana and Cameron Bagbey, who built the Wilmington gym with high-end equipment, specialty machines and features designed for serious lifters.

But the couple says the foundation of the business goes beyond fitness.

The Bagbeys have been together since they were 19 and say their Christian faith has guided their marriage and the business they have built together.

“I’ll be honest, I think if anything it’s just brought us closer together,” Briana Bagbey said.

She said even when building the gym means long hours, she sees those sacrifices as something Cameron is doing for their future.

“When he puts in these long hours, he’s also doing it for me,” she said. “He’s doing everything that he can to reach his goals and dreams, and that’s all I would ever want.”

Keisling visited Lakeside to try the gym’s new recovery suite, which members can access for an additional $25 a month.

The suite includes pneumatic compression boots, red light therapy, cold-water immersion and a sauna.

Pneumatic compression boots use air pressure around the legs and are commonly used after exercise. Potential benefits can include improved blood flow, reduced swelling, less muscle soreness and a faster feeling of recovery.

Red light therapy, also called photobiomodulation, uses low-level red or near-infrared light to stimulate cellular activity. Research suggests it may have potential benefits for areas including skin health, pain and inflammation, muscle recovery and hair growth.

“This recovery thing isn’t so bad,” Keisling said while trying the treatments.

Then came the cold plunge.

Cold-water immersion is commonly used for exercise recovery, with research suggesting potential benefits including reduced soreness after strenuous exercise, reduced inflammation and increased alertness.

The cold water quickly put Keisling’s confidence to the test.

“How cold is this thing?” she asked before getting into the plunge.

The final stop was the sauna.

Alternating between cold and heat is a form of contrast therapy. Researchers are still studying exactly what additional recovery benefits alternating temperatures may provide, though potential benefits associated with sauna use include improved circulation, muscle recovery and better sleep.

Beyond the recovery room, the Bagbeys say Lakeside Fitness represents something they have built together.

When asked what Briana brought to the business that he could not have built without her, Cameron pointed to her support.

“Her faithfulness and just support,” he said. “She’s brought a level of peace that honestly I didn’t think was possible.”

For Keisling, the experience also came with one final lesson.

“I’ve officially decided recovery is hard work, too,” she said.