NEIGHBORS

Fitness Fanatics: A Member-Focused Health Club

By Hank Walshak
Has this ever happened to you? You buy a membership in a gym and make plans to start exercising there. But when the time comes, you start thinking of all the people who might have better bodies than yours and who know more
about what they are doing than you. Before long, you start to feel intimidated. Well, take heart. Don’t feel bad. Your reaction is a
common one.

“When I’m out of town and find myself looking at an exercise facility at a hotel or somewhere nearby, I get a little bit nervous, and I’ve been in the fitness business for fourteen years,” says Lisa Troyer, owner of Fitness Fanatics in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.

“If somebody like me is intimidated, then I know the average person is sure to feel this way.”

Lisa started Fitness Fanatics in 2001, fulfilling a years-long dream of owning her own health club. “I had worked out most of my life before I went into business, and had spent time as a fitness instructor when my children were very small. This was the perfect thing for me to do then as a stay-at-home mom,” she says.

Over time, she realized how put off people were about joining a gym. She developed a vision of an exercise facility that was member and service focused, not sales driven. She wanted to own a health club where she and her staff would concentrate on building relationships with clients and on creating comfort zones for all types of people.

With friendly personnel, seven personal trainers, and six other staff members of Fitness Fanatics, Lisa now puts the emphasis on creating a welcoming, warm and fuzzy, non-intimidating atmosphere for members. In fact, if you are a member of Fitness Fanatics and do not work out there for a while, you are likely to get a postcard from Lisa or a staff member asking how you are and when you will be back.

“Because Fitness Fanatics is a small club, we know people by name. And once people make an initial visit, they see that this is a good place to be, that they are not out of place, and that there are people here who look like they do. It’s not all hard bodies,” says Troyer.

When you speak with Lisa, it does not take long to see that she is more than a fitness coach pushing club members to do more reps. She is a care-giving person who finds professional fulfillment from helping members reach their personal fitness goals.

“Helping and witnessing people get fit and healthy and keep their fitness is very rewarding for me. When they hit their exercise and fitness levels, I know that I am a part of that. This is huge for me, especially when I help someone overcome an adversity,” she says.

People come to Fitness Fanatics burdened with any number of adversities. A mother who recently gave birth and now wants to lose some weight. An individual who has never run a formal race and now wants to run her first 10K race. A young man who suffers from knee injuries he received playing high school sports. An older woman with a shoulder injury. An older man who lacks confidence in his ability to participate in a formal exercise program. People with diabetes and high blood pressure, and even members who have experienced multiple bypass surgery.

Many different types of people come to exercise at Fitness Fanatics and once here, they find, to their surprise, that they can do much more than they originally thought. “One of the biggest adversities people have is thinking they simply cannot find the time to exercise. Once they begin working here at Fitness Fanatics with me or one of my staff, they see that the problem is really re-arranging their priorities and choices to include exercise,” says Troyer.

“When people tell me they don’t have time to exercise, I think of all the people at our club at 6:00 a.m. when our gym is at one of its busiest hours. And I think, ‘Are the people who tell me this busier than the people who are working out here at 6:00 a.m.?’”

Some Fitness Fanatics members turn to Lisa for personal coaching, an activity she is passionate about. “Some people lack the personal discipline to keep themselves consistently on an exercise program. But when you work with a trainer, you’re scheduled in. You have an appointment to meet as you do for other important activities.

And a trainer makes sure you get in your other workouts as well,” says Troyer. Statistics show that individuals who work with a personal trainer achieve personal results 45 percent faster than those who do not. Working with a professional trainer means that you and your trainer set goals and activities to complete ahead of time. You work out more efficiently according to an exercise prescription specific to what you want to achieve.

“You reach your goals quicker with a trainer because you have someone who is knowledgeable, who can push you further than you ever dreamed you could go, and who builds accountability into your fitness program. You work more efficiently. You don’t waste time at the gym trying to decide what to do next,” Troyer says.

She emphasizes that without a trainer, many people do the same things over and over. This approach builds up immunity to the same, repetitive exercise routines, and eventually their bodies plateau. “A trainer helps to overload the body progressively with a variety of activities and to raise a person’s fitness level gradually, one level at a time,” she says.

Whether people want to work out by themselves or with a trainer, Lisa Troyer’s Fitness Fanatics accommodates their individual, fitness needs. Just as important, this is a health club members come to without ever feeling the least bit intimidated. Lisa makes sure of that.

Lisa Troyer has been in the fitness industry for over 13 years and is owner of Fitness Fanatics in the Great Southern Shopping Center. Her four current international fitness certifications include IFPA, AFAA, CCAC & Madd Dogg Athletics. You may reach her at 412-220-4190 or at fitnessfanatics@msn.com. The website is www.fitnessfanaticsinc.com.