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New Fitness Trend, Private Workouts  |
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Jaime Brenkus has heard every excuse in the book on why people can’t get to the gym.
Brenkus, the fitness expert who pioneered the 8-Minute Abs program, said that many of his current fitness clients used just about any excuse they could to justify not working out.
“But I was eventually able to ferret out the truth,” Brenkus said. “And it wasn’t the usual litany of how they couldn’t afford it or didn’t have the time. With most of them, it boiled down to the fact that they were so out of shape, they were embarrassed to go to a gym and work out in front of strangers.”
And that gave Brenkus an idea.
“The problem was twofold,” said Brenkus, now founder of the national chain of Slim & FIT Centers (www.slimandfit.com), which combine weight loss counseling with personalized, private fitness training. “People were lacking serious weight loss counseling, which is an important part of getting fit. So, on top of the fact they were too shy to go to a public gym, they weren’t dieting, either. So, I thought it would be a good idea to solve both problems with a single destination -- a weight loss center that offered personalized counseling alongside a training center that enabled people to work out on all their favorite equipment in private.”
The idea is catching on, Brenkus has sold 21 franchises in 2010, with locations open in 7 major U.S. cities, including Phoenix, Columbus, Philadelphia, Birmingham, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Nashville.
According to Brenkus, the studio is not set up like most gyms, there are partitions in between each piece of equipment, and each Slim and Fit member works with a personal trainer to move through their particular workout routine one machine at a time, which afford them -- and every other member -- the guidance of personalized attention along with the comfort of a private workout.
“Too many of the big chain fitness centers have become almost like meat markets,” Brenkus added. “Look around, and you don’t really see anyone there who is out of shape. They go there to work out and also to show off a little, and maybe even meet people for more social purposes. That’s why so many people who are in need of a gym never go, because they feel out of place, as if every eye in the club is on them. It’s a vicious circle -- they’d work out if they looked better, but they can’t look any better until they work out.”
In addition, most gyms don’t offer any kind of weight loss or nutritional counseling, which is an integral part of any kind of fitness program.
“We can run through every fad diet there is, and most doctors will still tell you that the only way to truly lose weight and get healthy is to eat smart and exercise more,” Brenkus said. “My solution was to create a single destination where people could do both, with personalized guidance so it is effective, and a private setting so they are more comfortable and more inclined to come in and keep showing up.”
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