Fit to Print Volume 23 Issue 2: June 2014 | Page 31

We’ll Try Anything Once!
continued from page 17

T

I call this place "The Cocoon". It's like this place apart where people come and are transformed.

here are those in the FI family
great happiness and benefit. That's why I,
who, like a number of our
and all of us really, can say truthfully, "We
veteran once." I personally can
will try anything members, can correctly
trace it identify to that first class. Waiting
all back themselves as having
been here since the very beginning. The
on line for Spin and taking that leap. That
difference is that
was 10 years ago. for some, “the
beginning” means not just the beginning
And then, once I'd entered into the class
culturegym,was able, the
of the and but also
and comfortable, taking
beginning of their lives!
advanced kids, this
Mari
For most classes, I'd
take Cor's class. or twoso
meant an hour And it a
impressed me how she
day in the nursery while
knew everyone's name,
mom worked out. But
and Erin Boyle, Jourdan
for was so encouraging,
even when she was
Brown and Kelsey
correcting you. You
Peacock, whose parents
understood that it was
were employees of FI,
for your benefit. It was
growing up “fitness”
never, like, "Oh no, she's
was their out. Don't
calling me life. They call
spent hours never felt
me out!" You everyday at
the when Cor addressed
bad gym together,
alternating between
you directly...called you
the You would think and
out. nursery and their
appreciate how
moms. Bonds like that
wonderful and supportive
are not easily broken,
she was. “Three Amigas”
and the It was
sometimes tough to to
remain like sisters
Dave
believe that in a packed
this day:
room she'd even know
your name. Yet she did!
Frances
Jourdie: My earliest
All the time.
memory of the gym
DP: One thing that's
definitely occurs while
always stayed with me
we were when first
from backstill onI Main
Street. 2004 that
joined inThis was before
there had been any
impressed me was the
expansion. The gym was
excellence of the staff. I
still very to observe
happened basic with Jen
visitors coaching
DiPalma entering and
seeing the a treadmill.
someone onwall with the
She was talking the
clothing, the little
Amanda
member through the and
desk, the big room,
routine, giving the back,
the nursery in
visualizations be where
which has to during the
hardest part memory
my earliest of the run,
and I thought, "Wow,
occurs. We were there
she's just so hours a day,
probably 8 committed
to that person." It just
every day, with maybe
struck me at the time
1/2 hour away from the
and has remained with
room for lunch. What
me ever since. It's just I
remember most is the
one example of howthe
constant planning and plotting on their
trainers kind of take their clientsof our
escape from the nursery. the finish was
backs and help them get to Each day line.
like an episode of Rugrats. And doing
FV: When I first joined, I had been one of
the main destinations of and I distinctly
Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga,our plans for
escape was the bathroom, which was
remember my very first non-yoga class,
which was Carol's rebounding class on a
attractive because it was anywhere but
Monday. And itself... Likeoff in my corner,
the nursery there I was, we were gonna’
laughing hysterically because this freedom.
somehow flush ourselves out to class was
so muchwhile, they justwhat I hadletting
After a the opposite of stopped been
doing to that bathroom. They put a room
us go to the point in the quiet yoga limit
andtrips to the bathroom. They caught on
on environment. There was loud music,
and a lot of that our constant bathroom
to the fact energy and activity...it was
intimidating but a whole lot of fun. And
requests were just excuses to get out of
from that day forward, I have found myself
the nursery.
responding to the classes, effectively to the
Erin: The bathroom, I had been doing
exclusion of the thingsand the Massage
Room, I'm We would escape there.
before.too.all about the flow of the class,

and the intensity of it. I started taking
Cor's classes, and just as Mari said, she
learned my name and never forgot it,
and called me out, but never in a way
that was remotely embarrassing or
uncomfortable...the fact was, you were
left wanting to make sure that in the
next class, you would do a little bit
better, and Cor would notice (she almost
always did!) and you knew you were
getting better.
Of course all along, as you are taking
these advanced Cor and Kelly classes,
you never stopped thinking, "OK, when is
this going to be over? Can you please end
this now?” One time I was so frustrated
that I grabbed an orange juice and sat in
the café on a couch. "Oh man," I thought,
“I so want to be one of those people who
can get through the entire class!" It took
a little time, but now I obnoxiously
position myself right up front just so I
can push myself harder with no
distractions (LOL)!
Fitness Incentive is so much about the
intimacy, and feeling as though you
belong to a really special club—not just a
"health club" but the kind of club that
satisfies on so many different levels.
Fitness, of course, but also mental,
emotional, social...I'm so devoted to it
and it's such a part of my daily and
weekly routines that I call it my "work."
My husband will ask me, "Did you go to
'work' today?" It's the kind of place that
just makes you want to show up and be
here every day, because you're held
accountable by so many people who
know you and know your name and see
you in class every day. You want to go
and you want to see those people—every
day. To mutually confirm that you are
there, that you are giving your all. As
opposed to other gyms I visited where
nobody knew your name and the
atmosphere was so much more...sterile
and corporate.
DP: I had a membership at another gym,
a corporate chain, for a short time. The
vibe was very different. A lot of the
members seemed to spend a lot of time
checking one another out, whereas at
Fitness Incentive there's much more of a
"getting to know one another" sensibility.
Here, you feel as though you're part of a
group of like-minded and mutually
supportive people—a community. There,
you felt as though you were in a kind of
fishbowl, yet there was no real
interaction, even in small group training
settings. People kind of came in, did
their thing, and left. Small groups at
Fitness Incentive almost become like
little families who get to know one
another in ways that transcend the
immediate demands of the workout.
People get to know each other better,
and look out for one another.
AP: There's also much more of a family
atmosphere of Fitness Incentive. You

Summer 2014 FIT to Print

never get the sense that you are in a "meat
market" or muscle-head environment. Nor
have I found a clique-ish, catty
environment either. A lot of families—whole
families—moms with children, brothers and
sisters, husbands and wives…they are all
here, often together. And even the guys
here seem to be mostly husbands, and
fathers, and brothers…not meatheads but
regular, decent people! It's definitely
refreshing knowing that you can work out
comfortably and relaxed without having to
be concerned about being ogled in your
tight spandex pants while you're bending
and stretching.
FV: I used to belong to a lot of different
gyms where the population was kind of
dominated by meathead-type guys, and
Fitness Incentive is absolutely nothing like
that. I never feel intimidated here; never
feel like I'm being “checked out.”
MN: By the same token, even though the
population is mostly women, it isn't as
though they are out there lifting "girlie
weights." The women who are out on the
floor lifting—a place where you might feel
intimidated at other gyms—are really
pushing heavy weight. They're serious about
what they're doing, but the environment is
never one of judgment, but one of
empowerment. This has always really
impressed me. You just don't have the
sense that there are, sort of,
"territories"—spaces for men and separate
ones for women. Fitness Incentive women
are tough!
The four of us work out together often. We
all do Power X Fit together, Amanda and I
are partners in Jump and Drill, Fran does
jump and drill...
DP: We work out together as a small group,
but will also pair off, with two doing one
thing and two doing another...
FV: We'll come in and take a class together
or do strength training together.
AP: And we've taken this group concept into
this year's Fit for Summer contest. Mari
and I were in a previous contest together—
DP: —and by extension so was I, because
they were eating so healthfully that I had
no choice but to eat that way too!
FV: I call this place "The Cocoon". It's like
this place apart where people come and
are transformed. I'll bring my mom here
and my stepmother, who are both fairly
active, and they will be, like, "Oh my gosh.
This place is amazing!" All these women…a
lot of them are mothers, a lot of them have
been doing this for many years, and they
are just so amazingly fit. Such tremendous
strength and endurance...they inspire you.
They inspire you to be like them at some
point.
AP: Fitness Incentive has changed my life
for the better 100%. If I go back just 10 or
12 years ago, when I was in high school,
and I think about how I would skip gym
class, and couldn't run a mile, was not
active at all and would scoff at the idea of
exercise, and then contrast it with today...I
exercise every day and feel badly if I miss a
day. I absolutely love it. I've made the best
friends. Fitness Incentive has definitely
become my lifestyle and I expect it to
remain my lifestyle going forward. And for
that I'm super thankful.

31