“Believe in yourself. You must do that which you think you cannot.”
Eleanor Roosevelt’s inspirational words are found on a photo of New York City marathoners prominently displayed at Fitness Together, a personal training studio at 145 Elmgrove Ave., on Providence’s East Side.
Challenging clients to reach their full physical potential is just one aspect of the business. It specializes in one-on-one, customized fitness and health training, designed to meet the particular needs and desires of each person who walks through the door.
“We help improve the quality of people’s lives by working on their functional abilities,” explains owner Lisa D. Helfrich. “We’re all about results, that’s all we do.”
You can tell Fitness Together, which has four franchised locations in Rhode Island, is not your granddad’s gym as soon as you walk into the homey reception area.
A bowl of fruit sits on an antique wooden table, near the bottled water and fresh, white towels. Plants in decorative baskets dot the entryway, near the fancy wrought-iron mirror and comfortable bench with plush, velvet cushions. A hint of incense seems to linger in the air, far different from the usual smell one finds in a gym.
“There’s no cookie-cutter (approach) here,” Helfrich assures, as she leads a visitor on a tour through what she calls “the cardiovascular area.” The area includes three individual training rooms and the remarkably clean and home-like bathroom and shower room.
Three separate training rooms make it easy for the Fitness Together team to work with clients one-on-one in a relatively private setting. Each training room has a variety of equipment, including free weights.
With a team of seven fitness professionals, both men and women, Fitness Together is geared to helping each client individually, but can accommodate up to 10 people at once in semi-private sessions.
Clients at her studio, Helfrich says, run the gamut from those who have exercised at large gyms and are tired of assembly-line methods, to the woman in her 40s who never worked out a day in her life but needs help now to lose weight, for instance, or improve her flexibility.
She mentions a couple planning a hiking trip to Nepal who came to Fitness Together to get in shape for the arduous trek. Women who are about to be married, or women whose daughters or sons are heading to the altar, will come to her studio to make sure they look their best for the big day. And that goes for men, as well.
The problem with the big gyms, Helfrich says, is that you can go there, with no personal plan in place, work out day and night on all kinds of equipment, but never know for sure if you are achieving the results you need.
“It’s like throwing a dart at the wall with your eyes closed,” she says. “You might hit the target, but chances are good that you’re not going to hit the bull’s eye.”
“A complete and comprehensive fitness assessment” is done on each new client, Helfrich explains, that covers such factors as height, weight, cardiovascular capacity, flexibility, balance, strength, coordination and muscle endurance. The client decides what areas he or she wants to improve, and progress is tracked with reviews about every six weeks.
Helfrich recommends a “barebones, minimum commitment” of three months for the best results. “We find most of our clients who get the results they want are here three or four days a week” for 45-minute sessions, usually always working with the same fitness coach. The seven fitness professionals at Fitness Together in Providence are all certified by the state of Rhode Island and most have four-year degrees in exercise science or a related field, according to Helfrich.
A native of Greenwich, Conn., Helfrich graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She worked for 18 years in corporate fitness management, including 15 years with Pro Health and three years with Perfectly Fit Corporate Services, both in Rhode Island.
“I decided when I was turning 40,” she says, “if I wanted to do something different with my life, now was the time.” So the 43-year-old Helfrich opened her franchised East Side studio Aug. 8, 2005.
Sessions aren’t cheap, costing $58 to $68 per 45 minutes.
But Helfrich argues that finding the extra funds is a worthwhile investment because one’s entire quality of life can be improved. Her team of trainers also help with nutrition, pain management and lifestyle changes. •
COMPANY PROFILE: Fitness Together
OWNER: Lisa D. Helfrich
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Health and
fitness training
LOCATION: 145 Elmgrove Ave., Providence
EMPLOYEES: 7
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2005
ANNUAL SALES: Close to $375,000
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