Athens SportsFit: More Than A Place To Lift Weights, It’s A Community

The 2015 year will bring more than a clean slate, it will offer 365 days of opportunity to help you reach your fitness and health goals. SportsFit of Athens wants to assist in putting those goals into action! Over 200 fitness classes are offered each month in its 24-hour fitness facility. It maintains an indoor pool, whirlpool and sauna, with free childcare included and tanning available. In addition, there are personal trainers on site and we utilize Cybex equipment. SportsFit has the tools to help accomplish your goals for the New Year.

Athens Facility Director Phil Snyder said SportsFit puts emphasis on family and the community because Encore/SportsFit is a family-owned and operated business. “Encore is a family run business, and SportsFit is no different,” Snyder said. “That is the type of atmosphere that we are going for, where everyone who comes in feels comfortable. We are striving to be a location to fit all of the sides to the community.”

SportsFit offers group exercise classes ranging in different paces and intensity levels, led by nationally certified instructors. The classes include Zumba, CycleFit, Pilates, Yoga, Strength Training, Abs, Step, as well as water aerobics classes. An array of cardiovascular machines, including treadmills, ellipticals, arc trainers, upright bikes and recumbent bikes are also available to help modify each workout. The exclusive aquatics area features a large indoor pool with a year-round temperature at 88 degrees. Our pool welcomes you to participate in lap swimming, walking, or scheduled aqua aerobics classes. The area also includes a whirlpool and sauna.

Strength training systems and free weights are also available on site to train specific muscle groups, and are the optimal way to build a dynamic, cut physique. The gym offers more than just classes, free weights, and machines. It also encourages its members to dive into several competitions put on by the facility each year.

“Each year during March Madness, we have a four-week cardiovascular driven competition where gym members compete in pairs of two, logging cardio miles they have completed,” Snyder said. “Teams are set up against each other in a bracket style format, so it’s a head to head competition and it goes through an elimination process of total miles against total miles. About six years ago, the team who won loaded up about 700 miles; that was excessive and usually the numbers aren’t that high, but that’s the idea.” Snyder said the process includes team members logging all completed cardio miles within the gym, on equipment such as the treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical, and receive five miles for each completed fitness class. The members pay a $5 fee to join the March Madness competition, and receive a free T-shirt for doing so.

“The winners of the competition receive a three month credit for their membership applied to their account,” Snyder said. “So, it’s a fun way to motivate the members and get them involved at the facility. We have another contest during the fall around the time of the Alabama/Auburn game. It’s more laid back than the March Madness competition. It just requires all Alabama and Auburn fans (if they wish to log their miles and participate), to simply keep up with the amount of miles they do while they are at the gym. At the end of the competition, we just tally up the number of miles. Alabama won the competition this year. My goal would be to have 5-6 competitions throughout the year to keep the members involved, and give them new opportunities to set goals for themselves. We would also have incentives to help encourage them to reach their goals.”

A distinguishing characteristic that allows SportsFit to stick out from the rest of “gym crowd” is its well-rounded facility of all mindsets, body types, and personalities. “With every workout facility, you have your gym members who are in and out at the same time on a consistent basis, you have those who come in sparingly, but are still fairly consistent, and then you have those who come in rarely,” Snyder said. “Those people that are committed and always come in at the same time, who make it a routine in their life, you want those people to be a part of your gym, because they are the blood of the gym, and they keep everything else flowing. Others may call them exercise nuts, but the truth is, they come in to workout and they set the tone. They spend time continually bettering themselves, and can feed off of one another. I consider them to be one of the most important assets to the gym because they keep everything going. They promote a positive work environment, and they are your ‘word of mouth’ around the town. You want those people as a part of your location.”

Athens Sports Fit is continually involved with community events such as the Chick-Fil-A 5k taking place in April. “We sponsored a booth at the Chick-Fil-A 5K last year and that’s one of the ways we like to get our name out in the community,” Snyder said. All in all, SportsFit of Athens has something to offer everyone, and the time is coming for new faces to join.

“January is usually the busiest time of the year, the first three months of the year involve those that are making New Year’s resolutions and setting goals for themselves,” Snyder said. “The last three months are also busy, but not like the first three. The middle section of the year is your slower time. People want to take advantage of the nice weather and do things outdoors, so that’s when we see fewer people in the gym. During that six month section of the year is when you find out who your hardcore gym nuts are.” Snyder has been an employee of SportsFit for three years and the facility director for six months.

Whether you’re looking to lose 10 pounds or 100, tone or body-build, train for a marathon, or take a Spinning class, SportsFit is the location to do so. All new members receive a free training session or set-up with a certified personal trainer. Commit to being fit in 2015 and join SportsFit as we strive to help build a better you!

Contact Athens SportsFit at 256-233-3994 for more information, or visit www.sportsfitwellness.com.
By: Jonathan Henderson