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Don't call it a gym

flexxfitness expands to accommodate more individual goals
Friday, July 1, 2005

By KATHLEEN DREESSEN
Register Correspondent

Forget how you visualize a gym. Tricia Houston and D'Nyse Schafer, owners of Flexx Fitness in Napa, don't even use the "g" word when describing their business. "It's a fitness facility," said Schafer and grinned. "We consider what we do to be lifestyle enhancement, whether our client wants to improve at sports or is a grandmother who wants to play with her grandchildren."

The fitness company doubled its square footage in a recent move to Third Street (next to Harbison Appliance), allowing it to bring in more equipment and increase the number of fitness classes offered. "We have yoga, Pilates, turbo kick, spin and circuit deck," said Houston. "We keep the classes small, five to 10 people max, so that the instructors can focus on the client.

Even the spin classes are unlike anything offered at other exercise clubs -- they're quiet. "Everyone wears a headset that connects to a wireless receiver, so other clients aren't interrupted in their workouts," Schafer said.

Their Freemotion exercise equipment works multiple muscles as opposed to a one-dimensional, up-down, type of exercise.

Houston and Schafer met while working out at a traditional gym. "We saw the same people doing the same exercises day after day and not getting results," said Schafer, who was then a hairstylist. The pair decided they could do it better, by stressing nutrition and varying clients' workouts.

"We have five components," said Houston, who was formerly a massage therapist. Nutrition is the key component, which the do stress includes carbs, protein and fat. The other components are cardio work, food supplements including multivitamins and antioxidants, resistance training to build lean muscle and personal training."

Even nutrition is given a special spin at Flexx Fitness. Clients can track their caloric intake using conventional food logs, or they can use a new Web-based system manufactured by Apex Nutrition Systems, "bodybugg." Bodybugg is a high-tech armband motion detector that monitors such things as heat, sweat rate and exercise. The armband feeds the data into a computer linked to a Web interface and generates a individual report showing how many calories the wearer has burned off and calculates how many more he or she needs to burn to reach a daily goal.

The sophisticated system contains nutritional information for tens of thousands of food products and can even tell if the wearer is warm from being in the sun or warm from a workout. Flexx Fitness is the exclusive dealer for bodybugg.

New clients are carefully questioned on lifestyle and goals to plan an individualized course of exercise and nutrition. Everyone takes a walk test to establish his or her baseline of fitness. "We want everyone to do the least amount possible for the most amount of change," Houston said. "Some people want to lose weight, or get better at a sport or just be healthier. We focus on core strength, which is the center of the body, to train the internal muscles so the rest of the body feels stronger."

Schafer demonstrated on one of their Freemotion machines how it can be adapted for improving muscles used in golf swings, water skiing, baseball or pushing a grocery cart. "We then add the element of an unstable surface, because we live in an unstable environment, whether you're swinging a golf club while standing on a hill, or reaching to take the groceries out of the cart and into the car," said Houston, having Schafer balance on a half circle of foam while doing the exercises.

"We work hard to make you sweat, but we have fun, too," Houston said, tossing a medicine ball to Schafer. "You are constantly moving and even between exercises we have what we call active rest."

Client David Aten, general manager and partner in Melissa Teaff Catering, has been going to Flexx Fitness since February. "I like the personal attention and the consistency," said Aten. "I would never push and commit as hard as I do here without the personal training. The whole nutrition segment is amazing. My friends, co-workers and I were always trying this diet or that diet. I'm no longer on a diet but I watch my caloric intake and nutrition. I've lost 15 pounds of fat and gained inches in my chest, arms and legs. They deal with you as a person and work with your lifestyle. For instance, working at my job, we can go from 7 a.m. to midnight and not be hungry at the normal times. Now, I'm very aware of packing a sandwich and eating at lunchtime. We have more energy that way than if we snack."

Schafer hears similar stories from clients all the time. "They tell me they tried no carbs, or no sugar or no fat diets and that they saw good results for a time," she said. "I ask them, 'How's that working for you now?' Then we tell them forget all that, we're going to make a lifestyle change."

Houston and Schafer are certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and by Apex Nutrition Systems, manufacturers of the bodybugg. "The Apex Nutrition System gives us phone access to nutritional information 24/7, if a client has a question," said

Although their client list is growing, they plan to keep it under control. "We want to limit the number of people and want it to remain exclusive," said Schafer. "That keeps it personal and people like the fast workout, that they're not waiting for equipment. We're constantly changing and taking classes to keep our members up to date on the latest information." Currently, the fitness facility is open six days a week, closed on Sunday.

Every month the partners plan to have informational seminars for their members and a Web site will be up shortly. "Everybody has their own goals," said Schafer. "We also have programs for anyone with special needs, whether it be diabetes, pregnancy or age-related difficulties."

Houston said her favorite part of the job is when her clients see the real-world benefits of their program. "I love the response I get when they see their goals realized. When they get a compliment, seeing their face makes this so worthwhile."