Articles

A Look Back
by Rick Mayo

It seems like just yesterday when we opened our doors. It was actually 1992! It is amazing how much has changed in our area and in our industry. On the other hand, a lot of things have stayed the same. Please indulge me for a moment while I reflect.

When we opened in 1992 there were no other health facilities in our area. There was no Mansell Rd and North Point mall was not even in the planning phase. We spent a good deal of our time explaining to potential clients what it meant to have a personal trainer and how we could help with their fitness goals. Our facility was only 1500 square feet and we were operating as Good Bodies Inc. We actually all ran in the “400 Extension” 5K run celebrating the opening of the GA 400 toll road! It was widely believed that aerobic exercise was the key to feeling and looking great. We knew through our client success stories that weight training was the real fountain of youth but science was a little slow to catch up. Most weight training research focused on body building and not the health benefits of a strong, lean body. Low fat/high carbohydrate diets were thought to be best for weight loss and low fat cookies and cakes were flying off of the shelves. Needless to say, that diet fad passed like all of the others.

Leap forward to 2007 and we are preparing for our 3rd expansion into 6000 square feet. Several health clubs and personal training facilities have come and gone in the last 15 years. We are proud to still be growing and offering more services to our loyal clients. It is estimated that over 4 million people used the services of a personal trainer in 2006 and that number is sure to grow in 07. Everyone from professional athletes to seniors working on balance and bone density have benefited from personal instruction and custom weight training programs. Science has proven again and again that weight training is the single best investment of your exercise time. From weight loss to controlling blood sugar levels, the health benefits are too many to list in one article. Also, as it turns out, eating a wide variety of foods in moderation is the key to weight and lifestyle management.

One thing that has not changed over the last 15 years is all of the great clients that have allowed us to do what we love. They say you can judge a business by the quality of its clientele. If that is truly the case, than our business is more successful than I could have ever imagined. I can’t even count the number of clients that have been with us for more than 10 years and a few team members have been here since the beginning (Joe and Ken). We have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful clients and friends over the last 15 years (See this month’s success story) through NPPT. These same individuals have made it possible for us to expand several times and offer more services to our community and our clients. It is said that “if you love what you do, you never have to work another day in your life.” Here is to another 15 years of never having to go to work!

THANK YOU!