KEWASKUM — AIMS Fitness has been offering health and fitness classes to older adults and people with Parkinson’s Disease for nearly 12 years, and on Feb. 28 it held a grand opening at its new location, 7731 Highway 45 in Unit 3, that features an expanded gym area for classes.
The new location has expanded the business’ footprint from 900 square feet to 3,000 square feet, resulting in offering slightly larger classes, as well as space for support groups, according to Jen Lenzendorf, owner of AIMS Fitness, which is an acronym for Accountability, Inspiration, Motivation and Support.
“When we started in 2014, I was renting. We had less than 10 participants,” said Lenzendorf. “Then in 2015, we moved to my old location and still only had like 10 people, and then we got a little bit more and moved up to 15.”
At the time, Lenzendorf was only offering fitness courses for older adults, but in 2018 she began offering classes for people with Parkinson’s.
“Slowly but surely we built until 2021, and then things just took off,” said Lenzendorf.
Before the move to her new space, Lenzendorf had begun wait-listing interested clients.
“The next step was can we afford to move, and we did,” said Lenzendorf.
When she saw the new space, she had a vision for it right away.
“I could see that wall with the speed bags and the double- ended bags all along,” said Lenzendorf. “I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like, and it does.”
She added that she had never designed a gym before, and it was a lot more work than she had planned.
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“My space that I had was small. We started out with a lot of things found at Goodwill, St. Vinny’s and rummage sales, and everything was in a much smaller amount,” said Lenzendorf. “Knowing what expansion looks like with that, like how many sets of dumbbells do I need? So, I did my best guessing, worked with my mentor, who is out in California, as well as checked out with other fitness people … about what did you put in your gym when you did it, and tried not to over do it.”
After viewing the results of the renovation, Lenzendorf hit the mark.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out,” said Lenzendorf.
Following construction of the new space and the move into it, Lenzendorf can now provide space for up to 20 participants instead of between 10 to 12 participants maximum in the small group training and Rock Steady Boxing (for those with Parkinson’s) classes. She added that she wants to try to keep it to 16 people in a class for participants’ safety needs at this time, however.
“We’re hoping to impact more people,” said Lenzendorf. “So, class size can get a little bit bigger, but I don’t intend to have extremely large classes. … That way I can keep eyeballs on everybody.”
In order to expand class sizes further, or offer additional classes at the gym, she is looking for like-minded fitness and wellness coaches and volunteers.
“I need other coaches like me, that is a big goal for me,” said Lenzendorf. “We also need volunteers to help us in class so I have extra sets of eyes.”
Lenzendorf is also planning to add new offerings at her gym.
“Now that we have a space where we have a place to sit, (I’m hoping to add) support groups and a place to watch webinars,” said Lenzendorf.
If interested in becoming a coach, volunteer or taking classes at AIMS Fitness, contact Lenzendorf through AIMS’ website at aimsfitnessllc.com.
