Story by Gareth Kelly
Photos courtesy of Gymnazo
You know the drill. You step on the scale and whoa! Where did those extra pounds come from? Next you climb out of the car and notice that knee pain for the third time this week. You’re not as young as you once were but you also know you’ve been slacking on working out lately but the thought of joining a gym just reminds you of that time a few years ago when you joined, went for a few classes but then life got in the way. Besides who has time to go to the gym?
But what if there was gym that was more focused towards you, with a more personal touch and work out routines that are customized to the realities of your daily life today. The Olympic team may be out of reach but getting out of the car without knee pain shouldn’t be.
That is exactly the concept behind Gymnazo located in San Luis Obispo. Started by husband and wife team Michael and Paden Hughes, Gymnazo was born out of Kennedy Club fitness where Michael was a personal trainer.
“When the recession hit I could see people starting to back off on
their personal training sessions,” said Hughes. “I started asking some clients if I provided them with a more tailored customized work out routine in smaller groups would they do them? I couldn’t have imagined the success we had. We went from three thousand square feet of space at Kennedy to a six thousand square foot space and now since March of this year we occupy a thirteen thousand square foot training facility near the airport.”
With a degree in Kinesiology from Fresno State, Hughes always knew there was more to fitness than simply doing squats or bench-pressing massive weights.
“We build our work outs around the three plains of motion. Back and forward, side to side and rotational. Many conventional workouts in gyms have you moving in ways that don’t really mimic anything you do in your real life. We try and provide functional training and we don’t believe it’s a one size fits all solution. We want to know how YOU use your body.” Hughes said.
Using the Gray Institute and its Fellowship of Applied Functional Science as their model Hughes and his staff have come up with thousands of exercises to help people of all ages and from all walks of life achieve their fitness goals. With a three-week kick starter program clients can get a feel for what suits them and along with Hughes help find out the best workout for them be they professional athletes or desk dwellers hoping to get fitter.
In addition to their work out routines Gymnazo also provides nutritional coaching. “Fitness is made in the gym, physique is made in the kitchen,” said Paden, and soft tissue massage.
“People come to us and want to try something different. With our smaller class sizes and constantly changing exercises people progress quickly. People get to know other classmates and feel part of a team-helping spur each other on. We are always positive and always encourage each other. We believe that’s just as important than simply being able to do a specific exercise,” said Hughes.
As for the future, Gymnazo has begun to ally itself more closely with rehabilitation programs as doctors and physiotherapists see the benefits of Gymnazo’s programs but for right now both Michael and Paden cant see themselves moving to an even bigger facility anytime soon.
Gymnazo is located at 720 Aerovista Park, Suite C in SLO and is open six days a week. For more information on all they have to offer visit them online at www.gymnazo.com
Gareth is still for from his Gymnazo workout. What obscure things do you like to work out with? Email him at and keep up with all his news at www.garethckelly.com
