Despite having the luxury of every modern fitness program, class and apparatus, Pauline Geraci is old school. Her favorite exercise: The push-up.
“Probably because I did so many in the military,” she says, but notes the old standard works nearly every major muscle group, she says.
Geraci and her fellow instructors plan on doing plenty of the same at Fit4Life Studio, her new business at 1245 W. Washington St. that she hopes to have open on Jan. 2.
From Zumba to Pilates, cardio to cycling, salsa to hip hop dance and much more, Fit4Life is designed to meet athletic needs of all ages, Geraci says, targeting “functional, everyday training.”
To that end, Fit4Life is not your typical walk-in, do-it-all-yourself gym. Geraci and company schedule personal training sessions and classes. A longtime fitness instructor, Geraci finds a lot of people with gym memberships don’t know what to do when they get there and their workout regimens suffer.
“By doing classes, you have accountability, friends and instructors,” she says. “You learn how to do it correctly.”
She’s even hosting scheduling social gatherings, speakers and workshops at the fitness studio.
“I want to try to create a community,” Geraci says.
Trained to train
Geraci got plenty of fitness training and experience as a trainer after two decades in the Army National Guard Reserves. She honed those skills at the renowned Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, one developed by aerobics guru Kenneth Cooper.
“I love to work out hard — I always have,” Geraci says.
She and her husband, Dave Fickes, a data scientist, moved to Sequim in January 2011 and she worked as a fitness instructor at two local gyms before kicking around the idea of starting her own business.
“I don’t cut them any slack,” Geraci says of those who take her classes. “They know they’re going to get a good workout. (But) they say I know when to push people and I know when to pull back.”
With one section of the studio primarily dedicated to classes like cardio and Zumba and the other for spinning (indoor cycling) and classes, Fit4Life’s menu varies from dance to gut-busting R.I.P.P.E.D. workouts to yoga.
“I get bored (so I) love making it interesting and new all the time,” Geraci says.
Fit4Life users will sign an agreement for insurance and fee purposes but not for a traditional “membership” and the studio will take drop-ins for classes and workshops as well.
The menu includes …
Other Fit4Life features include:
• FitRanx, a program that uses color levels like martial arts; for no extra cost, participants “test” on a monthly or bimonthly basis their fitness to achieve higher “levels,” giving them a goal to shoot for
• Tabata Boot Camp, an eight-week course that focuses on lower body, upper body and core; participants track their fitness online and log their exercise sessions and food intake that are checked on by instructors (“It’s a great accountability program,” Geraci says)
• Youth Zumba classes, split into two age ranges (4-6 and 7-11)
• A once per month Tri-Class-A-Thon one Saturday a month: back-to-back-to-back classes of cardio, strength training and yoga
• Silver Sneakers Flex, helping those who qualify for the Silver Sneakers program (www.silversneakers.com) pay for fitness classes and workshops
• Life coaching
• Newsletters
• Special workshops like February’s Doga (yoga with one’s dog).
For more information, see www.fit4lifesequim.com, call 360-928-7107 or e-mail to: fit4lifesequim@gmail.com.
