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FEMALE
BODYBUILDING
Building a fit bottom-line
A physical
therapist and trainer by day, a female bodybuilder by night Lisa
Azhar is a woman who practices what she preaches. And while she
doesn't exactly lead a double life, she has managed to combine her
career and her hobby to found Therapy and Fitness Inc.
Despite the fact that Lisa is an award-winning female bodybuilder
who's actively competed since 1993, she said Therapy and Fitness is
aimed at a middle-aged clientele seeking to improve their physical
condition (and indirectly aid their overall health).
"We don't represent ourselves as a bodybuilding gym," Lisa said. "We
don't train anybody here for bodybuilding competition."
She said the business is centered on a "health/wellness" approach to
personal training while also providing physical therapy services - -
especially to women.
"We're more into the healthy living aspect," Lisa said.
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The personal training side
of the business attracts a 50/50 mix of men and women, but women
represent a growing client base for trainers.
"I think females have stronger commitment to themselves. They're
challenged more by way of body composition for several reasons --
because we've had children, just the busy lifestyle we have."
To deal with the demands of their lifestyle, many women have begun
to focus on physical exercise as a way to improve their health and
slow the degenerate process associated with aging. And since many of
those women -- and even many men -- are not familiar with safe
training techniques, they're increasingly seeking the aid of
trainers such as Azhar.
"It's definitely a niche that has a possibility of growing more and
more," Lisa said. "And with that, I think people will open up their
minds to personal training for health purposes as opposed to going a
fitness gym and just joining and working out on their own."
The demand for those services has kept the red ink to a minimum.
Within a year of opening, Therapy Fitness was in the black,
according to Lisa's husband and co-owner, Imran. Since then, the
business has experienced slow but steady growth. He predicts 5-10
percent growth this year.
One reason for that growth, Lisa said, is that the technical
knowledge of fitness techniques is something the man or woman on the
street knows little about, making a personal trainer necessary.
"There's a wrong way to do it and a right way to do it, and I guess
we have a real methodical approach to it all," she said.
Her average client is in his or her 40s. As a result, Therapy and
Fitness in not the stereotypical workout center filled with 20-
somethings looking like Greek statues. And that fact has drawn many
of the business's clients.
"A lot of customers say they like that a lot," she said.
Azhar only does one-on-one training sessions. The weight-training
sessions normally run 30 minutes for around $30. After weight
training, she recommends a second half-hour of cardiovascular
exercise, which her clients can do on-site (at no charge) or at home
if they wish. One-hour weight-training sessions are also available
for about $55.
Despite the growing demand for physical trainers, Lisa and Imran
have faced many hurdles that could have prevented their success. For
example, the nature of the business and the way it touches on health
issues has created more than one paperwork headache.
"Understanding insurance issues was a very big battle," she said.
"Understanding each individual's policy is definitely a challenge."
And the nuts-and-bolts aspects of running a business -- "the
accounting, the bookkeeping, the taxes that you have to record and
pay in" -- were more than Lisa anticipated when she first opened the
doors to Therapy and Fitness.
Then there are the long work hours -- for both Azhars. The couple
still puts in nearly 13 hours each day, six days a week, although
she said that workload is manageable compared to the first year of
business.
"Instead of (the business) running us, we're definitely taming it
and we're running it better," she said.
The company has added two employees since opening -- a bookkeeper
and a second physical therapist. That has lessened the workload,
although Lisa would still like to add another employee to the staff.
One of the toughest hurdles to clear was obtaining a lease for the
business. "First, we were challenged with trying to get somebody to
lease us a spot because we didn't have any history," Lisa said.
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