Getting fit in comfort and style

Deirdre Newman

Back Bay Fitness hopes to transcend the “get-fit” gym mentality by

offering a more holistic approach to wellness.

The center addresses a wide variety of lifestyle needs with

physical trainers, medical professionals and nutritionists.

“A sophisticated individual can realize they are in need because

of stress in their daily lives and lack of time to promote any type

of health and fitness in their lifestyle,” co-founder Lisa McGhee,

39, said. “They are willing to seek out these services by individuals

like ourselves.”

McGhee and Katherine Coltrin, 37, opened Back Bay Fitness in

February to meet the needs of the growing fitness clientele and to

train personal trainers.

“From a business standpoint, [personal trainers] lack experience

and education to teach them how to administrate their business and

how to set short- and long-term goals,” McGhee said.

Before opening their own center, both women had been personal

trainers for 13 years.

At Back Bay Fitness, Coltrin teaches programs designed for the

conditioning of Olympic athletes, post-rehabilitation evaluation,

injury prevention and senior fitness. She has competed in Ironman

triathlons, Adventure races, competitive mountain biking and

ultra-marathon running. McGhee, in addition to being a personal

trainer, has been teaching yoga for two years.

The center is designed for personal trainers to work with their

clients. Because workouts are scheduled, clients don’t compete with

other members for the use of equipment, McGhee said. And using the

center doesn’t mean you have to toss your existing gym membership,

McGee added.

“If you want real high-end trainers that are working on total

wellness, but still want to keep your 24-Hour Fitness [membership],

you can work with the trainers here,” McGhee said.

The fitness center also has an advisory board of physicians,

including cardiologists, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons,

to offer guidance to trainers and clients.

To create a homey atmosphere and a serene place for the trainers

to take breaks, the owners created a special area complete with

telephones, a refrigerator and a two-way mirror.

“The life of a trainer, as easy as the job may be, is draining

because you’re one-on-one with people and the hours are really hard,”

Coltrin said. “It’s a place for them to walk behind a door and still

be able to see their next client walk in the door.”

The fitness center offers a wellness line of equipment with

ergonomic benches that are conducive to working with seniors or those

with injuries, McGhee said.

“It has low-increment adjustments and a wide variety of range of

motion,” McGhee said. “You can adjust it accordingly. It’s a really

beautiful line of equipment.”

The owners also tried to fill the locker room areas with an

intimate, residential feel, stocking them with shower towels, gym

towels, wood hangers for clothes and toiletries that are not

“cheap-o,” McGhee said.

The men’s locker room is such a hit aesthetically that a few male

clients have copied the decor for their own homes, McGhee said.

“From that standpoint, we know we did it right,” she said.

The center does not offer memberships. Clients can take classes or

workout with physical trainers. They can also come on their own to

use the cycling room when classes aren’t in session, pop in a DVD and

do the class on their own.

The cycling room offers virtual cycling, in which the instructor

teaches in front a screen with a moving scene to create the illusion

you’re riding on roads along streams and bridges, McGhee said.