Spry Fitness comes to downtown

FARMINGTON – All you need is a body and pair of sneakers.

One of the newest businesses in downtown is Spry Fitness Studio, which opened Oct. 13 with an eye toward providing a variety of fitness classes within easy walking distance.

The studio is located at 174 Broadway, above Calico Patch. The owners, Alison Thayer and Kim Roberts, are having an open house on Saturday morning, Nov. 7, during Reny’s Early Bird Sale and other downtown Farmington events.

Thayer, of New Portland, has 16 years in personal training and group fitness. Thayer worked at the University of Maine at Farmington Fitness and Recreation Center as the director of Strength and Conditioning and as an exercise class coordinator. In 2006, she left the fitness center to start Peak Performance, a group fitness center in Kingfield, which she plans to continue owning and operating along with Spry Fitness.

Roberts, of Industry, was working as a graphic designer when, tired of sitting for long days at a time, she enrolled at a local gym. Finding she enjoyed the exercises, she went on to work at the UMF fitness center as the assistant director and become a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor.

With more than 25 years of group fitness experience between them, Roberts and Thayer hope that a new studio located in the heart of the downtown will provide a convenient place for people to get in shape and have fun.

“Active bodies are healthy bodies,” Roberts said, as Thayer led a “Core and More” class in the spacious studio. “Every body needs to move.”

Having opened their doors a week and a half ago, Roberts said that the instructors are looking to slowly offer more classes at different times.

“We’re following a fitness sort of flow with everything we do,” she said. “Everything starts slow and works its way up, so you have a good base.”

With that in mind, Spry Fitness offers a variety of classes for customers of every possible athletic level. Classes are roughly an hour in length, with the instructors leading groups throughout the day. Saturday classes are expected to start in November. The offerings span a wide range of exercises from yoga and Zumba, a dance-based series of exercises, to cardio kickboxing and more intensely-athletic classes.

Either way, Thayer said, exercising is a great way to increase your energy, lower stress and have fun. The instructors often modify classes so everyone is working at the appropriate level.

“What you put into it you get out if it,” Thayer said. “It’s kind of like life that way.”

Dropping in on a class costs $10, and the instructors are happy to talk to people about what sort of programs they may enjoy.

Spry Fitness Studios can be reached at 491-3490 or visited online here. As when considering any new exercise program, depending on your level of fitness and medical history, a visit to a physician may be appropriate.

The open house is on Nov. 7 at 8 a.m. until noon.