A local fitness center’s approach to getting in shape is growing in popularity.
Jennifer Poff Cooper
Contributing writer
Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp entered the local fitness scene in August of 2017 and has been slowly taking the area by storm ever since.
The gym is a franchise, but each location is individually owned, this one by Trevor and MK Stahl.
The Stahls were living in Roanoke when MK met a running friend and Trevor met a physical therapy patient who both were involved with FBBC. MK tried it out and within three days said, “I want to open one of these!” Her more cautious counterpart, Trevor, researched the concept.
“One thing led to the next,” MK Stahl said, and before they knew it, the couple was flying to California to train in FBBC and meet the CEO.
Trevor, a licensed physical therapy assistant, and MK, a certified group trainer, scoped out areas that were growing and where the FBBC concept didn’t exist, and found that the New River Valley fit the bill.
They moved to Christiansburg and opened the gym in downtown Blacksburg (401 S. Main St.).
The Fit Body Boot Camp idea specializes in fitness and fat loss through 30-minute high intensity interval training workouts.
“It is about getting your heart rate up and down,” said Stahl.
Even for members who do not need to lose fat, the program produces a lifestyle change that leads to more energy.
The 30-minute workouts appeal to those under a time crunch.
“Our members don’t have a lot of time and want to fit something quick into their schedules,” said Stahl.
Stahl said that often people join a gym and they don’t know what to do — they might overexert and injure themselves, or they just walk on the treadmill and don’t lost weight like then expect. Personal trainers, on the other end of the spectrum, and “ridiculously expensive.”
At FBBC, “we make the plan for you,” she said
Workouts are modified based on individual needs; the business caters to marathon runners as well as those who have had joint replacements. Classes are capped at 20 people, so that the trainers — Stahl, her husband Trevor and two full-time employees — can circulate through the classes as participants rotate around stations to make sure people are using correct form or to notice if people need modifications for their individual situations.
There is something new every day, so the routines do not become repetitive and members don’t hit plateaus. FBBC also offers nutritional coaching.
Despite its proximity to the university, only about 20 members are students. The majority are 40-50 years old, 95 percent women, and mostly moms. The business is open early mornings and evenings, with three noon classes per week.
The most popular class is the 5:10 a.m. class, followed by the 9:30 a.m. session, which is popular with stay-at-home moms who have dropped off kids at preschool by then.
Trevor Stahl continues to work as a PTA for Carilion, but MK Stahl gave up her 8-5 job in real estate to run the Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp. She had started majoring in health and fitness at James Madison University but switched to communications; however, after a while, she started to feel constrained by office life.
“I love health and fitness and wanted to share what I know with other people,” Stahl said.
The business is growing. Every quarter, Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp offers a six-week challenge. Last quarter, it was a “Girls’ Night Out” where the winner lost 20 pounds and won $500.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 22, there is a New Year’s Revolution challenge which offers unlimited boot camp access (currently nine classes), meal planning, and even a grocery list; the winner will get six months of free boot camp.
“The challenges are a great way to introduce a new routine into your schedule,” said Stahl.
From the business’s perspective, they are a success in that many of those who took the challenge became members which resulted in additional classes being added.
Most of the marketing for the business — besides the start-up franchise plan, which was “extremely helpful” — has been through word of mouth or Facebook. “Social media has been incredible for business,” Stahl said.
People post about Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp on their personal pages and tag the business, and their friends see it, and it goes viral.
As for the future, the Stahls are playing it close to the vest but MK Stahl said they hope to continue to grow.
“We will do what we need to do to service the amount of members wishing to join, which includes having classes to fit a variety of schedules,” she said.
Stahl feels that what sets apart Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp is that it is family and friend-oriented, a gym where people get to know one another. She said that the 5:10 a.m. class even has its own hashtag (#510) so that the members can communicate with one another — for example, if someone is absent, to let that person know he or she was missed.
‘We like to call it a fitness family,” Stahl said. “Everyone is welcome.”
For more information on Blacksburg Fit Body Boot Camp, visit www.fitbodybootcamp.com.
