Writing a story about Nicole Gauthier and her new fitness studio "Stellar Fitness" seemed an easy task. Nicole is an award winning national T.V. fitness personality with a highly credited staff, and has found a perfect location on the corner of Belleview Boulevard and South Fort Harrison from which to work. The task was easy until Gauthier insisted that, in order to truly understand her facility, this writer should attend a class. This suddenly began to sound like work.
Nicole Gauthier wanted to be a personal trainer since early childhood. "I couldn't wait until I was old enough to go the gym with my mother," explained Gauthier, and "I received my certification for personal training at age 18." She entered body building competitions at this same time and began to understand the discipline, nutrition and exercise necessary to build the "perfect" body.
Two years ago, Nicole achieved her life long dream and moved from Nashville to Clearwater to open up her own fitness studio. She wanted her clients to enjoy exercising in a group setting. "Group dynamics can be very beneficial," explains Gauthier, and, "90 percent of all exercisers report that they would prefer to work out in a group." But she wanted those attending her classes to have personalized services. Group classes are limited to 10 15 participants so that each student receives personal attention from the instructor.
Stellar Fitness offers friendly, highly trained instructors, each with impressive backgrounds in their field of expertise. Gauthier's Yoga Instructor has taught for The Omega Institute for Holistic Health in New York City. Her Pilates instructor moved from California to teach at Stellar Fitness and her Belly Dancing instructor was originally from Turkey. Gauthier, herself appears nationally on Home Shopping Network's affiliate station America's Store as a regular guest and fitness expert for ProForm Health and Fitness.
Stellar Fitness Studio doesn't use machines in their exercise classes. Gauthier feels that, "Exercise machines are too intimidating. They don't allow you to use your body at its best and you get a better workout if you use free weights and other group fitness equipment." Gauthier's 1000 ft. studio has floating hardwood floors, mirrors, towel and water service, and top of the line Reebok group fitness equipment, all in a serene tree top setting.
I did show up for a Pilates class on a recent Tuesday afternoon. I was fearful that I would be woefully inexperienced, yet the small class size and instructor Tom DiFiore's ability to work with each student individually quickly allayed my concerns. "Pilates is an exercise which utilizes all of the body's major muscle groups," explained DiFiore. "Your entire body is engaged." He carefully guided the group through a one hour workout while explaining the benefit to each stretching routine. This is definitely an enjoyable exercise for people of all ages and individual abilities.
Nicole plans to open two more facilities in the near future, and she would love to eventually hire a registered dietician to give clients nutritional advice. The New Year is sure to be full of promises of better fitness and this is the place to do it. Check out the Stellar Fitness website at www.StellarFitness.net or feel free to phone Nicole at 727 667 4348.