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April 2, 1999/16 Nisan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 27
Looking for a better body? Work your way to Edufit
MICHELLE ACKERMAN
Staff Writer
Imagine a gym where you don't have to wait in line to use the Stairmaster, where you don't have to towel others' sweat off a machine, and where trainers supervise every workout and actually care whether you reach your goals.
Meet brothers Steven and Alan Katz, ages 40 and 38 respectively, who own Edufit, a gym that specializes exclusively in personal training.
Nestled in the Harkins/Shea 14 shopping center at Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale, Edufit is a spotless studio that offers state-of-the-art exercise equipment, certified personal trainers - and lighting designed not to accentuate all your bumps and bulges.
The Katzes explain that they opened Edufit - the name stands for education and fitness - to teach people about fitness and help them get and stay motivated.
A client's first appointment includes tests in balance, structural analysis and fat-percentage, and a discussion of past injuries and current fitness goals. The information is used to create an individualized work-out program.
Six to eight weeks later, when a client's body begins to adjust to the routine and results start to plateau, the program is re-evaluated and adjusted.
Work-outs are made by appointment only, in one-hour blocks, to insure the availability of both equipment and a trainer.
To keep session costs low, the gym offers "multiple training," meaning a trainer works with as many as four clients at a time. "That means that supervision is constantly around you, watching technique and form," explains Steven. "That doesn't mean that the trainer will be overseeing you every minute of the time ... (he's) not going to sit there and baby-sit you, he's not going to sit there and count your reps for you, he's going to observe your technique and application."
Still worried you won't be able to stay motivated? "If you don't show up for two or three days, one of us will be on the phone to motivate (you) to come in," vows Alan.
And if that doesn't work, perhaps working out in a gym simply isn't the answer. "I don't want to push (fitness) on anybody (and) not everyone wants it," Steven says. "But when they decide they are ready to take that step, this company can help them achieve those kind of goals."
Sessions at Edufit are sold on a month-to-month basis. As Alan explains, the brothers loathe what they call the "larger-club syndrome" of long-term contracts and initiation fees.
"Here, you get what you pay for," they say.
Steven and Alan grew up in Harrisburg, Penn., working side-by-side at Empire Kosher Chicken, a business their grandfather had started in 1938. In 1992, the family sold the business and four years later, in 1996, the two headed West. "(Alan) thought there was great opportunity in Arizona ... (and I) loved the West," Steven explains.
Already accustomed to working together, the pair decided to make Edufit a joint project. "I wouldn't be in business with anyone else," asserts Steven. "No matter how much you fight, no matter how much you don't get along, the key to success in a partnership is trust.
"I can turn my back and know that when I turn around, there's nothing I have (to worry about). Nothing is going to be tampered with, everything is going to be right. There's only one person in my life I can trust in life like that."
The brothers hope that the Scottsdale location, open since August 1998, will be the first of many in the Valley, as well as nationally. Possible future locations so far include Central Phoenix and Glendale.
Costs are $199 for 10 sessions ($20/hour), $219 for 12 sessions ($18.75/hour), or $239 for 16 sessions ($15/hour). All sessions must used within a month's time. "We know you must come at least two to three times a week to benefit from an exercise program," Steven says. "By not allowing the sessions to carry over, we help you with the discipline part."
Currently, the brothers are offering four free sessions at Edufit. For more information, call 348-1011.
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