The Business of Fitness

An inside look at two ladies who've made other people's bodies their number one priority

By Laura Dargus

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HELENA COLLINS | FOUNDER OF LIFE IN SYNERGY

Helena Collins, the energetic—we're talking cheer coach material here—trainer, founded Synergistics in 1997 and Life in Synergy this past October. Her personal philosophy on fitness has driven her entrepreneurial efforts in spreading the good word on approachable methods throughout Boston for the last 24 years.

What was the path that led to you founding Synergistics?

I had been in fitness in the Boston area for over a decade, managing gyms, training trainers, designing gyms, etc. I was one of the first three personal trainers in Boston. My thirst for knowledge and meeting my husband Brian—a martial arts master and healer in Chinese medicine and Hawaiian metaphysics—really expanded my fitness vocabulary past the gym. ... The more I learned, the more I was dissatisfied with the gym environment. I would come home from work every night upset. "You would not believe what I saw a trainer doing today ... " was a normal rant.

The studio [Syergistics] also enabled me to perfect my craft and to find a team of trainers who are primarily interested in teaching and learning, really getting into critical thinking about what will work for a client.

What inspired you to add a class-based studio to your repertoire?

The first thing you need to know about me, [I'm] all about making excellent fitness affordable, in a beautiful space, eco-friendly, in a friendly environment. ... People are very intimidated by a personal training studio. ... I want to teach you, I don't want to sell you anything, ... that's why we don't do any memberships, we don't have any sales people. ... People can just come in and take a class. ... Anybody can afford 15 bucks.

What makes the studio, Life in Synergy, eco-friendly?

The floors are bamboo, the glass-wall system is recycled, the paint is low-VOC, the showers have low-flow showerheads, there's compact fluorescent lighting in the locker rooms, there are ceiling fans throughout the studio, ... our membership cards are made of corn, ... we don't print schedules.

How did you select the instructors that are working with you?

We almost did like an American Idol, which was so fun. They came in in groups, and they auditioned.

Do you stress up-to-date physiological science education with your instructors?

Well, I have the two studios. At Synergistics, my personal training studio, all of the kids that work there are degreed professionals. Then [they] go through several hundred hours of additional training to become Life in Synergy trainers. ... That's the Synergistics Fitness Method. ...

... The Life in Synergy mission [is] to educate people, educate professionals, and bring the community together. ... I think that there's enough clients for everyone. What I'm interested in is elevating the science.

The issue with fitness in general is that the certified powers know that they need to teach more science, ... but a lot of the science they're teaching now, ... there's not enough about muscle. My job is really in the science of macro-muscle synergy: how your big muscles work. My job is not to monitor your blood pressure.

[Check out Helena's eight-week online Go! Bag program at lifeinsynergy.com]

KATHY VAN PATTEN | OWNER AND FOUNDER OF MOVEMENT CENTER OF BOSTON

Kathy Van Patten is a lifelong student—of classical ballet, Pilates, Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis—and her love for the study and education of how the body moves is passed on to her staff in an environment that fosters growth not just among the clientele, but among the professionals she surrounds herself with. She changed her studio's name to the Movement Center of Boston (formerly Boston Bodyworks) back in October to define her work a little more literally.

By changing your studio's name, were you going in a different direction?

No, it was more a clarification of what I wanted to do and who I am. ... My little catchphrase is "movement solutions for every body." ... I don't sell lotions and potions and shirts. ... It happens that the two modalities I've chosen are Pilates and Gyrotonic, but it's all about movement and helping people feel better, move better.

Your studio is set up for Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis. Can you describe the system and how it differs from other pulley systems?

It's called the Gyrotonic Expansion System. ... Part of the exercise system is with machines, ... and part is without, and that's Gyrokinesis. ... All of it is based on the fundamental aspects of the movement of the spine and pelvis. ... The movements in Gyrotonic are a traction system, so your bone weight is supported in space. It's like swimming, there's no pressure on your joints.

I'm one of the very few studios in the United States that has everything. ... Of the specialized equipment, I have two of everything. I have seven pulley towers, which is the basic piece.

How do you select the instructors that work with you at the Movement Center?

I used to say just "yes" to everybody. ... It's hard for me to say "no" to a student who wants to work for me. ... I want the most talented, I want a team player and I want somebody who can work with anybody. ... Not all my teachers have all of the three. So I have some teachers that appeal to one kind of client. And then I have some teachers who are the golden ones who I can put any client with and I know that client will be extremely happy. And that's really what I look for, ideally.

Do you feel like that's a learned behavior? Is that something up-and-coming instructors can work on?

I've tried. I've been nurturing people for 20 years. That's probably my long suit—nurturing teachers. And there are some that I cannot change, ... they are who they are. ... From a business standpoint, for me and when I advise young people, I tell them a couple things. One is that they need to develop their skills to be able to work with everybody. ... Because I'm 56 years old, and I've been doing this a long time and I've had other careers before this one, I [also] tell them, "You need to also get a license." ... If I were starting over again, if I were 20 years old, I would also get a license for acupuncture or PT or massage, something.

Would you say that nurturing the instructors is just as important if not more a part of your job now as the studio director?

It's constant. They're all my children. ... I try very hard to keep them inspired. It's not easy. ... I try hard to keep them motivated. I keep the studio the most up-to-date of any studio.