Kelly Lyn North Fitness Merges with Champions Fitness Center
After months of speculation as to what was going on with Kelly Lyn North Fitness, Kelly Lyn members finally got an answer to the much anticipated rumors that were circulating throughout the community. In early May, a letter was sent out to all members explaining that Kelly Lyn would be merging with another fitness facility. The gym they would be joining was Champions Fitness Center.
This was a lot to digest for many of the long-time Kelly Lyn members and it was without a doubt an emotional time for many. Some of the girls were angry, others were sad, and many were scared about what this meant for the future of their small community.
To many of the ladies that worked out at Kelly Lyn, (some for a few years and others since the doors opened forty three years ago); this was more than just a gym. This was a place that was filled with years of friendships, bonding, and love. This was a place where you could reveal your diagnosis of breast cancer, and your girlfriend painfully told you about her divorce. You could talk about how hard it was for you to be sandwiched between caring for aging parents, taking care of your kids, and being a good wife. This is where everyone shared in the joy of the birth of your first child or grandchild, where you bragged about your kid’s achievements, and where you cried over a loss or tragedy. Kelly Lyn was without a doubt a special place.
Now, I know there are a few 
of you who may be saying, “What’s the big deal? There are plenty of places for these women to lift weights, take spin class, go for a run, and chat.” However, if you spoke to any one of the Kelly Lyn members, you would see things through a very different set of eyes.
Let’s switch gears for a minute and talk about Kelly Lyn from the beginning. Kelly Lyn (The Premier Women’s Only Fitness Center in Central New York) opened its doors forty three years ago. Kelly Sherwood, the current owner, developed a passion for health and fitness at an early age and knew someday there would be a place for her in the industry. After attending four years at Cortland College and graduating with a degree in physical education, taking a part-time position at Kelly Lyn seemed to be the perfect fit. In the ten years she was there, Kelly went from a part-time employee to a full-time manager. Within that time frame, the previous owner made the decision to retire. It made perfect sense that she would ask Kelly to be the new owner. When I sat down to talk with Kelly she said “I couldn’t have been any more excited to take the position.”
Kelly was recently given an opportunity to give her members more fitness opportunities under one roof. When she took a closer look at Champions Fitness Center she discovered that Champions had a lot of similarities to Kelly Lyn. First off, Champions had a close friendly atmosphere. Just like her staff, Champion’s employees didn’t look at their members as a number, but as a person. They knew each individual member that walked through the door by name and truly cared about each and every one of them. Secondly, like Kelly Lyn, Champion’s members were also a family, just a bigger one. Kelly knew how important it was for her members to feel like they were a part of ‘something special’ when they came in to workout. Lastly, she knew that Champions Fitness Center took pride in making each individuals experience at their facility a good one. Kelly saw this as one of the most important attributes a reputable gym could have.
When Kelly sat down with Champions Fitness Center’s owner Jim Smith to discuss the merge, they both agreed that it would also provide updates and improvements to the services for both her members as well as Champions. Though not an easy decision, in the end both Kelly and Jim saw this transition as the best way to grow and maintain the business.
So now that we know that Kelly Lyn North Fitness has merged with Champions Fitness Center, what can members expect? How will this benefit both our Champions Fitness Center and Kelly Lyn clientele? First off, we have doubled the amount of Group Fitness Classes. Memberships will include FREE spinning classes (we have more than doubled the size of our Group Cycle/Spin Room) with top notch Kelly Lyn instructors. Sorry guys, these classes are just for the ladies. We have more women only group fitness classes (including Zumba, Zumba Toning, Yoga Classes, Kickboxing, Total Sculpt, Intervelocity and Boot Camp). Also available is TRX suspension training classes, strength camps, personal training, children’s swim classes, and expanded hours for the children’s play area. There will be pool classes throughout the day, open swim and family swim. Members can also expect to see a Kayak exercise machine, a skating machine, and additional Arc Trainers, Stepmills and Smith Machines.
We can’t go on without mentioning our amazing staff! We already consider Champions Fitness Center to have some of the best personal trainer and group fitness instructors in Central New York. Adding the Kelly Lyn personal trainers and group fitness instructors (who have several years of experience), will allow us to provide an even better service to our members.
What’s more exciting than all of this? We have more than doubled the size of the Women’s Only workout area which now includes a Women’s Only cardio and strength room. Our ladies can stay downstairs to use the women’s only weight room where they will find weight machines and free weights all enclosed in a quiet atmosphere, secluded from the rest of the club. They can go upstairs to use our ‘just for the gals’ cardio room. Designed specifically for our ladies, this private room has several pieces of cardio equipment that can be used at any time during regular business hours.
One of the most popular pieces of equipment that Champions now has is the Jacobs Ladder. It’s created such a buzz around the gym that we’ve had an ongoing Jacobs Ladder challenge! The contest is to see how many feet can be climbed in fifteen minutes. The top three men and top three women have been recording their results on a board up next to the machine. There’s nothing better than a little friendly competition amongst our gym patrons. The challenge has even motivated people who don’t usually do cardio to strap themselves in, get on and start climbing!
In Conclusion:
There’s nothing better than having a bigger family with even more to love! That’s what Champions now has and we couldn’t be any more excited about it.
Yes, Kelly Lyn has merged with Champions Fitness Center, but that doesn’t mean the story has ended. In fact, this story has just begun. A lot of the Kelly Lyn members have already started to use their memberships at Champions and many are adjusting to their new surroundings just fine.
I will speak on behalf of our entire Champions Fitness Center family in saying: We couldn’t be any happier to have the Kelly Lyn North Fitness members and staff here at our facility. You are undeniably a committed, hardworking and loyal group of women who take health and exercise seriously. You are without a doubt a special group of ladies. We welcome you to our family with open arms and hope that you will walk through the front doors of your new home and say with certainty and contentment “This is my new home and I couldn’t be any happier to be here.”
A special Thank You to Andrea Brown who was gracious enough to let me use some of her words in this article. She really helped paint a picture as to how very special Kelly Lyn North Fitness was to both the members and staff. Also a special Thank You to Kelly Sherwood for all of your help.
I am currently certified by the National Sports Conditioning Association, Apex Fitness Group, and the International Sports Science Association. If you have a question and/or topic you would like me to discuss please e-mail me at isellgraphs@aol.com. If you would like to set up a free consultation with one of our certified fitness professionals please call Champions Fitness at 452-5522.
(The second picture is Kelly Sherwood (Kelly Lyn North Fitness’s owner – front, bottom right) with some of the Kelly Lyn group fitness instructors and personal trainers. The third picture is Kelly Sherwood (Kelly Lyn North Fitness’s owner) with some of the Kelly Lyn staff)
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