It's June already (Where is the time going?) but it's not too late to get started on working towards that perfect beach body. And now, in New Canaan, there's a brand new place to do that and they've cover all the bases.
Oxygen Fitness just opened their doors at 22 Pine Street last week, and things are already running at full tilt. Partner Richard Fedeli said it's a project that's been in the works since December 2011, and he couldn't be happier to offer the service to the town.
"(Co-partners) Dave and Sara Koch and my wife and I were big workout fanatics," Fedeli said. "We were going to a lot of these boutique-style places to workout, one place specializing in yoga, one specializing in cycling, and we were traveling outside New Canaan to Darien, Stamford, White Plains. We're all New Canaan residents and wanted to be here in New Canaan."
So the group decided to create a place for which they decided there was a need that brought all those things together. Fedeli has been a resident of New Canaan for 9 years, the Kochs for roughly 14 years. Fedeli said opening something like this in-town was a good move for the place he calls home.
"If people are leaving to go work out, they're staying in that town to go shopping, eat, whatever else they might want or need to do after hitting the gym," he said. "Being here is an economic boost for the town because it lets people stay close to home."
The center offers a ton of neat technological innovations and improvements on traditional workout routines. The stair and treadmill machines have what are essentially tablets loaded up with interactive routines featuring virtual running paths through mountainous or beachfront regions in distant countries or far-away American cities.
There's yoga and group classes available, personal training, a juice bar open to the public and laundry facilities for long-term locker rentals so gym nuts can leave their workout clothes overnight and have them fresh in their locker the following morning.
"You can get dressed for work in the morning and come in here and have all your stuff clean and ready to go for you," Fedeli said.
The classroom has heavy bags hidden behind the mirrors on a hydraulic system. In under a minute, more than 30 130-pound punching bags can fill the room for a defense workout.
Fedeli said response from the community has been great.
"Everyone who's come through the door has loved it," he said. "We've been very happy with the turnout. Just about everyone has signed up for a membership."
There are also child are facilities as well, with no TVs and private bathroom facilities so they can operate in their own little world.
The gym opens at 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, closes at 9p.m. Monday through Thursday, closes at 7:30 a.m. Fridays, is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
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