As students trooped back to school for the opening of classes, so are physical fitness buffs returning to gyms to resume their regimen to keep themselves healthier and more prepared for the rigors of school activities.

The start of classes is usually the peak season for fitness gym operations,  along with March and April and January, after the Christmas holiday break,  said  Samuel John Solon, owner and manager of Sam’s Slim Gym at JTL Building on B.S. Aquino Drive in Bacolod City. Solon said about 60 percent of his about 250 gym clients are students and the rest professionals or self-employed individuals  with 70 percent of the number males.

Fitness is not only for the youth or the yuppies, he pointed out, adding. We have clients as 12 years old and as old as 70, with about one tenth of the clients aged 50 and above.

He noted that the summer period saw an increase of about 100 enrollees, adding that, apparently young people took advantage of their two-month summer break to stay fit and trim, especially for the coming school year.

Sam’s Slim Gym is one of the more than 20 fitness gyms operating in Bacolod City that  caters to a range of needs –  light workouts, conditioning training, body building or cross training for specific sports disciplines. Specifically, it offers services ranging from weight-loss, firming, weight-gaini, bodybuilding, physical conditioning, plymetrics, injury rehabilitation, karatedo and martial arts.

Solon started his business nine years ago when he opened a gym at Burgos-Lopez Jaena Extension I on April 1, 2001 and later to a more spacious location – where it is accessible to schools, offices and residential areas.

A body builder himself for almost 20 years, Solon, 35,  personally attends to gym goers being the head instructor  and is assisted by six well-trained trainers Paolo Benit, Alvie Briones, John de los Reyes, Rosben Empase, Rafe Fama and Frily de los Santos. He is assisted in the management of the gym by his wife, the former Joanne Soto.

Sam’s Slim Gym has been home to body-building winners, the latest of whom, are Benit, who placed first runner-up in the tall category,  in the Mr. and Ms. Boracay Philippines and second in the FAME, or Fitness and Modelling Expo, held at Greenhills, metro Manila, on April 31 and April 24, respectively. Solon, entered in the short category,  placed second runner-up in Boracay and third runner-up in Greenhills .

His brother, Alvin was third runner-up in the novice category in the Boracay competition while his sister, Grace, was third runner-up  in the female division in Greenhills.

Beyond the development of muscles and the body, Sam said his gym aims to make people realize that “fitness is a lifestyle”, that’s why he and his trainers are more focused on how they can serve and help clients by giving them the best result they can achieve. Through his well-trained and credible instructors,  he added, the gym  hopes to guide each client and provide them updated programs he or she can choose from to keep himself or herself in tip-top condition.

A study made by Fama for his Business Research class requirement at the University of St. La Salle showed that gym goers consider their gym services worth the fees they spend as they not only attain their fitness goals but also enjoy  a cordial and personal atmosphere under the guidance of friendly mentors and with adequate facilities that are accessible to their respective schools or homes.

Solon said gym rates are affordable goers register paying a P150 fee, with a mothly rate of P500 for professionals and P400 for students. The fees entitle enrollees to unlimited number of hours’ workout for every month paid.

Training, he added, is personalized, because Solon believes that each gym attendee has a specific need, thus its service is customized for a specific goer “so that he or she can have much fun while getting the desired results”.

Because of the increase in the number of clients, the gym added  facilities last summers – including two electric treadmilers, a spinner, a squat rack, a calf raise, a hack squat machine, a multi-purpose machine and plates as well as dumbbells for the additional clients.

Asked of expansion plans amid continuing public awareness for physical fitness, Solon said he “puts the plan in God’s hand and time”. As of the moment, he added, I am focused more on how I can continue to make Bacoleños attaint he best physique possible “so that they can live to the best of their life as well”.

We know that our present situation determines our future condition, thus the kind of physical situation you are in right now will greatly determine the kind of person you become tomorrow,” he added.

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