From: http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=19&aid=51661
RoadFit Offers Outdoor Workouts For People Who Want To Get Out Of The Gym
June 21, 2005
Something new has New Yorkers hitting the road, but it has nothing to do with cars. As NY1’s Kafi Drexel reports, it has more to do with tuning up your body.
A relatively new work-out program, just a year old, is encouraging New Yorkers to get out and hit the ground running.
The outdoor fitness company RoadFit takes the exercise routine outside, where they have everything from intensive boot camp classes to power walks to boxing. Most of the work-outs usually take place in Central Park.
“After working out at a gym, in a classroom with blaring music, it's just so beautiful to come to Central Park,” says participant Cheryl Simon. “The scenery, and being with a group of people in a natural environment - it's like spring break when you're in school.”
RoadFit's founder, Eric Von Frolich, says the goal all along has been to use the city's environment, both natural and man-made, giving New Yorkers alternatives beyond the gym.
“I just got tired of going to the gym,” says Von Frolich. “I'm an athlete, I’m always outdoors, I was running and I see a tree branch and I'm like, ‘Wow! I could do pull-ups on that,’ or I see a bench and say, ‘I could do jump-ups on that,’ or I'd run from tree to tree.”
The federal government and most fitness experts recommend and working out an average of 30 minutes a day to stay healthy. But the average New Yorker on the go often doesn't even have time for that.
Von Frolich says not only can you save time on your work-out by skipping the gym and heading to the park, but he says he's also tried to make class schedules as flexible as possible, starting with the boot camp drills at 5:30 in the morning.
“I find that you have a couple of different time slots for New Yorkers,” he says. “You have the people who want to do it just before work, people who want to do it just after they drop their kids off from school, I have a lot of people who like to get out at lunchtime, and then of course there’s the after-work crowd. Those are the four big time slots. In the middle of the day everyone is so busy with their jobs that we have to have something for everyone at more or less every part of the day.”
While the summertime months my seem ideal for an outdoor workout, RoadFit keeps people boxing, boot camping, and running throughout all seasons.
“The idea is to break them into working out when it's not so nice as well,” says RoadFit marketing director Debra Strougo. “So as it goes into fall, we think fall is going to be one of our strongest seasons, and even into the winter. The idea is that if you wear the proper clothing, you could work out no matter what the season is.”
RoadFit does charge a fee of $200 for a package of eight classes. Individual classes run an average of $30 each. But they say that's still a bargain compared to some of the high-end prices at many of New York City's gyms.
For more information on RoadFit's selection of classes, visit www.roadfit.com.
- Kafi Drexel