San Diego can be your fitness playground

There’s a Hawaiian proverb that truly describes the journey and destination of yoga practice-’A ‘one o ka mai’a i ka la ho’okahi ‘A ‘ohe pala naio-All knowledge is not taught in the same school. This can sometimes be the case when it comes to fitness classes.

You enjoy the classes offered at your current studio, but your co-worker has been bragging about a great new instructor at her gym. You would like to check it out, but paying for additional classes on top of your current membership might not be possible.

Welcome to fitness paradise, or in this case, an app-based membership that allows you to access fitness at more than 75 studios and gyms across San Diego County.

“Our vision at FITn is to help others through fitness by connecting local studios and fitness options,” said David Metzler, the Maestro and CEO of FITn. “We are creating a growing health ecosystem that makes fitness more accessible, fun and social.”

With the FITn app, members can sign up for a $149 membership that allows for any studio, any time access to its network. A trial membership is available for $10 for ten days.

“I use the product every day,” said FITn member David Steele. “For the price of one membership, I get to work out at all of my favorite places, with my favorite instructors-and work out with my friends.”

“We’re changing the entire paradigm of the wellness industry,” said FITn ambassador and local yoga instructor Mike Sherbakov. “Long gone now is that old model of, ‘I’m doing this yoga because I can only afford one membership.’ For yogis and athletes, instead of being locked into one membership or paying a membership at three different places, they have one membership with access to all these amazing places.”

“I’m that guy that tends to start and stop workout routines, and can find a new yoga or Pilates class to be a little intimidating,” Metzler told DiscoverSD in a recent interview, “so overcoming that boundary by having friends with no barriers about where and when we could practice together helped to motivate me and keep me accountable. And I realized that creating a network of studios so people could find what they like to do and have friends support them-then adding the motivation that when fitness is tied to helping other people, we would go way beyond what we do on our own-those were all the pieces that made FITn happen.”

No need to close your eyes and click your heels three times-wherever you are on the San Diego map, you can stay fit and healthy, have fun and help change lives.

“FITn has not only helped bring more people to our studio, it’s opening everybody’s eyes,” said Melissa Smith, owner of member studio Mantra Yoga. “The days of being committed to one studio are over. Students never plateau because they can work out at different facilities-and they can still be part of our studio community. We love that!”

The strategy of this growing wellness initiative is five-in-five. “Eventually in every San Diego neighborhood, within five miles, members will have access to five types of studios-from yoga and Pilates to spinning, a gym, and high-intensity training,” said Metzler.

Along with providing a wide variety of fitness options to its members, FITn is also a community advocate. Metzler said that for every hour a member works out, an hour of physical education is donated to local schools that lost their physical education programs. Metzler believes this program will help increase fitness education and help the fight against childhood obesity.

Find your local playground at fitn.com.

Source: DiscoverSD