For Mattituck’s Paige Romanowski, there’s a special sort of satisfaction in her work as a personal trainer.
“The beauty of it all is seeing somebody achieve things they didn’t think they could,” she said. “Those types of achievements make all of this worth it.”
Five years ago Ms. Romanowski started BodyRite Training, her own fitness program. But now, after working out of various gyms on the North Fork or hosting BodyRite clients in her basement, Ms. Romanowski has her own brick-and-mortar location in Jamesport, complete with a pink accent wall asking “Are you BodyRite?” in large letters.
At 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5, BodyRite formally opened its doors on Route 25 when Ms. Romanowski hosted her first group class. She took over the empty building space next to VanKemenade Paint and Wallpaper, which had long been a dream of hers, and now affectionately refers to it as “the dojo.”
“I’ve always wanted this space,” she said. “I had to drive by here every day on the way to work. This is just a perfect spot, and there’s no other place I wanted to be.”
Although she has an assistant to help with administrative tasks, Ms. Romanowski is the only trainer in her studio which she described as a “one-woman operation.”
BodyRite’s new location offers primarily group classes, though members are also free to come and go as they please to use the equipment. About 30 memberships will be available to prevent the space from overcrowding.
Once she irons out the kinks, Ms. Romanowski hopes to launch a yoga program sometime this spring. Another unique feature is the iPhone app that allows customers to book appointments.
Ms. Romanowski, who is also the health and fitness editor for House Magazine, said her program is holistic with emphasis on healthy eating and nutrition to complement her exercise classes.
“All of these other trainers out here are so focused on just helping you lose weight, but if you take that literally, there’s about 500 different ways you can lose weight,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily guarantee health.”
The name BodyRite is an obvious portmanteau, and Ms. Romanowski has built much of her business’s marketing and promotion around that mash-up. She uses “BodyRite” not just as a noun, but also as a verb and an adjective to describe the lifestyle she preaches. In the studio, she gives out BodyRite T-shirts to her patrons.
She also gives out T-shirts that say “BodyWrong,” usually to significant others of her patrons who are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of exercise or healthier eating.
“There really is a huge need for this kind of facility out here because we’re so limited with fitness options,” she said. “If you don’t want to do CrossFit and if you don’t want to join the gym and if you don’t like aerobic training, then you’re kind of at a loss out here.”
That being said, though, she stressed that clients at BodyRite will work hard.
“BodyRite offers strength training,” she said. “I’m not into surfing on surfboards and playing with fuzzy balls and pink and green colored weights. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m not capable of lifting something that’s heavy.”
