Fitness center in Georgetown run by friends from Wilton and Ridgefield

Michelle Maturo of Ridgefield and Mary Beth Young of Wilton, friends and longtime personal trainers and fitness instructors, have opened a fitness center in Georgetown. Ms. Maturo concentrates on personal training with fitness machines and teaching Spin classes while Ms. Young teaches Pilates in small classes and privately.

Ms. Maturo has named her business Elevation. In addition to personal training and Spin, she coaches cycling, running, and adventure training, both privately and in groups.

¡°I¡¯ve been in this industry for 11 years,¡± Ms. Maturo said. ¡°I started out in New York City at big facilities where I was a personal trainer, an indoor rock-climbing instructor, and an indoor cycling instructor.¡±

She moved back to Connecticut four and a half years ago and has worked at a club in Ridgefield. She has also taught at facilities in surrounding towns.

¡°Having my own studio has always been a dream of mine,¡± Ms. Maturo continued. ¡°I had created a niche in the community for what I do and had built a really good following. Now that I¡¯m here in Georgetown, I hope to attract new clients from Weston, Redding, Ridgefield, and Wilton.¡±

Ms. Maturo explained that Spinning simulates an outdoor bike ride. ¡°Johnny G created Spinning as a way for bicyclists to train,¡± she said. ¡°Spinning is his trademark.¡±

Ms. Maturo¡¯s bikes are different from any in the area because they are attached to a computer. ¡°It¡¯s almost like having a cyclometer, which records the revolutions of a wheel and the distance traveled, on each bike,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s no cheating in this studio.¡±

Ms. Young has been a fitness instructor for 25 years and has lived in Wilton for 20. ¡°One of the first classes I taught was at the Redding Boys Club,¡± she said. ¡°As the fitness industry grew, I grew in the industry. I became a certified personal trainer and have taught all kinds of classes all around Fairfield County.¡±

Then Ms. Young discovered Pilates and was trained in it. Pilates is a form of exercise that concentrates on the core of the body. According to the Internet, this exercise regimen was created nearly 100 years ago by Joseph Pilates as a way to help injured World War I soldiers. Since then, it has become a popular way to increase lung capacity, circulation, strength, flexibility, balance, and good posture.

Ms. Young named her organization The Pilates Advantage. She said there are two types of Pilates classes, mat and machines. ¡°Mat is all gravity. It¡¯s you against you. The resistance is what you create within your own body,¡± she explained. ¡°With the machines, you have the resistance of the springs and the straps. Just like on the mat, you work every muscle from head to toe.¡±

Pilates is about precision and focus, she said. ¡°It¡¯s about concentration and correct alignment. It¡¯s all lengthening, strengthening, and decompressing the spine, long and strong. The benefit you get from Pilates is the way you carry yourself everywhere else. It¡¯s about how you move through space and life.¡±

And finally Ms. Young said, ¡°Pilates is a great addition to any other kind of exercise regime. I really want to bring Pilates to everybody.¡±

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