New Gym Inspires Fitness and Generosity at Young Age

In today's fast-paced world in which parents are rushing home from work to pick their kids up from school, piano lessons and art classes, it's difficult for anyone to find time to exercise. Two local business owners, Randall Elkin and Matt Johnson, are aiming to solve that problem with their innovative business model for Energy Fitness and Gymnastics, which just opened in Natick.

Located in the former Gold's Gym location in West Natick, Energy Fitness offers top gymnastics instruction, open gym, birthday parties and a chance for parents to squeeze in a complimentary workout themselves or use the free wi-fi to do work, all while keeping an eye on their kids. While the gymnastics instructors are teaching the older students to perfect the parallel bars or improve strength and flexibility in the 16,000 sq. ft. facility, their toddler siblings take class in an adjacent matted play area specifically designed for younger kids, while parents can watch every move through the window, all while running on the treadmill or the elliptical. Elkin and Johnson said they believe that the kids being able to see their parents and caregivers working out has an invaluable impact on their lifestyle choices.

"At a young age, it starts to instill the fitness lifestyle in the kids, so by the time they hit those teen years, it's habit—they're entrenched in their ways." said Elkin, who lives in Natick with his family.

Elkin and Johnson, a Newton resident, also hope that their business' focus on giving back to the community will inspire others to do the same. In addition to trying to hire a staff of all local residents, Energy Fitness gives back to charities.  They have raised more than $65,000 for the National Brain Tumor Society, work with the Pan Mass Challenge and will donate to any local school that asks for help in their annual fundraising efforts. The gym also donates free workout sessions to the Children's Hospital's Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program to help obese children get into and stay in shape. Energy Fitness has donated free workout classes at the Newton location, in which kids can exercise with their instructors at no charge.

"Our goal is to help these patients reach a new level of self confidence and create a new lifestyle and give them the springboard to go into a sport or an activity and work out on their own," said Elkin.

The same philosophy is taught in their regular classes, which accommodate children who are just beginning to walk all the way up to age 14. Instructors can teach a wide range of skills and customize training to meet your child's areas of need as well. 

"Our goal is to not put kids in a box, but it's more so to inquire and discover the child and recognize their individual needs and address those needs as they come up," said Johnson. And for disciplining and students that act out in class—the staff does not give time-outs, but rather teaches the kids responsibility.

"It's really about empowering kids to make choices...now they're more confident, they're more secure, they're willing to go out on a limb and so the end result is that we've got kids that are really developing mentally, emotionally and physically."