Lexington, KY - A lot has changed since Sheila Kalas received her graduate degree in exercise physiology from the University of Kentucky in 1989.
She has seen the field of personal training go from a luxury exclusively for the rich and famous to a service accepted for average people.
After graduating from UK, Kalas went to Miami where she got a taste of working as a personal trainer. At that time, she said, it was really only for the elite.
She also saw something else prevalent in the budding field of personal training.
"Personal trainers had very little business sense," Kalas said.
But Kalas was raised by a father who was a corporate vice president for Baxter Healthcare in Chicago.
"I didn't go to business school, but that was the kind of environment I grew up in up," Kalas said. "My family was very business-minded."
She saw that she could use her business sense to her advantage and to the benefit of other trainers and the personal training field. She founded Fitness Plus in Florida in 1993. After tiring of the Miami scene, she decided to move back to Lexington in 1995, where she re-created Fitness Plus from scratch.
At that time, personal training was still mostly for the elite, "but the temperature was changing," Kalas said.
She started making contacts, signing up clients and using space in existing gyms for workouts and building the Fitness Plus brand. In 1997, with more personal trainers entering the field, she turned Fitness Plus into a kind of co-op. Kalas, while remaining a trainer, would handle the business end, such as billing and scheduling, while referring new customers to other trainers in exchange for a commission. And by pooling together, the trainers could put together a marketing budget.
But Kalas wouldn't let just anybody sign on as a Fitness Plus trainer.
"I'm an education snob," Kalas said.
She said some people approach her about being a personal trainer by saying they work out a lot and therefore they think they would be good at it. But there is more to being a trainer than sticking to a personal exercise regimen, according to Kalas. If somebody doesn't have a college degree in exercise science, they won't even be considered for Fitness Plus.
"It's not rocket science, but it is science," Kalas said.
And Kalas would like even more rigorous standards for personal trainers. She would like to see a state licensing or certification system, just like a doctor, nurse or physical therapist. She said that would go a long way to legitimizing a field that still is sometimes viewed with suspicion.
"I think the industry needs it," Kalas said.
Kalas said she wants personal trainers to be "treated like a health care professional and compensated like a health care professional."
Being an education snob hasn't kept Fitness Plus from expanding. Fitness Plus now has a main studio on North Ashland Avenue and two satellite locations with a total of 15 personal trainers.
The main studio has an array of exercise equipment, but Kalas doesn't think of the Fitness Plus business as a gym; she doesn't sell memberships or ask clients to pay in advance.
"Gyms don't care if you're fit," Kalas said. "They hope the majority of people (with memberships) do not come."
A personal trainer is more of a partner in their clients' health, and a trainer's job is to motivate, educate and be a manager for overall health and wellness.
Most of the Fitness Plus clients are not outstanding athletes training for a marathon or triathlon. Kalas said they are "normal people" who don't particularly enjoy going to gym, but recognize the value of staying fit and knowing they are doing something good for themselves for the long run.
Even as the recession came, Kalas saw very little drop in business at Fitness Plus. While she heard from clients that they would be eating out less or giving up a big vacation, they remained committed to keeping their personal trainer.
"It's that sense of accomplishment and pride that keeps them coming back," she said.
And she is continuing to look for ways to bring in new clients and keep the business growing.
One is tailoring a program for business executives and others whose travel schedule sometimes makes it difficult to sustain a regular exercise program. She also will be doing more writing and public speaking on wellness and fitness. And she always likes be involved in community events that promote fitness, she said.
"I love running a business in Lexington," said Kalas, who is a Chicago native. "I really believe that if you offer a good product and do a good job, that the community will reward you."
And so far, that has worked.
"I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this for a living," Kalas said.