Make Your 2011 Fitness Resolution a Reality

Clients of Optimal Fitness 24/7 can take advantage of one-on-one customized training sessions with a personal trainer.

Tara and Chad Gerstmeyer, owners of Optimal Fitness 24/7 in Owasso.

Chad Gerstmeyer’s friends and former co-workers will tell you he was always the one eating healthy and exercising. So it came as no surprise to them when he decided it was time for a career change after working in the restaurant management business for 12 years. “I decided it was time to pursue a career doing what I truly love,” said Chad.

He and his wife Tara have had a lifelong passion for personal fitness. Chad was involved with bicycle racing and eventually began weight training; Tara started gymnastics at the age of five and went on to perform at the elite Olympic level. She also spent 7 years coaching gymnastics from age 5 through college level.

The Gerstmeyers’ passion evolved into their dream job when they purchased Optimal Fitness 24/7, formerly Fitness 24/7, last May. Tara jokes that she bought her husband the gym as a birthday gift. “We closed on purchasing the facility on his actual birthday,” she laughed.

Chad was ready and excited to pursue a new career. “We have the ability to change lives for the better here,” he said.

Located in Owasso, Optimal Fitness 24/7 is open 365 days a year. The 8,000-square-foot facility houses more than 80 pieces of equipment, including Precor cardio equipment and Pioneer strength equipment. Tanning is available and both the men’s and women’s locker rooms are complete with showers and full-size saunas.

Clients can take advantage of one-on-one customized training sessions with a personal trainer. Optimal Fitness 24/7 also offers speed and agility classes for specific sports, benefitting athletes from youngsters through the teen years and Zumba classes for adults. Class schedules are available online at www.optimalfitness247.com.

Chad and Tara work with clients ranging across a broad spectrum of fitness levels, whether it’s someone needing to achieve extreme weight loss, recovering from a knee surgery, dealing with a rotator cuff injury or preparing for competition in body building shows. “Each personality and fitness level is different, said Tara. “We are able to develop personalized fitness plans that meet people’s individual needs.”

The Gerstmeyers view Optimal Fitness 24/7 as a sanctuary for people seeking a better life and craving knowledge for how to become fit. According to Chad, the people that walk into their facility are tired of being bombarded with sales pitches from big box corporate gyms. “They simply want to work out and see results,” said Chad. “We want to change the perception of the gym industry and bring it back to what it’s really about – the people.”

You can tell that Chad and Tara are passionate about what they do just by talking with them. “People becoming happier and healthier is what drives us,” said Chad.

Optimal Fitness 24/7 is more than just a business to the Gerstmeyers. “We don’t view our clients as dollar figures,” said Chad. “Our goal is to be involved in our community and give back to society by changing people’s lives for the better.”

For more information, contact

Optimal Fitness 24/7

www.optimalfitness247.com