New Greenwich Gym Offers A Different Kind Of Workout

GREENWICH, CT — When most people think of going to the gym, they shudder at the thought of sweating in a room filled with crowds and loud music for hours each week. The Exercise Coach, Cos Cob's newest gym, has found a way to eliminate that stress by offering focused, individualized workouts in a smaller environment.

The new gym, which opened at 237 East Putnam Avenue on Aug. 7, caters to residents who don't typically exercise because they feel they don't have the time, don't like gyms or are simply intimidated by the experience.

"A lot of those people are also over the age of 40, and interestingly the fitness market...grossly neglects them," owner Stephan Rigopoulos said to Patch. "Gyms really gear toward a younger set. They're crowded, there's a lot of music and it's a very social thing. So there was a need here."

The Exercise Coach is a small franchise that was founded in 2000 with locations in states such as Illinois, Texas and Arizona. The gym utilizes computerized "exerbotics" machines that offer users data and real time feedback to help customize their workout. They are also motorized, which allows the machines to work with and respond to a person's body.

"If you have a range of motion, there are strong spots and weak spots in that range, and the machine responds to the user in such a way that you can still have a very smooth, deliberate and controlled motion," Rigopoulos said. "You're not having those weak spots or strong spots where all of the sudden you're pulling too hard. It allows you to have much more control and activate the muscles."

The machines have monitors that show how much force the person using it is exerting and will go in and out of their set range based on how hard or soft the person is pushing or pulling. A person's range is determined before they start their workout, and all the data from their workout is saved for the next time they use the machine.

Setting a range also keeps the workouts comfortable and safe, yet highly effective. According to Rigopoulos, workouts on the exerbotics machines are less about using all of one's strength and more about control and accuracy.

"The science and the technology have really driven this. You can workout at a gym every day and not even really activate your muscles," Rigopoulos said. "You can't not activate your muscles when you're using this equipment. It won't work."

For anyone worried they don't have time to go to the gym during the week, workouts at The Exercise Coach last less than 30 minutes.

"People spend hours and days in gyms," Rigopoulos said. "The level of technology and innovation [at The Exercise Coach] is so high that they have reduced the time to only 20 minutes twice per week."

They also have pieces of equipment for concentrated cardio, which offers high intensity interval training (HIIT).

"Five minutes of our HIIT is equivalent to 50 minutes of conventional cardio," Rigopoulos said. "Two of our 20-minute workouts are equivalent to seven days worth of conventional workouts in gyms."

Though it is certainly smaller than most gyms, offering seven pieces of equipment, the facility typically only has a couple people in it at a time due to segments lasting just 20 minutes.

The lack of crowds adds to the private, clean, nurturing and supportive high-tech environment the gym aims for. It also puts them in a unique position of not really competing with other area gyms due to The Exercise Coach's specialty nature.

For anyone interested or on the fence about this different way of working out, Rigopoulos is offering residents two free session so they can see The Exercise Coach's innovative methods at work for themselves.

"There are other places that try to do things fast, but they tend to just push hard. It's a whole different experience from us," Rigopoulos said. "This is really a unique and advanced approach to fitness."