GREENFIELD — Now under new ownership, The Body Shoppe’s fitness center is focusing on personal training while continuing the gym’s 35-year legacy.

Co-owners Steve Ferry and Ryan Trusevitch, both fitness trainers, now run the fitness center under the name FRST Strength @ TBS. The building also houses Cypress Physical Therapy, making it the only full-service fitness facility in the area, Trusevitch said.

“We are still under The Body Shoppe,” Trusevitch noted. “We are part of that legacy that The Body Shoppe created.”

“It’s been here for 35 years,” Ferry said. “We want to try to keep it that way.”

Trusevitch and Ferry previously worked as trainers at The Body Shoppe. In a recent restructuring of the company, the previous owner Liz Dolby sold the fitness gym portion to Trusevitch and Ferry. Cypress Physical Therapy is owned separately, but the two businesses aim to complement one another, Ferry said. Dolby is now a managing partner of the Cypress company.

“People that come for physical therapy can transition into training with us to get a better idea of movement,” Ferry said. “For people who need a little extra help, or are coming in from an injury, then we can connect with physical therapy.”

Ferry, originally from the Worcester area, started working at The Body Shoppe in 2016, while studying exercise science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Trusevitch, originally from the Boston area, relocated last winter, having recently been certified for personal training. He was hired at The Body Shoppe that summer, when it reopened after the business shutdown of the spring.

By that time, personal training was seeing a sudden surge in popularity.

“We have thrived in the pandemic. I think that’s what says the most about the product that we put out here,” Trusevitch said.

“I think personal training exploded because people want to work out in an environment that makes them feel comfortable,” Ferry said. “A lot of people like that concept because they don’t have to come into a gym, wondering what’s going on and being confused and not getting the guidance they want — especially during a pandemic, when everything is a little uneasy.”

Now, in addition to personal training service, various fitness classes and nutrition counseling, the gym has also been offering online coaching since the pandemic began, Ferry said.

“Having a personal trainer helps you to be accountable, motivated and safe,” Ferry said.

“I think (exercise) is the most transformative thing that a human being can do for the mind and body,” Trusevitch said. “I heard a doctor say recently that it’s the only mood stabilizer you can take that works in minutes and has long-lasting results.”

The gym, at 306 High St., is available only by appointment, due to capacity limits amid the pandemic. Contact the gym at 413-774-2138.

Reach Max Marcus at
mmarcus@recorder.com
or 413-930-4231.

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