New Koloa gym sees ‘future of fitness’ in high technology

KOLOA — Space-age, liquid-cooling technology. A stationary bicycle named CAROL that can simulate a tiger chase. Digital body scans. A resistance machine that stores users’ workout history on cloud servers.

These are the hallmarks of The Smart Fit Method, a new boutique gym owned and operated by fitness instructor Jodee Burris.

“I am super excited about this. My passion is seeing people transform,” Burris told The Garden Island during a tour of her Smart Fit facility located across from the Koloa post office on Koloa Road. “We have the fitness, the nutrition and the accountability. I think those are the three key pillars that people need to transform.”

Burris was joined by friend and business partner Rob Darnbrough, an entrepreneur who founded The Smart Fit Method in Southern California.

The duo’s enthusiasm for exercise and technology was apparent as they reviewed each machine in the gym’s relatively small space.

Burris started with the Vasper, a “cold HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)” machine that uses NASA-derived tech and compression cuffs strapped to the user.

“Cooling your core temperature allows your body to work at a higher level without becoming fatigued. The compression traps the red blood cells in the muscle and builds up the lactic acid,” Burris explained. “When you’re on here, you’re holding your body in that lactic acid state for 21 minutes.”

End results, according to Burris, include improved recovery from an effective-but-low-impact workout.

Darnbrough agreed, noting he found the Vasper machine after sustaining a heart condition that precluded his traditional exercise regimen.

“At 49, I developed an aneurysm in my aorta from over-training,” Darnbrough said. “Over-training is detrimental. It’s not doing anything. You’ve got to be careful with that.”

That’s the core of The Smart Fit Method. Like many fitness businesses, the gym advertises more results in less time – three 20-minute workouts per week, to be precise. Burris and Darnbrough believe it can be done with machines that increase workouts’ efficacy and reduce risk of injury.

“Jodee and I started talking about this being the future of where fitness should go,” Darnbrough said, while calibrating a computerized adaptive-resistance machine. “Because what has been missing in fitness is, they use the term ‘health and fitness’ like they’re aligned. But ‘health’ is ‘without disease.’ ‘Fitness’ is ‘physiological headroom.’ We’re trying to increase the distance between us and the grave.”

Darnbrough expanded on Smart Fit’s philosophy while putting me through a routine on the adaptive-resistance machine, which graphed each rep in real-time on a screen.

“When we go running, we do that for fitness. But we can deteriorate our joints, so we shouldn’t call that ‘health and fitness,’” he argued. “We have to be careful to differentiate between fitness and health.”

The adaptive-resistance machine’s unfamiliar design had sparked brief confusion, but its effectiveness was apparent.

A restorative, lie-down on a 45-degree Fahrenheit cooling mat, intended to reduce muscle soreness, followed.

“I see this as a way for people who are out of shape, overweight, dealing with health conditions, dealing with injuries, where a traditional gym or group fitness class isn’t going to work for them,” Burris said. “We can work around anything in here.”

The Koloa Smart Fit Method will hold its grand opening on Monday, March 21.

Burris recommends interested individuals book a free demo workout at smartfitmethod.com. The first 50 members will receive $50 off their monthly membership for the first year.

Regular membership costs $349 per month. Five- and 10-session packages cost $125 and 200, respectively.

•••

Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.

Comments are closed.