Full Body Health and Fitness Center Now Open at Former Skate Haven Location on Walnut Street

LOCK HAVEN – Roller skating is not what it once was, but fitness and good health are very much in vogue these days.
A local couple feels strongly about sharing their passion for fitness and health so Lori and Brian Hoy acquired the former Skate Haven skating rink on E. Walnut St. in Lock Haven and converted it into a state-of-the-art fitness center.

A formal ribbon-cutting was held recently and the Hoys were asked about their significant undertaking:
What prompted the two of you to undertake such a vast project at this stage of your lives?

“Our journey of pursuing better health has led us to a new-found passion for sharing what we have learned and practiced for over three years. Nutrition and fitness are now a part of who we are…it’s our lifestyle. We live it. We breathe it. We share it. We have helped a lot of people get started on their own journeys, and have realized this is what we were meant to do.We want to live the next 50 years better than we did our first 50!!!”

Where had you two been in terms of fitness before you decided on Full Body?
Our stories – a little about Brian: “ Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a competitive guy. I loved to play sports…football, baseball, track and field…you name it. I also loved hunting, biking, skiing, and hiking. As I aged, I started to literally fall apart. In 2013, I had to have my ACL replaced in my left knee. After eight weeks of rehab I went back to work, but was afraid to try anything physical in fear of re-injuring the knee. After two years of doing nothing but walking, I noticed I was feeling a little sluggish and winded from just walking up a few flights of stairs. At this point, I weighed in at 196 lbs., and I knew it was time to make a change in my life. In February of 2015, I jumped into Beachbody’s Insanity workout program. Although I was seeing changes in my body and its endurance, I wasn’t getting the results I desired. I started to do some research about nutrition and learned that no matter what fitness program I chose, what I was eating would ultimately keep me from reaching my goals. So, I added my version of clean eating. Wow, did the weight come off quickly! I decided in May that I needed a change so I swapped out the Insanity for Boot Camp to continue the cardio and the resistance five days a week. Boot Camp felt a lot like the high school football calisthenics I enjoyed back in the 80s. My goal was never to achieve a number…it was to strip the flab off before building it back up. In July, I had leaned out to 165 pounds, a surprise loss of over 30 pounds. I realized at this moment that I needed to rebuild my body even stronger than before shedding the fat. Today, I continue to eat clean and, participate in and coach a Boot Camp class. I have added weight training three days a week as well. This is something I had not done since high school, and never realized how much I missed it. Now at 49 years young my goal is live the second half of my life better than I lived the first. So friends, let’s not let our age, our fear, our lack of time get in the way of becoming the healthiest people we can be. I challenge you to join me in this journey to continue to learn and practice making better choices so that we can live a happier, more productive life.”

“A little about Lori… Orka. Tank. These were the names that my brother used to call me when I was young. As an adult, I realize he probably thought they were harmless, but as a child they shaped an image in my mind…an image of a pudgy girl who’s Italian aunts always said she was just “big boned.” So…that’s what I believed.

“ I was an athlete since the time I was 10 years old…swimming, playing softball, basketball, track & field, volleyball, and cheerleading. In truth my legs were really muscular, but all I saw were “thunder thighs.” I always hated my body. As I grew into an adult, I battled weight gain and loss just like everybody does…this diet and that diet and no diet. The only thing I tried that actually “worked” was Weight Watchers…until it didn’t. And I really HATED to exercise…get me in a competitive sport and I would play all day. Ask me to run a mile and there were cinder blocks in my pants. Weight Watchers did help me “lose” the weight I had gained after giving birth to my premature baby boy. Yes, AFTER. I remained home with him for a year after he was born in 1996 and proceeded to pack on the pounds. So again started the yo-yo…UP and DOWN…the “I’ll start on Mondays”. The truth still remained…I hated my body. After getting divorced, I went into a bit of a depression and basically starved myself only eating one meal a day and exercising the other 23 1/2 hours of the day. I was terribly thin…sickly actually. Even then, I hated my body. Fast forward to 2007…a year after I met my current husband. The “happy,” “comfortable” weight reared its ugly head and for the following 3 years. It wasn’t until I stepped into my first Zumba class did any of the things above begin to change. I found something that truly changed how I felt inside and out so much so that I became an instructor in 2011. Did my body change as an instructor? Yes. Was I healthy? HELL NO! I still ate everything and anything because…”I have Zumba later and I will burn it off.” Fast forward to June 2016…the first time I participated in a challenge group. In one month’s time, I had SHATTERED the image that once was burned in my brain…that pudgy, big-boned, thunder-thighed girl was gone. All because of a group of strangers that weren’t really strangers at all…we weren’t strangers because we all had a similar story and a similar goal in mind…to become the best versions of ourselves as happier, healthier people.”

What “demographic” are you attempting to reach?
“We promise this facility will be safe, clean, heavily staffed, well lit both inside and out. Heat and air conditioning that works great. We have rest rooms / locker areas with showers also a Smoothie bar and lounge. Of course we have treadmills, steppers, elliptical and incumbent and spin bikes. We have a lot of Precor Select-a-size equipment, two sets of Umax dumbbells and preloaded barbells. Many Legend Fitness benches and squat racks both fixed and portable and almost 4000lbs of Umax plate weights. Some of the classes that we are ready to offer are: Yoga, Spin, Dance Fitness, CORE DE FORCE, PiYO, and Boot Camp. All of Full Body’s instructors and Personal Trainers have certifications for the classes that they are teaching, or the training that they are providing. All Full Body Team members will be well dressed and trained in CPR, basic first aid and use of an AED. As far as demographics we are trying to appeal to all age groups. 14 and up can work out on their own. If you are under 14, you must have a parent or guardian with you at all time.”

What makes Full Body unique locally?
“We want to reach the whole person…not just transform the outer, but also the inner health. Research has shown that about 80% of what we do to make our bodies healthier is through proper nutrition and supplementation. Exercising is important to help keep our bodies strong and working properly, but on its own, it cannot outrun disease if the fuel you are feeding it is sub-par. We hope to educate the community about proper nutrition as well.”

Talk about the challenge of starting such a project?
“EXTREMELY difficult! We rode a lot of highs and lows. As you can see from your earlier question we had the fitness and nutrition side down years ago, but we didn’t know the first thing about starting a business. I have been with First Quality for many years supervising people but had no real training in business ownership. I thought it would be a good idea to get involved in Leadership Clinton County to help me learn how to piece this business together. Leadership was a great place to learn about what Clinton County has to offer and also meet people that could assist Lori and me with building our business. Leadership is where I learned about the SBDC, SEDA-Cog, local banking, the Economic Partnership and the county and state governments.

“At the same time I was in leadership we were doing nothing but researching the fitness industry. Now I had all of the info but had to build a plan so we met with LHU’s Small Business Development team Tim Keohane and Tom Keiffer to pitch our idea and help us build a business plan. After the plan was built we had to find financing. M&T Bank, the City of Lock Haven, Clinton County and SEDA-Cog to the rescue. Luckily the owner of the building wanted to retire and Lori and I felt it would be the perfect location for our dream. Once the demo and construction started there were many hurdles to jump but we cleared them. Full Body Health and Fitness now lives.”