In the main workout room at Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness at 622 Hebron Ave., a wall of windows provides a nearly panoramic view of the fall landscape.
The soft light that comes through them is a purposeful design, one of the ways Healthtrax seeks to imbue its spaces with a sense of comfort and ease.
“We try to create an environment that makes our clients feel more comfortable,” says Steve Capezzone, Healthtrax’s CEO. “Most of our clients aren’t interested in the type of gyms that cater to the body-beautiful types. We’re for the other 80 percent of the population who aren’t interested in those hard-core environments. You don’t hear loud rock music here, our color scheme is very muted and our atmosphere is friendly and welcoming.”
Healthtrax’s Glastonbury location opened 23 years ago and its commitment to the health of its clients, Steve says, is reflected in its motto: “Fit Families for Life.” The company focuses on clients of all ages, from children to senior citizens.
“And we put a big emphasis on our customer service."
That approach starts the first time a new client comes in with Healthtrax’s Healthy Start program, which includes an InBody570 assessment, a non-invasive full body scan that measures blood pressure, body composition, strength, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility. The machine’s readouts provide the trainers with a broad picture of each client’s needs and helps them to assess their abilities and guide them to the appropriate activities that match their interests and fitness goals.
“It’s a very thorough orientation to see what their starting point is.”
Jennifer Freeman, Healthtrax’s fitness director, said that during the Covid-19 crisis Healthtrax has sought to reach out to members who haven’t been able to get to the gym by developing virtual programs, classes and personal training.
“We’re trying to step up our game so we can reach everyone.”
During quarantine many people have cooked and eaten more than normal and have probably also been more sedentary than in the past.
“We want to get them back up and active again,” she said.
Besides its large, central workout room with dozens of specialized exercise machines, Healthtrax also offers one-on-one training, small group and virtual training, and a variety of in-club and virtual motivating group fitness classes including yoga, strength training, cycling, Zumba, SilverSneakers classes and more. There are also aquatics programs held in the center’s large, indoor lap pool and more recently Healthtrax has begun offering its own on-site physical therapy clinics and therapy pool to treat a wide-range of post-operative issues and sports-related injuries.
“Having our own physical therapy clinic makes sense with our fitness programs,” Steve said. “It’s a good service for our clients and it’s an integrative opportunity that allows us to diversify our programs and offerings.”
