After surviving thyroid cancer, Lissa Pietrykowski built a women-only training space in Troy where “showing up” is the victory and confidence is the result.
Lissa wasn’t trying to create the next trendy fitness concept. She was solving a problem she kept seeing: women wanted to feel stronger, but couldn’t get themselves through the front door of a gym.
“Exercise is so important when you’re struggling with mental health, but many people are intimidated to go to a big gym,” Lissa says. “Having a separate space with a separate entrance just helps get people through the door.”
That idea became Peak Women, a women-only personal training studio built inside a dedicated section of the long-established Peak Physique Fitness in Troy. Lissa launched the women-centric concept mid 2024, creating privacy and comfort with an enclosed training room near a second entrance.
She describes it as a “first step” for clients who need a little more emotional safety before they can focus on physical strength.
The story behind Peak Women begins years earlier, in 2012, when Lissa was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 32 while raising three small children. Treatment included surgery and radioactive iodine therapy, and a 10-day isolation period away from her kids.
“Ten days doesn’t seem long, but in their little lives, at that time, it was traumatic,” she says.
In the middle of that fear and disruption, movement became her lifeline. Jazzercise offered a reminder that her body was more than the place where cancer had landed. She became an instructor for a short time, but the experience set something in motion: a new path that led her to the National Personal Training Institute and into the world of coaching.
What she carried into training wasn’t a “before-and-after” mindset; it was empathy. Lissa’s approach centers on the overlap between physical and mental health – and on meeting women exactly where they are.
“Exercise is not necessarily about what you look like on the outside, but how you feel on the inside,” she says.
Strong. In control. Less anxious. More at home in your own skin.
That philosophy is baked into Peak Women’s format. Training is primarily one-on-one or shared (two clients paired with one trainer), which keeps the environment small, personal and non-intimidating. New clients start with a free consultation – “just us chatting for about 30 minutes” – followed by a complimentary one-hour workout to make sure it feels like a fit.
They also use InBody scanning to shift focus away from the scale and toward meaningful progress. It tracks how much muscle is gained, inflammation reduced and imbalances improved, which helps clients stay motivated when the mirror or number doesn’t tell the whole story.
But the real differentiator is what clients describe when they try to explain Peak Women: relief.
Jeanne Coleman, 78, says she was drawn in by an ad featuring a silver-haired woman and by the idea of a women’s entrance and training space. She describes not only physical gains, but a “community spirit” rooted in respect.
Another longtime client, Ella Treloar, credits training with helping her maintain flexibility and movement in her 70s.
“When you walk in the door, you will find instant friendship and leave feeling strength and hope at any age,” she says.
That “any age” message matters to Lissa.
“You’re never too old,” she says. “You don’t need to wait until you’re fit to start at the gym. That is what we’re there for.”
Other clients echo these sentiments. “Working out with Lissa is about more than just proper form or how much you’re lifting, it’s about making sure you feel good, inside and out,” says Sheila, another dedicated gym regular.
For Lissa, those wins are the point. She built Peak Women to be a place where women can be honest about postpartum bodies, osteoporosis fears, anxiety, injuries, aging, or simply the intimidation of “gym culture” – and still feel worthy of taking up space.
At Peak Women, strength doesn’t start with perfection. It starts with belonging.
peakphysiquetroy.com l (248) 879-3141
“Exercise is not necessarily about what you look like on the outside, but how you feel on the inside.”