BY KAT FITZPATRICK
The motivation for Shireen Gazzillo to
move her business, Motivations Fitness Center,
to the corner of Glen Street and Sanford
Street in Glens Falls, was simple: location,
location, location.
“This location offers more parking and
more visibility,” Gazzillo said.
The eight-year-old business originated in
Queensbury under the ownership and management
of Diniah Cornell.
“She had the business for four years,”
said Gazzillo. “She just felt she needed to
move on.”
Gazzillo was dedicated to the fitness business
and had been on the lookout to widen
her horizons.
“I wanted to be more than a trainer. I love
it. I breathe it,” Gazzillo said. “And I wanted
to do more.”
“My education is in business,” she said.
“And I always loved working out.”
When she bought the business, she changed
it from simply “Motivations” to “Motivations
Fitness Center.” The focus of the business is
fitness classes and weight-training.
“We get people from Facebook and our
website, but we now get people just walking
in off the street,” said Gazzillo. “Every week
we get 8-10 new calls. We are also finding,
too, that people seem to be a little bit leery
because you feel like you are in a fishbowl
near the street like this, but once you get in
here, you really don’t mind. It feels good.”
The atmosphere of the place corroborates
her claim as clients pile into the bright space
for classes such as zumba, cardio power
sculpt, step classes.
Gazzillo and her staff of accredited fitness
professionals–Kim Bailey, Vicki Washburn,
Ann Gereaux and Karen Dingman–also offer
personal training and spin classes. She also
has a professional body builder, Tara Silza
who sublets. She brings in her own clientele but also acts as one of the six personal trainers
on staff.
Silza is from Queensbury and has been with
Motivations Fitness Studio since Thanksgiving.
She participates in international competitions
in the United States, Europe and
Canada. She has her own client base and
works with aerobic and nutritional fitness as
well as weight lifting.
“We all know how to safely identify and
meet personal goals,” Gazzillo said.
Though her first in impression of the building
was unfavorable, she is now grateful for
the run-down old building that was originally
Shangrah’s Pharmacy.
“When I first came in, I said this will
never work,” Gazzillo said. But she made the
decision to go ahead and the purchase was
completed in June 2014 and they opened for
business in July.
“It took less than two months to renovate,”
she said. “We were only closed for 10 days.”
Gazzillo credited Pete Sluck, of Precision
Construction, for the success of the transformation.
“Pete did a great job, he got this
place up and running quick,” she said. “We
were only closed for 10 days.
“Our clients are pretty committed,” she
added, “but I didn’t want them to feel like
they needed to find a place to workout for
six weeks.”
The renovation of the old blue building
included putting in large storefront windows,
creating a combination space for group fitness
classes and weight training, a refurbished
basement for a cycle classroom with 10 bikes,
two renovated apartments upstairs and an
additional wing that includes office space–
currently rented by Pauline O’Connell, Reiki
and Spiritual Consultant, and Jamie Newell,
Massage Therapist–and a pool.
“The pool was previously used for physical
therapy,” said Gazzillo. “I will be using it for aqua aerobics, offering a no impact workout.
It is a great workout without compressing
the joints.”
One way that Gazzillo helps clients find
ways to healthy balance and fitness is with an
electrical impedance test. “This is a $3,000
machine,” she said, hefting the hand-held device
that is not much larger than a mini ipad.
“You put one electrode on one arm and one
on the opposite foot,” she said. The reading
is done while the person is laying down and
the conclusions are based on age and height.
The test gives a total body composition reading,
including body fat, lean muscle mass and
hydration levels.
“We help clients decide what their caloric
deficit needs to be, plus what exercises will bring them to their desired fitness level. Each
pound of fat represents 3,500 calories and a
spinning class burns 1,000 calories. A person
can safely lose two pounds a week, so they can
create a 7,000 calorie deficit safely,” she said.
“You can also add muscle mass, that’s about
changing body composition.”
“If you shoot for fitness and the quality
of life, the aesthetics come along with it,”
Gazzillo said.
First classes are always free as they hand
out free class passes to try it out. There are
no contracts or start up fees.
Motivations Fitness Center is located at
484 Glen St., Glens Falls, and can be found
on Facebook and at motivationsfitnessgfny.com. The phone number is 793-9685.
Photo Courtesy Motivations Fitness