'Holistic' Approach Key to Keeping Clients Working Out

Robert DeVito has seen it over and over again. A man or woman starts exercising at a gym. A few months later, the person plateaus or loses interest and quits.

It is all too common said DeVito, the owner of Innovation Fitness Solutions on Route 23 in Butler.

“We have a holistic approach to our program. Many people have undefined and unclear goals and don’t understand how their body functions. They don’t understand that plateaus are coming and how to break through them,” DeVito said. “We provide guidance and our coaches make sure to show our clients how we’re going to get through those plateaus.”

With other health clubs, clients sign up for a yearlong membership, have a one-hour long session with a trainer and maybe a nutritionist and never talk to anyone again.

DeVito and his staff take a completely different approach. They take the time to invest in each client personally. They get to know their eating and workout habits. 

Conversation is a big part of DeVito’s strategy. Rather than meet with a client once, they meet with them constantly, educating them on not just how their body works, but how eating and exercising can be used together to not just lose weight, but improve one's overall health. 

“We don’t want to just solve whatever problem the person may be experiencing at that moment,” said Christine Leonescu, a jazzercise instructor at Innovative. “It’s not a two-month long program. We want people to be successful for the rest of their lives.”

DeVito  knows that keeping people motivated throughout a long period of time doesn’t work. He wants clients to understand that failure is an expected part of the process.

“There’s no way to maintain a high level of motivation for a long period of time,” said DeVito. “You’ve got to get somebody to the point of commitment and teach them that there’s going to be positives and negatives and how they can navigate the plateaus that come up.”

Clients often get too emotional when they mess up by eating a bad meal or missing a workout, DeVito said.

“We’ll work with you on staying mentally balanced so to not get overly emotional because of a mistake or because something bad happened,” DeVito said. “Failure is part of the process and it’s going to happen. How to react to it, that is going to determine how successful you are in the long run.”