Owner Kimberly Montgomery has confirmed that a second location of her thriving Balance Health + Body will open on October 20, 2018, at 1700 Frederica Street, Suite 102. The second location will offer the same upbeat workouts offered at the other location, but she does plan to launch new programs as well.
Montgomery, 35, was an instructor at Balance 54 when the owners approached her to buy their business in 2016. Realizing she was currently filling many of the roles in social media and structure for Balance 54, she wondered what else she could do to brand Balance to personalize it and expand. Her first thought: add spin.
When she opened Balance Health + Body in its current location in Avenue 54 in April 2017, she offered trademarked Spin and TRX classes, along with the already popular rebounding, yoga, strength and Pilates classes. Within the year, she doubled her clients and class attendance.
“What we are doing, you can’t get someplace else,” Montgomery said.
Every form of exercise taught at Balance is designed to be safe and functional to promote longevity and protect the body. For example, the geometry of the spin bikes are that of a road bike, “but we make it fun with playlists that are on beats; we jump, sprint and climb using our bodies and our bikes to provide resistance,” Montgomery explained.
What Montgomery has also noticed is that women want to be challenged in group activities. She has watched friendships develop that come from these classes – supporting one another in class and on social media.
One of the reasons Balance attracts new members is from clients bringing in friends that become clients. The first class is free, something she feels strongly about, and the packages never expire. There are no rules for cell phones or behaviors, and this is because Montgomery is not a fan of rules but more of self-accountability. The atmosphere of the new location will be the same.
“No doubt I will get new faces,” said Montgomery, of her new location. “This is the easiest thing I have ever done.”
The idea of expansion came when she was considering the need to offer more classes and different types of classes. “Plenty of people come to 54 from town,” said Montgomery, and she is sure they still will. She will just grow bigger in two locations versus one. Balance Health + Body on 54 “is great for this area, but anyone reluctant to come to 54 will now have an option,” Montgomery believes.
She has reached out to all of her current instructors and all are excited about two locations. The midtown location will have a childcare option a couple days a week and Krista Clark, one of the current instructors will be utilizing it. Krista plans to teach her already-popular Balance Baby class, where moms bring their children to exercise with them and she will also add Kettlebell cross-training classes, along with teaching TRX and spin.
Also being offered at the new location on Frederica Street will be modified CrossFit. Using TRX equipment in a circuit-style training with battle ropes and a pull-up station, clients will be able to build results, if that is their goal. Montgomery hopes to have a few male instructors to bring in this demographic and get men interested in more than spin at Balance. But, she added, they are coming in.
Balance Health + Body instructors believe it is their responsibility to offer modifications for equipment and this is important for the range of clients that are served. They are constantly changing the types of classes they offer. Montgomery finds this easy to do.
“If you don’t need it, we’ll scratch it.” she says.
So far, all classes have been met with approval and many clients don’t even know what they have signed up for each day – they just come for 45 minutes of instructional exercise.
Montgomery is known to take other instructor’s classes each week.
“In 45 minutes someone can tell me what to do and I can rest my mind. When I am the instructor, I know what is coming next, but when someone else is leading, there is always a surprise,” said Montgomery, adding, “I never teach the same routine twice. I don’t even remember what I did the last time.”
When asked how she felt about the expansion, all Montgomery said was, “It’s going to be amazing. We have such a good vibe.”
