Imagine a decade spent in personal training, armed not with mere anecdotes but with tangible evidence of transformations — testimonials and before and after photos of lives changed through the power of health and fitness.
Although Andrea Barnes had been training clients at other local facilities the last 10 years, in March of this year, Andrea (pronounced “On-DRAY-a”), a personal trainer, and her husband Aaron unveiled Healthy Steps & Fitness, a unique facility embodying the mantra “people over profit.” A testament to personal triumph and dedication, it was born from the couple’s own challenges. After being open for several months at another location, Healthy Steps & Fitness is now open in its own space on U.S. 41 in Lutz (in the same building as Villaggio’s Ristorante Italiano). Andrea says it is where well-being takes center stage, and every client’s steps to health are celebrated.
Aaron epitomized health yet still faced a silent adversary. While diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, dehydration and certain medications are the top five causes of kidney failure, Aaron had none of those symptoms, but was somehow facing kidney failure anyway. His doctor gave him less than two weeks to live.
Then, nine months ago, Andrea donated one of her kidneys to save her husband’s life. This gift helped spur a miraculous recovery, giving Aaron normal kidney function and a renewed lease on life — a gift he’s vowed to cherish and share through the couple’s new business.
The steps taken by Aaron to regain his health inspired the gym’s name, emphasizing the commonality of the journey for those facing transplants, chronic illnesses, diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as aging.
“We chose our name based on the pattern of our lives and how we had to take steps to get to where we are today,” Aaron says.
With mostly female (but still some male) clients, and most of them ranging in age from their 50s to their 70s, understanding their diverse needs, especially of seniors and those with physical disabilities, Healthy Steps & Fitness offers easy accessibility for those with walkers and wheelchairs.
“Gyms always think about fitness — how the body looks on the outside,” explains Andrea. “Our approach is to look at your overall health. Our motto is ‘Health first, and the body will follow.’”
Healthy Steps & Fitness is where your health concerns are heard, and achievable personal goals are set. Andrea goes beyond what traditional gyms do by conducting an in-depth initial consultation with each client, including blood pressure measurements and discussions about your diabetic A1C levels and cholesterol. She encourages her clients to get comprehensive lab evaluations from their physicians before beginning a program with her. This proactive approach addresses a common blind spot in personal health — many individuals, especially seniors, who want to start a training regimen remain unaware of what may be crucial cardiovascular indicators. Aaron recalls a young, outwardly healthy man with three small children, a friend of his sister-in-law’s who had a headache every day for a week. Instead of seeking medical attention, he chose instead to self-medicate with Ibuprofen and coffee.
“The headache he was having was due to high blood pressure,” says Aaron. “Most people don’t check their blood pressure when they have a headache. He died at his work desk from a stress-induced heart attack the primary symptom of which was unchecked high blood pressure.”
Aaron and Andrea plan to partner with a local medical office to refer their clients who don’t have a primary care physician to, so they can have things like their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other important medical factors checked before they begin working out at Healthy Steps & Fitness.
If a new client has been receiving physical therapy for an injury, Aaron, who handles the business side of the business, and Andrea ensure that they only begin their journey when they are released by their physical therapist and that it is safe for them to begin training.
“During our assessment, if we see the person has a bad shoulder or hip,” Andrea says, “before we start working with this person — unlike most trainers — we refer them to their physician to get x-rays to ensure that we don’t injure them further.”
How many big box gyms can say they know — or even care to know — their clients’ blood pressure or pain symptoms before letting them work out with weights, on cardio machines or take classes?
“We always encourage our clients — at least once a year — to visit their doctor and have a physical exam and blood work,” Andrea says, “so they can know what their numbers are and can work on improving them.”
Aaron adds, “I’ve had other gym memberships. No one was ever concerned about my health. I never had health questions asked. It was all about memberships and classes. But, we want to know how people are doing. Underlying health problems can limit your progress.”
Another important part of this fitness facility is its community “feel.”
“We believe Healthy Steps & Fitness is unlike any other gym because we get close to our clients from Day One,” Andrea says. “It’s a pride feeling. You’re not just coming here to work out. A lot of friendships start here.”
Eventually, Andrea says, a wall of success will showcase clients’ before & after photos and testimonials (like the photos, above).
The gym offers a range of membership options for both one-on-one personal training and small group fitness classes and all of these options begin with a free seven-day trial. You can see what’s included with each of these memberships at HealthyStepsandFitness.com. Each membership level also includes a complimentary “Twelve-Steps to Wellness” online coaching program which promotes gradual lifestyle changes over 12 weeks.
“Every week, we offer a new online coaching program that we want them to implement into their lives, and every week, we introduce a new lifestyle change,” Andrea says. “By the end of those first 12 weeks, we hope they will have at least begun changing their lifestyle and habits to help them achieve and maintain better health and fitness. For example, she says the first week’s theme is “Love — loving yourself first and what that means.”
Happy Wellness Day!
Healthy Steps & Fitness also hosts Wellness Days, featuring experts who address community questions on various health topics, creating an environment that transcends the conventional gym experience. The most recent such Wellness Day, on Feb. 17, was held at Healthy Steps & Fitness’ former location, but Andrea said that about 35 people attended and got a lot of great information about the importance of lab work, managing anxiety, eating and living a cleaner life, overcoming health obstacles (where Aaron was the featured speaker) and even financial health.
“We got tremendous feedback about that Wellness Day,” Andrea says, “so we definitely plan to do it again soon here.”
She adds that they envision their gym as the next step in the evolution of physical wellness, offering ongoing care beyond traditional rehabilitation. They see the facility as a bridge back to health, keeping their clients from succumbing to post-rehab challenges, such as dependence upon pain meds.
“More than likely, people aren’t better when they go home (after a serious injury), and can get hooked on pain medication,” Andrea explains. “Instead of being depressed at home, we see ourselves as the next step in your recovery.”
Andrea and Aaron stress that they don’t want their clients to be in his situation, “The healthy steps, healthy lifestyle choices, and having my wife as a trainer coaching me along the way got me back, and I’m still a work in progress,” Aaron says. “I made amazing progress from being in critical condition to where I am now. Once the word gets out there, people will know we care. We’re the health care approach to fitness.”
Healthy Steps & Fitness will host a Grand Opening celebration in May, on the first anniversary of Aaron’s lifesaving transplant. It is located at 118 Flagship Loop (off U.S. Hwy. 41), in Lutz, and is open from Mon.-Fri., 5 a.m.-1 p.m.; & 7 a.m.- 10 a.m. on Sat. For more information, visit HealthyStepsandFitness.com, call (813) 860-7709.
