Get In Shape for Women – Lose weight and get fit with proven model

By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor

Westborough – For many, losing weight and staying in shape is a major, if elusive, goal. And for women who are often balancing family commitments with work demands, it can be something that all too often is put to the bottom of their to-do list, if it even gets on. Toni Parr, the owner of the Get In Shape for Women (GISFW) studio in Westborough understands that frustration – she, too, is a working mother. But Parr doesn’t just talk the talk. Recently, over approximately six-month period, she became her studio’s best advertisement when she lost 40 pounds by carefully following the GISFW model.

“This program works 100 percent of the time if you follow it,” she said. “I am proof of that.”

The GISFW business model is based on four core principles: weight training, high intensity interval cardio training, nutrition and accountability.

Clients have weekly weigh-ins and follow a specific nutrition plan geared for them.

“The nutrition aspect is 50 to 80 percent of the battle,” Parr said. “Our nutrition plan helps set us apart from other gyms. We stress eating clean and making better choices.”

The gym also hosts nutrition seminars once a month.

Accountability is an important part of the program, Parr said. Clients are weighed each week and body fat assessed monthly to ensure they are staying on track.

GISFW gyms are small and intimate by design. Women of all ages belong to the studios where they are warmly welcomed each time, Parr said.

“We know it can be intimidating to join a gym but we make our clients feel like family,” she said.

The studios are set up with cardio machines, including elliptical machines and treadmills, as well as free weights, kettle bells, medicine balls and strength machines.

Clients sign up for specific times, usually three times a week, for workouts. During the first 30 minutes a trainer will lead a small class of one to four women for weight training. The next 30 minutes are dedicated to cardio and high-intensity interval training.

During appointments, clients always work with a trainer, to ensure accuracy and safety.

As a mother of two teens, Parr knows that it can be hard for women, especially mothers, to put themselves first.

“But you have to do that. You have to make time for yourself,” she stressed. “That balance is really important. That’s why we have appointments and accountability – to help you keep committed to the program.”

Parr’s sister, Jody Chaffee, owns a Northborough GISFW.

GISFW’s philosophy of family also extends outside of the studio. Clients and trainers participate in events such as Westborough’s annual Turkey Trot, which benefits local nonprofit organizations and a clothing drive that was held for Abby’s House in Worcester. The two GISFW gyms also often host fun events for their clients such as paint nights.

Get in Shape for Women is located at 45 E. Main St. (Route 30), Westborough, and 318 Main St. (Route 20), Northborough. The studios are open Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3-8 p.m. and Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Now through Jan. 31, both studios are offering a free week’s trial.

For more information, visit www.getinshapeforwomen.com or call 508-329-1406 (Westborough) and 508-466-8529 (Northborough).