Fort Mill Gyms and Fitness

Renew Natural Weight Loss Center’s staff not only empowers clients with the knowledge they need to achieve and sustain weight loss, but does so with a detailed plan. A weight-loss coach meets with clients every week to evaluate progress, offer encouragement, and keep clients accountable as they progress through their custom program. The bedrock program that the center revolves around has three stages—recenter, which starts with a one-hour health assessment before a month or more spent learning to eat a balanced diet of real food; redefine, a 10-week program focused on figuring out their body’s figure-sabotaging food sensitivities; and renew, which aims to keep weight off permanently and explore naturopathic pathways to better health. To ensure that their physician-guided plan is working effectively, the coaches have clients take at-home tests that determine if their bodies are correctly converting fat into energy or incorrectly converting it into Jet-Puffed Marshmallows. They don't tailor each plan simply around shedding pounds—they also design it to boost overall health and keep metabolisms up and running consistently.

In addition to conquering triathlons, Regina Gunn has put her athletic prowess to use transforming college-level football, tennis, and soccer athletes into optimum versions of themselves, earning herself a feature in July 2009’s issue of Shape magazine, according to staff. She eventually founded Gunn’s Fitness with Air Force Staff Sergeant Kevin Ardnt to bring her fitness expertise to the public. The duo draws from military conditioning techniques and athlete-level speed and strength-training programs, boiling these complex sciences down into one-hour sessions. They work in a vast facility lined with free weights, dumbbells, state-of-the-art strength machines, and giant exercise balls pilfered from the toy chests of Brobdingnagian toddlers.

For Brent and Jennifer Kasmer, falling in love didn't just lead to marriage and a baby. It has inspired them to help others reach their potential, whether training for a marathon or modeling healthier habits for their kids. At their studio, Everlasting Changes, they combine their strengths to help exercisers of all levels meet their fitness goals. Brent—the winner of Charlotte magazine's Best Personal Trainer award—brings more than 10 years of fitness expertise to their studio. Jennifer was dubbed favorite nutritionist in Charlotte for 2013 by Elevate Lifestyle readers, and is certified in personal training, bootcamp instruction, and nutrition. She also draws on her counseling background to provide motivation and emotional support.

Memberships grant 24-hour access to a host of exercise equipment, including treadmills, elliptical trainers, leg-press machines, and free weights. During personal training sessions, clients push toward their goals with custom workouts and healthy eating plans. Brent, the middleweight victor in Mega Muscle's 2009 Mr. North Carolina competition, also offers specialized training for natural bodybuilders, which includes physique-sculpting exercises, nutrition consultations, and tips on wowing the judges at competitions, such as learning to flex your earlobes.

Shannon "The Cannon" Hudson is an International Kickboxing Federation world champion, a fifth-degree black belt in Japanese shotokan karate, and a survivor of more than 70 bouts in the ring—yet, one of his most influential titles is "father." With two kids clinging around his waist like a squirmy fanny pack, Shannon started brainstorming a way to channel his boxing and kickboxing training into a quick, effective workout that even those who are busy or out of shape could tackle. The result was 9Round, a 30-minute routine of aerobic, anaerobic, and resistance moves divided into a circuit of nine stations. The ever-changing series of workouts maximizes morale and results while minimizing boredom.

His trainers launch the workouts every three minutes, motivating exercisers through each station—which might include jumping rope or pummeling speed bags. Online nutritional counseling supplements the workouts, teaching patrons how to construct and eat healthy meals instead of falling back on old habits, such as snacking on cheese sculptures.