Things To Do In North Stamford

Fitness Together isn't your usual gym. The locally owned franchise doesn't boast ultra-chic titles, avant-garde workout rooms, or elitist trainers. What it does do is help each exerciser achieve sustainable results via its goal-oriented philosophy and proprietary triple threat of resistance training, cardiovascular exercises, and nutritional knowledge. The Aspire 8 resistance program sculpts clients' physiques over the course of eight progressive phases through a one-year period dotted with individual goals. Cardio Together presents personalized programs designed and tracked by a certified trainer, and Nutrition Together crafts a plan for healthy living that doesn't involve water imported from Canada’s fountain of youth and includes the help of one-on-one meetings with a nutritionist.

The supportive staff of personal trainers, boot-camp instructors, and nutrition coaches at Infinity Fitness may be quick to give clients technical tips regarding exercise, but they’re even quicker to give words of encouragement. This kind of engagement helps exercisers get the most out of the gym’s offerings, which include boot-camp workouts as well as private and semiprivate personal-training sessions that track results five different ways. As noted on the website, staff members view clients as “walking billboards” for their programs' effectiveness. In return, the staff asks only that clients work hard and stand for weeks at a time by the highway.

Experienced personal trainers are ever-present at 360 Fitness's 11,000-square-foot facility, where they create workout plans and lead an array of group classes. With yoga, Zumba, and Power Plate Acceleration Training at their fingertips, everyone from gym neophytes to off-season athletes can benefit from the gym's offerings. After their workouts, guests can sign up for a massage, check out the full-service locker room, or hang out in the steam room with a bag of carrots as a fun way to prepare their afternoon snack.

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Years before he would teach hand-to-hand combat to Special Forces candidates or have his studio voted the best of 2011 and 2012 by CT.com, Andrew Scala was stuck in traffic. As he inched down a clogged I-95 on his way back from New York and his job as a sales representative, he made a decision that changed his life. The next day, he quit his job, sold his car, and bought a plane ticket to Japan, where a friend was studying martial arts. He arrived three days later, beginning an eight-year stay in Hokkaido, where he eventually trained daily beneath the great-grandson of a samurai. At one point, he and two of his colleagues were invited to demonstrate their skills in front of more than 300 high-ranking Japanese military officials. Andrew not only mastered styles such as aikido, karate, and iaido, but also immersed himself in Japanese culture and learned to speak fluently, opening the door for the lifelong bond he shares with his teacher. Today, Andrew runs Darien Martial Arts Academy based on a philosophy that values integrity, honor, and self-discipline alongside physical skill. He lavishes his rich depth of knowledge upon students, teaching them the basics of Japanese with each lesson. As they grow curious, he relates the modern practice of martial arts to tales about the "truly intelligent and also fierce" nature of the samurai, erasing misconceptions along the way. "All those things are useful tools for helping children get motivated, not just for martial arts, but to become good students, good musicians, good athletes, good people," Andrew said, noting that as they train their minds with martial arts, the benefits spill into other aspects of life. His students bring in their report cards to show him their successes—and they also know that "if a student is good [at the academy] but he's starting to be disrespectful at home, he comes here and he pays for it here." He trains all ages of students, who typically begin with karate and then train in other styles or master weapons—the long and short staff, sword, and chain. He periodically brings his best students on trips to train at his old dojo in Japan, watching them develop a lifelong love of Japanese culture as they see him integrate easily into his old home. But though he takes martial arts seriously, Andrew makes classes fun and encourages each of his students. He's known for telling jokes and keeping the sessions lighthearted. "You don't have to be mean to be strong," he said. "The strongest guys I know are also the funniest guys I know."

Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy of Stamford is open six days per week offering classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, No-Gi/Submission Grappling, Mixed Martial Arts and Kid-Jitsu. We are an Official Renzo Gracie Academy. Our Professors and Instructors have been hand selected by Renzo personally. Come in today and try BJJ and MMA.