When you experience something so profound that it’s life changing, you want to share it with everyone. That’s a sentiment that Denise Moulier can get behind wholeheartedly. Four years ago and 40 pounds heavier, Moulier came to Guruz Fitness Studio because she wanted to lose some remaining unwanted pounds and prepare for an upcoming triathlon. Beyond nutrition and fitness, Guruz helped Moulier grasp the concept that high-performance living, which is about balance and reaching your highest potential, is a lifestyle. Benefits of that lifestyle are weight loss, lean muscle mass, a visibly tone body, clothes fit better, more energy and a better outlook on life.
A version of this article first appeared in Jackson Free Press on March 25, 2015.
Moulier says afterward, she felt like a different person. “I decided to pay it forward,” she says. Then leaving behind a 28-year career in retail she joined the Guruz team.
When Moulier came on board, Lacee Chignon was still perfecting what sets Guruz apart from other fitness studios– merging technology with fitness to become masters at guiding clients through their energy zones for maximum efficiency. “We have fitness down to a science, and everything we do is science based,” Chignon says. “We use body composition testing combined with our physician monitored weight loss system and healthy nutrition to help members reach their weight goals. Our weight loss system combined with supervised exercise in the appropriate heart rate zone also sets us apart from most.”
Guruz’s signature classes fill a void left by other gyms. It offers spinning, rowing, boxing, suspension training, weightlifting and body-weight exercises, all in the same space and class setting. Any given workout involves rotating on the selected components so classes are never the same and clients won’t get bored.
Guruz goes a step further by offering Reformer and mat Pilates and Barre and Towers classes in an adjoining studio separated by a partial glass wall. All of Guruz’s high-performance fitness programs involve high-intensity interval training, which creates excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, better known as afterburn. This means your body continues to burn calories for up to 36 hours after a workout session.
Guruz also holds virtual classes onsite but for those who simply can’t make it into the studio at all, they can workout in their own space and time, even out of town. As long as they wear their personalized chest strap, the client receives a report via email showing his or her level of effort, caloric burn and other data transmitted during that session. An app puts the workouts in perspective, making it effortless for clients to track progress.
Offsite workouts can be convenient, but participants should experience Guruz Fitness Studio with all the senses. The “State of the Heart” facility is a motivator itself, from the sound system to the lighting, to the shock-absorbing plyometric flooring. The energy of the studio gets you pumped and keeps you moving. The wall-mounted monitors, which display in real time each individual’s caloric burn during a class, are also motivating. At the end of the session, the system adds the students’ numbers together to show the total class’ accomplishment.
Togetherness and paying it forward is contagious at Guruz. First timer Jamyla Rogers, owner and CEO of J-Stylez LLC, says she was impressed that when a trainer was busy spot-checking for accuracy, other clients jumped in to guide her before the trainer had a chance to. “This is an awesome class ,” Rogers says. “I can breathe better, and I just feel rejuvenated.”
Guruz Fitness Center snapshots.
For more information on Guruz Fitness Studio (6935 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland), visit guruzfitness.com. Class options include private individual and small or large group lessons.
Étude Life 