Newmarket resident Krista Sommer has been helping others improve their fitness and health for decades.
Her journey in helping others with fitness began in her teen years. She always went to the gym and then moved on to study recreation management. Soon, she began coaching her friends and decided to make it professional.
It became a business and a passion for her.
“It’s just a great feeling, to see somebody come in and they don’t know where to start, they don’t know where to begin, and just get them on a program,” she said. “Seeing them feel better and knowing that I’m the one that’s helping them do that … it just feels really good.”
While FitChic Infinity opened at 580 Steven Ct. last April, Sommer celebrated its grand opening Feb. 23 with dignitaries. The business offers a variety of fitness classes, personal training, nutrition coaching and habit and mindset coaching. The business also offers a specialty in women going through the menopause transition.
Sommer said after years of operating a fitness business out of her home, she wanted to expand.
“This was always kind of a dream of mine,” she said. “I was getting a little cramped in my basement and I just wanted to march out and see if I could open up a facility, specifically to help women of all ages and all stages of life.”
The fitness expert began out in Prince Edward Island, where she was the part owner of a gym. She moved to Newmarket in 2012 due to her husband’s work, and continued fitness classes from home and renting out local facilities.
“I’m hoping to create a one-stop shop for women here,” she said. “I want to actually create a community of health and fitness professionals.”
The business name, FitChic Infinity, is meant to promote the idea of fitness as being a commitment.
"It's a lifestyle, so it's for infinity. You should be trying to be healthy and exercise for as long as you possibly can," she said.
The grand opening celebration also featured an open house and vendors with other area businesses.
Sommer said she is seeing lots of new faces in the opening months of her business, but the first year is hard and she hopes to get even more people in.
“We have a great community of women that are already here and it’s a very non-intimidating, inviting environment,” she said. “Everybody’s going through the same thing, everybody’s here for the same reason … Everybody cheers each other on and we try to make sure that everyone feels comfortable.”