- March 28, 2024
Loading
This was the kind of workout I could really enjoy.
The command was barked out, "I'm going to have you run the wrong way up the escalators," by Willie Thomas, a fitness guru with the Camp Gladiator chain. Thomas was speaking to those attending the first "Fab & Fit Club" session March 26 at the Mall at University Town Center.
Let's face it, haven't we all gone the wrong way up or down an escalator? I actually did it not that long ago.
It sure seems like a better workout than the stationary bike.
As Thomas gave the command, 30 heads swiveled to spy the escalators behind all the yoga mats that were lined up in the Grand Court. They were ready to take their workout to another level, in this case the second floor of the mall.
Before they could take off, though, Thomas quickly rescinded the order. "Just kidding," he said. "They would throw me out of here so fast."
Maybe not.
Jeramy Burkinshaw took over in December as the mall's general manager, and his philosophy is the mall should be a place where friends can not only shop and dine, but spend time together and relax. Add in his desire to blend with the community, and you get the "Fab & Fit Club."
Whether or not the "Fab & Fit Club" was his idea, it obviously received his stamp of approval.
I won't attempt to convince anyone the Sunday morning get-together isn't a way to bring more dollars to the mall. Mall women's sportswear tenant "Fabletics" was on hand to give out coupons for anyone who attended.
But I do know if I just sweated up a storm with a 50-minute workout, I wouldn't be checking our men's fashions until I had a shower. I'm sure other shoppers would say, "Thank you, very much."
Like it or not, we have to come to the conclusion that the mall actually is trying to give back to the community.
Each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., anyone who wants to participate in a free workout is welcome. Certainly, you will encounter a few early-morning mall walkers who stop and stare, but the background drifts away when a fitness instructor such as Thomas keeps his group focused.
The workouts themselves will differ. Thomas isn't sure when he might return to the mall, but he hopes he is asked.
Lauren Clark, the mall's new marketing and sponsorship director, said the workouts are just a way to welcome area residents and to prompt them to consider UTC an experience, as opposed to just a retail center. Besides showcasing some fitness fashion, she said the new event inspires better health and wellness.
Thomas isn't concerned with fashion as much as he wants to spread the message of health and wellness. A day earlier, he had taught a similar session at Whole Foods in downtown Sarasota and he said he regularly teaches at about seven different locations that allow easy access to anyone in the community who has a yoga mat and some light dumbbells.
"This is all about awareness," he said.
Those attending the quick-paced workout at the mall said they enjoyed both his intensity and positive inspiration.
Thomas is a cinderblock of a man, whose trapezius muscles raise to heights where muscles really shouldn't be. If he is a bit intimidating to the eye, he tempers it all with a constant smile more reserved for Vanna White as she turns letters on the Wheel of Fortune. The mix of game-shot host and Marine drill sergeant works well for him and is effective in getting, mostly women, to flock to him as they attempt to get their abs in order.
It all seems to put his workout clients into a trance, and is why he was in danger of having them all bolt up the escalator.