Train like a Spartan

This Chaguanas family has ventured into the world of entrepreneurship with a solid foundation, built on physical fitness and they are changing the meaning of “gym” one session at a time.

Sparta Fitness Club was launched in 2015, after Christopher Weston, 24, saw the interest in his co-workers to be healthy and fit. He took home the idea of creating a fitness club to his family and they were eager to take this step into the local fitness arena.

Each family member has a unique and integral role in Sparta Fitness. Their mother, Evelyn, 49, has been a physical education teacher for the past 15 years and is also a trained nurse. Evelyn’s role in the club is as a nutritionist and medic for clients. Her husband, Errol, 58, is a retired level-three track and field coach and has worked for the Defence Force for ten years. He adds that aspect of athleticism to the club’s sessions. Their daughter Daniella, 20, incorporates zumba into Sparta Fitness, as she is a certified instructor. She is currently pursuing a double major degree at the University of the West Indies (UWI), in economics and linguistics.

“Zumba makes clients enjoy themselves through dance fitness.

Dancing is a lot more fun than just doing crunches. It adds an enjoyable element to the session as well,” she said in an interview with Sunday Newsday.

Another daughter, Kimberly, 23, fills the administrative arm of the club. “Usually I do a talk with students when we do school visits about the different ways to exercise and also about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet.” A younger son Michael, 18, is one of the front-line faces of Sparta Fitness. He has recently completed A-Levels at Couva East Secondary School. Christopher attended ASJA Boys’ College, Charlieville, San Fernando. He then went on the study at UWI Open Campus and is in the process of attaining his law degree at the Academy of Tertiary Studies.

“I was a trainer for the past two years and I have been around sports all my life. My first instance training people was at my current job, they were my first set of clients and I have always wanted to have a chain link of businesses. I was trying my hand at different things to see where I could maximize profits from any one of these ventures. After my first set of clients I decided to take it a bit closer to home and expand throughout Trinidad and Tobago. My motivation is to get bigger than Precision Fitness, my competitor,” said Christopher.

Sparta Fitness currently has three locations running, Port of Spain, El Socorro and Chaguanas- Edinburgh 500 Savannah where they have one-hour evening sessions Monday to Thursday in Cross Fit training---which works the body as a whole while performing high-intensity functional movements, athletic training, zumba and on occasion a kick boxing coach comes in to have sessions as well.

“We were looking at variety because people get so bored going to the gym doing the same thing over and over then they stop going.

When Christopher came up with this idea it was just natural for us to fall in line,” said Evelyn.

Their main objective is to target health goals using components of fitness, at a low price. “There is no fitness club that I know of at the moment that offers so much for so little in Trinidad and Tobago. We give clients a customized nutritional diet plan and do various exercises with them, so that they can attain their desired results,” said Christopher. “We are also looking at expanding, instead of only looking at adults we want to take on children because we’ve noticed a lot of children are over-weight and unhealthy. This aspect of the club would be spearheaded by Kimberly and Daniella. It will be launching very soon.” This fitness club has done a lot of community projects by visiting various schools including Valencia South Government Primary and Bon Air Secondary in Arouca.

They are also in the process of initiating visits to orphanages giving free, fun and educational sessions promoting health. Asked what separates Sparta Fitness Club from the numerous fitness groups, Evelyn said, “Family makes us different. We are all there out in the field daily motivating our clients. We have 94 clients between the ages of 15 to 55 on board with us, so we are always present.” They have hosted hikes to numerous breathtaking locations like Edith Falls, Rio Seco Waterfall and Three Pools, Blanchisseuse.

Although the main challenge they have endured as owners and a family was time management, they have worked out an efficient schedule which works for their clients, as most of them are employed.

What advice would you give to a person who wants to live a healthy lifestyle but thinks exercising is too rigorous? “I would tell him to stick it out and train, get over the ‘I can’t do this’ mentality, exercising promotes the longevity of life, you would also feel more confident about yourself.

I would also include that people don’t understand their own bodies.

Many people come to me with photos of how they want to look, disregarding the fact that there are different body types—ectomorph, which is a tall and lean person with difficulty building muscle, endomorph is pear-shaped and has high body fat while mesomorph is a muscular person with high metabolism and V-shaped,” said Christopher. “People need to educate themselves about their body type before they start exercising, educate thyself about oneself.” Sparta Fitness aspires to be the one of the best fitness clubs that enhances the holistic well-being of their clientele. They follow up on clients on a regular basis and promote a supportive atmosphere while they work up a sweat in sessions.

Sparta Fitness also hopes to establish even more fitness locations across the country.

Their name Sparta, has historical significance and was influenced by the movie 300, Evelyn explained.

“We were captivated by how the Romans prepared their gladiators for battle. As such we are preparing our clients to be the best version of themselves that they can be through fitness. We don’t make excuses, we make results.” Sparta Fitness Club can be contacted via Facebook and Instagram: Sparta Fitness Club, and at christopherweston93@gmail.com