BRO submission by Carole Fenton:
Three times a week I walk down Elmwood Avenue, descend a flight of stairs, and spend an hour stretching, flexing, balancing, and lifting weights in a place that I’ve come to think of as my own private gym. It’s actually Giovanni Preziuso’s gym, Fierce Fitness, but when you’re working out in this intimate facility discretely located a few doors south of West Utica it’s hard to escape the feeling that it’s there just for you. You can work out enjoying the cool quiet of the gym or get pumped blasting your favorite music. The size of the gym and its privacy are a far cry from most facilities where you’re lucky to find an empty locker and have to sign up on a waiting list for machines. Although Fierce Fitness is small, it boasts an extraordinary array of machines to provide a complete workout for every muscle group and there’s never a wait for any one of them.
Fierce Fitness is located in the same new building that Lu Modern is in and is easily reached from the West Utica parking lot that’s behind it. It’s open daily from 6 am to 10 pm. There are no membership fees; instead you work with one of the trainers affiliated with the facility. (I have to plug my favorite, Alex Zuchara, here. He does a combination of ballet, Pilates, yoga, stretching, and weights and resistance work that’s fantastic exercise and he’s a blast to talk with too!) A hot/cold water dispenser provides icy cold water to ease you through workouts or herbal tea for relaxing afterwards. A shake bar provides fruit and protein drinks and there are showers and towels so you can return to the world clean and dry after a hard workout. Candy Stubbs provides killer deep tissue massages as well as working as a trainer.
Among resistance machines at Fierce Fitness are a linear leg press that’s the smoothest apparatus the industry offers, a gravity machine by EFI Sports Medicine, and an inversion table. This last one is my favorite way to finish a workout – it relaxes and decompresses my back like nothing else, making me feel two inches taller afterwards. There are also free weights and various other devices like mats, balls, and bands to work with.
Fierce Fitness was a labor of love for Giovanni Preziuso who designed and did the installation of the facility as well as testing and selecting the equipment in it. His goal was to offer a discrete and private place that focuses on individualized personal attention to each client’s fitness goals. He’s succeeded admirably. Gio’s a native son of Buffalo who’s worked as a model and actor. “Entrepreneur” is not a new title for Gio – he already runs a successful valet parking business in Buffalo. He admits to being a jock all his life, and he’s serious enough about athletics that he’s obtained certifications with the American Fitness Association as well as credentialing as a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Coach and Olympic Stress and Conditioning Coach among others. Gio’s attitude about exercise is that “it will add ten years to your life and take ten years off your looks.” Gio definitely lives up to his beliefs with his energetic outgoing demeanor and his good looks.
If you’re interested in learning more about Fierce Fitness visit www.fiercetraining.net or email Gio at modegio1@yahoo.com.
Fierce Fitness is located at 504 Elmwood Avenue. The phone number there is 716.715.8682. Like Gio says, “Witness the Fitness!”