NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A new concept in work out and fitness training is coming to the Village at Newtown.
On Wednesday the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors granted conditional use approval to Brian and Jennifer Pellegrino, who will open a Body20 at the former site of the GNC next to Dogs and Cats Rule.
Inside the unique 1,620 square foot fitness and training boutique, a first for Body20 in Pennsylvania, clients will put on an FDA-cleared electro-muscle stimulation suit. Using a wireless
controller, trainers will then adjust the settings on the suit to deliver electro-muscular stimulation to the major muscle groups in the body.
“The suit is on you like a vest and we strap it so it’s tightly compressed against your main muscle groups – your abdomen, your quads, the front and back of your thighs, the shoulders,” explains Jennifer.
The member controls the intensity, she says. “I can take more or make it a little less. It’s custom, very personnel and there is no pain.
“It’s the equivalent of being in the gym for six hours where you would never be able to do that. Every muscle group gets hit all at the same time. And it’s amazing,” she said.
“In just a 20-minute training session, your personal trainer will put you through a customized 1-on-1 program, giving your body over 150 times more muscle contractions than a conventional workout without any need to pick up a weight or use traditional gym equipment,” she said.
According to its website, each 20 minute session equals hours in the conventional gym; the lack of heavy weights in Body20 sessions enables a high-intensity workout that is low-impact on joints, bones, nerves, and muscles; and sessions prompt a higher level of metabolic activity both during and after workouts, causing the body to burn more fat longer. Male and female members have seen reduced fat in common problem areas.
The new business will employ a maximum of eight employees with no more than 12 people inside the facility at any given time.
In other business, the supervisors voted to send its solicitor to the Nov. 2 zoning hearing board meeting to oppose relief from the township’s signage ordinance for Capital Grille.
The supervisors expressed concern over the proposed number of signs and the size and locations of the signs. They voiced the strongest opposition to signage proposed along Silo Drive and the size of the sign proposed for the west facing side facing Eagle Road.
“They want signage that’s twice the allowable amount,” said Supervisor John Mack. “They are over the limit in the amount of total signage.”
“My concern is the size of the signs plus the sign on Silo Drive,” said Chairman Dennis Fisher.
“We just open up a can of worms if we allow them to do that,” said Supervisor Elen Snyder. “Other people with other businesses are going to want to do the same thing. And again, we have to uphold our ordinances.”
While the supervisors voted to oppose signage relief for Capital Grille, they voted not to oppose signage relief for Santander Bank, which will be opening at the former Barre3 at the Village at Newtown.