MATTHEW COURTER/Sun-Gazette A variety of equipment at Lumber Capital Athletics, 575 E. Third St.

The new year has arrived, and with it plans of starting anew with many vowing to improve their health. But for those intimated by the thought of signing up with a fitness center, Lumber Capital Athletics offers an alternative to the stereotypical gym.

Lumber Capital Athletics, 575 E. Third St., opened in 2022 by co-owners and coaches Ben Wise and Stacey Kadenas, after Wise moved to the area with his wife, Brooke, whom he met while both were taking classes at Messiah University.

“We lived in the Camp Hill area, and I taught health and fitness for around two years in Harrisburg, and then she got a new job up in this area,” Wise explained.

“I realized that while I didn’t want to teach long-term, that helping people in that kind of coaching aspect is something that I wanted to continue to do. I felt like that was very much in my giftedness,” he said.

Wise would go on to coach at a number of locations before launching his own remote coaching business, which he continues to maintain.

“For Stacey and I, we both really enjoy coaching and working with people, and that’s our biggest thing, seeing people get good results, whether it’s working on certain health metrics, getting off blood pressure medications, being more fit to have fun with their kids, that sort of thing is what we get really

excited about,” he said.

Lumber Capital Athletics offers a variety of options for those looking to take charge of their health, including one-on-one personal training, group classes and open gym, where members can work on their own.

“We have functional fitness classes three times a week, and they’re instructor-led,” Wise said, noting that the classes are structured in such a way that progress is maintained, with the programming varied just enough as to not become monotonous.

“A runner might run four times a week, but if they’re an intelligent runner, they’re not doing the exact same route every day. We do the same thing with strength conditioning here. It’s varied in the way it’s presented, but it’s consistent, so you see progression,” he said.

“That’s why people come to our classes, because it’s organized, it’s laid out. We have a minute by minute lesson plan that our coach has, and they’re leading everybody through a specific warm up that’s tailored to the workout they’re going to do. They have everything from what the expectations are for what the workout should feel like for each person,” Wise explained.

“If someone is working with a coach, they’re going to get feedback on their technique, either verbally or by video feedback, so there’s a feedback loop for that individual. That way they can keep working on technique and making sure that they’re getting the program that they signed up for,” he said.

Wise puts much of the success for his operation on the welcoming atmosphere created by its members.

“They help create the culture here, and when new people come in, they’re always super welcoming of them. They make them feel at home and as comfortable as you can in a place where you’re doing uncomfortable things. It’s very much a ‘we’re in this together’ type atmosphere. It’s like you’re going through it as a group, rather than as an individual,” he said.

“When you come in, you’re not seeing a lot of people with headphones in, with their eyes down, not trying to make eye contact with people. The people in the gym can talk with each other,. they can dialog with each other. They look forward to interacting with other people when they’re in the gym, whereas, like a lot of gyms you go to, it’s the exact opposite,” Wise said.

“Maybe one of the big drivers of our success is that people make connections when they’re here and they want to come back because they have friends here,” he said.

Bearing a painting of the city’s skyscape in the workout area, Wise has a strong commitment to helping the community, having taken part in Curtin Intermediate’s recent Socktober campaign, which gathered socks for the homeless population in Lycoming County, a food drive with Bayada Home Health, the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree initiative and Lift For Life, a collaboration with the Lycoming College Powerlifting club that raised money to help local firefighters get potentially life-saving pre-cancer screenings.

“Oftentimes our events will give a chunk of the profits to a nonprofit area. We did an ergathlon, basically an endurance-type event, where half the signups went to the SPCA,” he said.

“We organize it, but it’s the members who put their time, energy and money into these events,” he said.

A strong focus of the gym is making the classes accessible to as many people as possible.

“People have busy lives, they’ve got a lot going on. It’s a challenge to just fit something new into your day,” Wise said.

“If it’s a completely open-ended gym, you don’t know what to do. That’s really where we come in, where we have options for individual training, one-on-one with a coach and group training. In any of those situations, you’re going to be handed what you need to do in order to see results, and we make it as fun and as time efficient as we possibly can,” he said.

With health-centered New Year’s resolutions abound, Wise stressed that Capital Lumber Athletics strives to help people achieve their goals for the long-term.

“The bottom line is people walk into a gym because they want to see a life change. They want to feel confident, they want to look a certain way. There’s very clear reasons why they’re coming in, and we 100% make sure we deliver on those things,” he said.

“But in order to keep doing it over the long term, you have to want to continue this, you have to not force yourself to do it, it’s got to turn into something you love to do,” Wise said.

“That’s what we try to create here, an environment that people love coming to,” he said.

“The vast majority of people that are coming, hopefully love how they spend their time here. They want to come to the gym, which is a unique situation,” he continued.

“There’s pockets of people who enjoy it, or maybe they enjoy how they feel afterwards. But actually looking forward to going to a gym is not something a lot of people necessarily feel, which is why part of our goal is to make sure people are getting their fitness needs met, but they’re enjoying what they do over the long term and making it consistent,” Wise said.

For more information on Lumber Capital Athletics check out their website at www.lumbercapital.fit or across social media.