KINGFIELD – Personal struggles with her weight have led Alison Thayer of New Portland on a journey that has culminated in the opening of a gym in Kingfield.
Peak Performance – A Fitness Place for Every Body – opened its doors last week in The Carriage House at the Brick Castle at 333 Main St. The airy space is filled with cardiovascular strength and fitness equipment, a full dumbbell set and other functional and core training equipment.
The walls sport a colorful collection of art work, some of it for sale, adding a warm touch to the pine boards, white walls and large windows. She will be adding classes in yoga and Pilates, kick boxing and a “bellies and buns” conditioning unit in February.
Thayer herself is a fitness and personal trainer with more than a dozen years experience in the field, yet for her, it wasn’t always so.
“I was an overweight teen when I started college at UMF,” Thayer said. “I had always had a weight issue. I was one of those girls that just couldn’t leave the store without a bag of chips or a candy bar, or both.”
A routine check of her cholesterol early in her college career sent a very clear message to Thayer: lose weight, eat healthier and get active.
“When I saw the results of that test I was shocked,” Thayer recalls. “It was definitely the kick in the butt I needed to motivate. I started working out at the college health and fitness center and there, I was very fortunate to meet two people who really inspired me to be more active.”
Over time, Thayer did lose weight and changed to a healthier diet. She became more and more active as a result, but she says there were even bigger gains for her pains.
“I lost weight,” she remembers, “but I saw more positive results than that. My energy was better, my self-respect higher and my attitude improved. I just felt like I was a better person inside and out. And I accomplished that.”
Beginning in 1993, Thayer took an internship at the health and fitness center, which turned into a position after she graduated in 1994. She held group fitness classes and worked as a personal trainer, then traveled around the country to work in other fitness centers, learning more as she went. She returned to the UMF facility in 2000 to take an assistant director position, a role she held until 2005.
That was when Brick Castle owner and developer Randy Cousineau stepped in. Thayer had for some time been wishing to spend more time with clients and conduct more classes herself, she said. Cousineau, who had a space available in the Carriage House, approached Thayer and encouraged her to open a gym there.
“It just seemed to happen,” Thayer says. “Randy was very supportive, helped to redesign the space and gave me a great deal of encouragement. In less than six weeks it was complete.”
“I like the small town atmosphere here,” Thayer says. “It will give me a chance to get to know people better, find out their needs and get their input.”
Memberships at Peak Performance are available by the month, six months and yearly basis. Thayer is planning an Open House from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 4. For more information, phone 265-2068.
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