Bringing a small town feeling to a fitness facility is no small feat. With distractions such as children, work and a busy lifestyle, many fitness enthusiast or newcomers find it hard to exercise, and often find it difficult to build group fitness into the schedule.
But for No Limits Fitness owner, Adam Kesler, putting his clients through an intense workout while also giving them a sense of community is important.
Kesler opened No Limits at 201 N Prairie View Rd. early last week. The 2005 Mahomet-Seymour graduate has not only brought clientele from previous jobs, including the Refinery and Bella Medical Center, but has also added several new clients since opening the 10,000 square foot facility in Mahomet.
With a mix of cross-fit, cardio and strength training, Kesler said clients not only reach their personal goals, but also gain confidence.
“People think they burn a lot of calories by being on the treadmill for two hours,” he said. “They do not. Muscle burns fat. So building lean muscle mass is going to change your body.”
A fan of total fitness, Kesler also runs and competes in Strong Man and CrossFit competitions. He placed first in the Clash at the Coliseum in Bloomington at the end of August.
Each session with Kesler begins with a warm-up, strength training and metabolic conditioning.But for Kesler, making each workout fun is also important.
“I want it to be fun because everyone is dreading going to the gym,” he said. “They think it’s almost like a job. I want it to be fun, so when they come here it’s like a community. I want people to really care out each other and hold each other accountable.”
No Limit fitness opens daily at 5:30 a.m. with individual training sessions at 5:30 and 6:15 a.m. Kesler then runs group fitness classes beginning at the bottom of each hour from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.
While he explains each workout and machine at the bottom of the hour, he will also take the time to make sure others who come in late understand the daily routine.
“I know people have crazy schedules,” he said. “They have kids or work. It’s very unrealistic to think everyone is going to be on time. I always want people to be able to come in at any time to get the workout in. I’ll explain it 60 times.”
Kesler believes the time he puts into each client builds a personal connection that is not easily broken.
“I want them to know that I care,” he said. “I have a personal relationship with all 70 clients. I know every person’s first name, their family, what their schedule is, where they work. I want them to know I care about them, and I want them to be the best they can be.”
Clients also learn to trust the No Limits program through keeping a daily record so they can see their progress on paper.
“(Results are) what people like to see,” he said. “We’re very visual. They can definitely feel the difference, but they want to see it on paper, too. It’s fun to watch people grow in the gym. That’s what I love about my job. Everyday you see people get better, and it carries over into their life.”
Kesler also added that the “CrossFit and Navy Seal” workout is adjustable to any personal goal, whether someone wants to be a 600-lb. deadlifter or just tone up.
A Mahomet-Seymour athlete, who also played football at Eastern Illinois University, Kesler has reached out to MSHS to help athletes reach their goals, too. He wants teams to become Cornbelt Conference or State Champions, but he also wants to bring families into the No Limits facility to help foster that community atmosphere.
Each month he hosts an in-house competition followed by a casual dinner with members of the facility. As No Limits grows, he hopes to also build an obstacle course around the facility for competitions.
“I always joke that I want Mahomet to be the fittest town in the county,” he said. “Whatever your goals are, I want to build up the reputation that No Limits is where you want to be.”
“You can never outgrow fitness,” he continued. “You can always get better. You can never be too good. And you can always push yourself to the next level. That’s where ‘No Limits’ comes from.”
