First 24-Hour Gym in Geauga Still Going Strong

January 21, 2016

If one of your new year resolutions is weight loss, Hambden Health and Fitness is one place to start.

Not only because of its wide array of fitness equipment, but also the warm and welcoming atmosphere, said owner Trina Cianfaglione.

“HH&F is more than just a place to get fit,” Cianfaglione said. “It is a comfortable, clean, friendly place, open to every and any one no matter what their level of physical fitness or what they are trying to achieve. We are family. Everyone is welcomed.”

The gym, opened in April of 2009 at 13940 GAR Highway in Hambden Township, was the first 24-hour fitness center in the county, she said.

“I thought the gym would be a great asset to the small town of Hambden because it would give people a place where they could gather to meet or be with friends and family and do something that is beneficial to their health,” Cianfaglione said. “Whether it be during the summer months clear into being smack dab in the middle of the snow belt, why not have somewhere to go to actually do something to get us all out of the house and through the long winter and at any time.”

Cianfaglione, who grew up on a farm in Leroy Township, worked with her siblings in the garden, raised and showed 4-H livestock, went fishing in the pond and sled riding in the snow.

“I have always been physically active,” said Cianfaglione, who is a graduate of Notre Dame Academy in Newbury Township. “While in school, I played youth basketball and softball, showed horses for over 10 years.”

Exercise has always been a passion of Cianfaglione’s, going back to the days of video cassettes of Jane Fonda and Joanie Greggins to the four pack CDs of Billy Blanks and Buns of Steel, she quipped.

“I believe there is a reason people come into our lives (whether) to learn something from them or to help teach them,” she said. “We all have such an ability to make a great impact on someone’s life. I have met such a variety of outstanding people through the gym. Not only have I tried with my best ability to help them achieve whatever goals they are striving for, but these awesome people have helped me learn and grown within myself.”

Cianfaglione said before she even opened her doors in 2009 she had over 100 members who “had enough trust and believed in me to sign up for something that at the time, was only just one elliptical and an empty space with posters of pictures of what the gym was going to look like.”

“To this day, I give up most thanks and appreciation to those people and to all the others who have followed,” she said. “Because of them, I was able to open April 1, 2009 as Hambden Health & Fitness and as of today, January 2016, here we are, still going strong.”

She added, “To this day I still remember and thank my first signed up members Cathy and Jim Yane, who are still active members. A big shout out to both of (them).”

The equipment at Hambden Health & Fitness is always “running top notch,” Cianfaglione said, adding they might not be the biggest, but they hold their own as one of the best gyms in the area.

“I have the most awesome members anyone could ask for,” she said. “I care about each and every one of them and wish only the best in life for them all. They are people of all ages, shapes and sizes, all with different unique personalities and goals that they are trying to achieve.”

Fitness not only improves a person’s visual appearance, but more importantly, is the way it makes people feel inside, how they carry themselves, the way they handle and deal with situations and the health benefits, Cianfaglione said.

“HH&F has everything you need to help you obtain those goals, from all cardio equipment to pin-loaded, plate-loaded machines, free weights and benches, plus so much more,” she said, adding personal training is available as well as group classes.

For more information, call 440-285-8526 or www.hambdenhealthandfitness.com.