Owner of West Lebanon's New Fit Body Bootcamp on Following Your Compelling 'Why'
Jan 14, 2020 12:34PM ● By Melanie Heisinger
Fitness boot camps are sweeping the health scene, it seems, and West Lebanon Fit Body Boot Camp is no exception. Opening Monday, January 13th in West Lebanon at the PowerHouse Mall, locals can plan on getting fit in a fun group environment.
Owner Lisa Dumont, a passionate fitness instructor and entrepreneur, is all about approaching it from the full-health perspective. That means that it's not going to be just about fitness at her facility.
Lisa has also always had a mission to support and inspire women to gain confidence in going to the gym, even if there are intimidating body builders taking over the majority of attendees.
"My whole passion is to empower women to feel good in their bodies, no matter what body they have," she told us in an interview, the evidence of said passion almost contagious.
It all began when she was around 25 years old and working at Gold's Gym. It was there that she was tasked with bringing in female clients, making sure they felt good, and empowering them to gain the confidence to workout amongst all of the male athletes and bodybuilders that were there.
"That's kind of where it started for me," she told us. "I'm not even that confident. I just feel like it's my mission. So I just dropped the introvert of me and said, 'Okay, this is what you're supposed to be doing with your life, you need to drop that story.'"
Lisa grew up active, but not an expert at any one sport. Dabbling from gymnastics to tennis to even some soccer as an adult. At the University of Connecticut, where she attended college, was where she found herself gaining the dreaded 'Freshman 15.' For her, she gained 10 pounds, but on her petite frame, that 10 pounds added up.
After that, she experienced a low self-image for the first time in her life, and began to struggle with eating disorders. Luckily, it was this experience that propelled Lisa into clinical sciences at UConn. She wanted to understand why she was experiencing such low self-esteem, and how she could change it.
The analytical approach, and studying what happens to the body biochemically when it's completely nourished, helped her heal from the disease. Though she didn't begin with the intention to help others -- it was all initially about healing herself -- it was here that the groundwork was done for what she was to eventually become.
Lisa moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State, which happens to have a great Exercise Physiology program, something she hoped to complete. However, it was a job at a chiropractic office that shifted her course in a completely different direction. "His whole philosophy was about structure and chemical balance," she said. ""I started learning about the body in a whole other way."
Working with this chiropractor is when Lisa started personal training. She found that she was assisting people at the chiropractic office who had injured themselves while at the gym. They were trying to do something good for their bodies, but still getting hurt? It was there that she drew the line and dove into personal training.
We had the chance to chat with Lisa about her passions, what to expect at the new Fit Body Bootcamp at the Powerhouse Mall, as well as her goals for the future! Read on and get inspired!
Owner Lisa Dumont, a passionate fitness instructor and entrepreneur, is all about approaching it from the full-health perspective. That means that it's not going to be just about fitness at her facility.
Lisa has also always had a mission to support and inspire women to gain confidence in going to the gym, even if there are intimidating body builders taking over the majority of attendees.
"My whole passion is to empower women to feel good in their bodies, no matter what body they have," she told us in an interview, the evidence of said passion almost contagious.
It all began when she was around 25 years old and working at Gold's Gym. It was there that she was tasked with bringing in female clients, making sure they felt good, and empowering them to gain the confidence to workout amongst all of the male athletes and bodybuilders that were there.
"That's kind of where it started for me," she told us. "I'm not even that confident. I just feel like it's my mission. So I just dropped the introvert of me and said, 'Okay, this is what you're supposed to be doing with your life, you need to drop that story.'"
Lisa grew up active, but not an expert at any one sport. Dabbling from gymnastics to tennis to even some soccer as an adult. At the University of Connecticut, where she attended college, was where she found herself gaining the dreaded 'Freshman 15.' For her, she gained 10 pounds, but on her petite frame, that 10 pounds added up.
After that, she experienced a low self-image for the first time in her life, and began to struggle with eating disorders. Luckily, it was this experience that propelled Lisa into clinical sciences at UConn. She wanted to understand why she was experiencing such low self-esteem, and how she could change it.
The analytical approach, and studying what happens to the body biochemically when it's completely nourished, helped her heal from the disease. Though she didn't begin with the intention to help others -- it was all initially about healing herself -- it was here that the groundwork was done for what she was to eventually become.
Lisa Dumont and her husband met at the gym while both were training for different competitions.
Working with this chiropractor is when Lisa started personal training. She found that she was assisting people at the chiropractic office who had injured themselves while at the gym. They were trying to do something good for their bodies, but still getting hurt? It was there that she drew the line and dove into personal training.
We had the chance to chat with Lisa about her passions, what to expect at the new Fit Body Bootcamp at the Powerhouse Mall, as well as her goals for the future! Read on and get inspired!
What inspired you to open this facility, specifically Fit Body Boot Camp?
This is my second location. When I moved out here [from California], I wasn't sure what I was going to do, so I worked out of a gym. I was doing personal training and had a lot of clients and was working really hard. I started thinking about how could I reach more people and have it be more affordable.
So, all of a sudden, this thing popped up on the internet about Bedros' (Bedros Keuilian is the President of Fit Body Boot Camp). He had this business in a box. It was like $2,000 with videos and you start this boot camp and you train -- it's a personal-training-feel but in a group setting. So I bought that business and I went to gymnastics center and said I want to make this real hot spot, this is what I want to do. They allowed me to do that and open up my first boot camp. I opened it up there for three years, and then Fit Body Boot Camp became a franchise, so then you turn into a stand-alone business. You didn't necessarily rent space from someone, you opened up. So I moved into my own building down in Westminster, and that's been 10 years since it opened.
I've been thinking about opening more, I wanted to have 3, and I'm getting older and older -- I'm 59 now -- it took me 10 years to get off my fear of, 'Oh my gosh, can I really do this?' I'd bought the territory for Fit Body over a year ago and started getting royalties, but I didn't have a space yet, so I said, 'I better get booking.'
So, all of a sudden, this thing popped up on the internet about Bedros' (Bedros Keuilian is the President of Fit Body Boot Camp). He had this business in a box. It was like $2,000 with videos and you start this boot camp and you train -- it's a personal-training-feel but in a group setting. So I bought that business and I went to gymnastics center and said I want to make this real hot spot, this is what I want to do. They allowed me to do that and open up my first boot camp. I opened it up there for three years, and then Fit Body Boot Camp became a franchise, so then you turn into a stand-alone business. You didn't necessarily rent space from someone, you opened up. So I moved into my own building down in Westminster, and that's been 10 years since it opened.
I've been thinking about opening more, I wanted to have 3, and I'm getting older and older -- I'm 59 now -- it took me 10 years to get off my fear of, 'Oh my gosh, can I really do this?' I'd bought the territory for Fit Body over a year ago and started getting royalties, but I didn't have a space yet, so I said, 'I better get booking.'
When does the West Lebanon facility open?
We are doing orientation the weekend of the 11th. Our first day is Monday the 13th. I'm opening my doors of a six-week ultimate transformation program, which is amazing with a lot of mindsets and wellness. This week I'm doing all day orientation there will be over 100 people signing up. I gave away $50,000 in memberships as a promotion, so I have those to take care of. I should be opening my doors with quite a bit of activity on Monday!
Is this Fit Body program along the lines of the franchise, or is it tailored to you? What can we expect if we join?
The whole reason I love Fit Body is because Bedros' vision is to be able to reach out to 20% of our population, whether through blogging or nutrition. But we've always been looked at as the 'anti-franchise-franchise.' Meaning, you have a structure to help you get started -- there's a lot of backbone from the headquarters to help you become successful -- but you still always put your own spin on it. This makes it very different from other franchises. You can't just buy it and not be passionate about fitness because there's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in it. It's just an amazing program, there's really nothing like it, and I'm really proud to be part of the franchise.
When it comes to the new year do you have any tips for sticking with fitness resolutions after the adrenaline of January wears off?
New Year's resolutions don't work -- why wait for a whole other new year to think about the things that you need to do? For me, I always think there's no time like the now. The new year is about reflecting on all the things you grew from, what you've done, what you can change, what you want more of, and really living your full potential. Always having your vision, and always having your compelling 'why' -- and it runs your life everyday, not every year, and living from that place. We do something called 'New Year, New You Revolution' instead of 'resolution.' It's more about just you focusing back on you and your self-care and how you can bring your best self to the world.
Why do you want to lose weight? Like, really, why do you want to lose weight? What is the emotional attachment to it? Are you just thinking because of how you see yourself in the world? Or how you think people see you? Or is it that you really want to feel your best in your body, and this is how you experience your life, so that's what it's about? Yes, you want to keep that lean mass and get the body fat down, but it's more about just your experience, and if you feel good in your life, in your body, that's what's going to be your experience.
It's not about that number it's a feel.
It's not about that number it's a feel.
When it comes to healthy snacks, do you have a go-to that you grab?
For me, it's pretty much my hummus and vegetables. Today I brought my lunch box, of course, with my leftover stir-fry and my big tub of hummus, and my vegetables. It's usually my go-to -- hummus and veggies, especially those little baby carrots you can just dip. Even though I'm not about eating while you're driving [or rushing], it's about having a healthy relationship with food, making sure that stress response is turned off when we put that stuff in, your body absorbs it.
Anything else we should know?
I think that anybody that is looking to really delve into their self-care and put themselves first -- and know that that's not a selfish thing -- they should absolutely come down and see what we've created here, because it's gorgeous. The PowerHouse Mall owners are very proud of what they have and what they've helped me built is amazing.
If you're ready to give Lisa's program a try, now is the time to do it! You can stop by the new West Lebanon facility at 8 Glen Road, Suite 32, at the PowerHouse Mall. Or, give them a call at (603) 301-5111.
If you're ready to give Lisa's program a try, now is the time to do it! You can stop by the new West Lebanon facility at 8 Glen Road, Suite 32, at the PowerHouse Mall. Or, give them a call at (603) 301-5111.
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