When it comes to fitness and health programs tailored specifically for women at gyms where they can work out without having to worry about being bothered or harassed, the options are few.
It can be difficult for women to find those types of facilities no matter where they live, including Lewis County.
That’s why Alyssa Borges, of Chehalis, has been running her own business — Personal Training with Alyssa — for several years. She recently opened her own gym in her garage in Chehalis and has named the business Enchanted Wellness.
To celebrate Enchanted Wellness’s opening, Borges is hosting a special ladies night event featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 28, at Enchanted Wellness, 1176 SW 22nd St., Chehalis.
Along with the ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m., the ladies night event will feature a variety of local vendors at Enchanted Wellness from 4 to 9 p.m. on March 28.
Vendors include the Pacific Northwest Cookie Co., which just debuted a new peanut butter protein cookie; Tinytats by Kat, offering small tattoo work; Studio 27, offering facials; and others.
Borges met with The Chronicle on Tuesday, March 4, to talk about her gym and how she got into the fitness world.
“I just really wanted to hone in on women’s health, specifically once I got pregnant with my second kid,” Borges said.
Enchanted Wellness offers women in the area an exclusive gym where they can participate in corrective exercise, power lifting or weight training classes, get personal training or simply pay to use the gym’s weights and workout equipment.
Corrective exercise focuses on fitness routines for individuals with movement imbalances, injuries, postural issues or chronic conditions.
“I also offer one-on-one personal training, or tandem training, which can be very specific to whatever the client’s goals are,” Borges added.
Being a mother of two, the gym has a small day care area so other mothers can safely work out while keeping an eye on their children.
Originally from California, Borges moved to Southern Arizona where she attended Pima Community College in Tucson, studying physical therapy. After losing her scholarship, she had to drop out, but she stayed involved in the gym world by coaching group fitness classes.
“I ended up having to move back to my hometown in California and got into group fitness,” Borges said. “So I was just coaching a very large class. It was a very choreographed, one-size-fits-all type thing. But it got my foot in the door to still pursue a fitness career of some sort and help people.”
After having her first child, Borges began taking online classes and got her personal trainer corrective exercise certifications.
Her family eventually moved up to Washington as well, first to Chehalis and then to Colville.
“I relocated to Colville briefly while I was going through a divorce. There’s nothing there. It’s a very small town, a very nice town. The people are great and everything, but when you are wanting to expand a business, it’s really scary being in a small town like that,” Borges said.
Now that she’s expanded her business back in Chehalis, her main goal is to not only continue offering women in the area a safe space to work out but be an advocate against domestic abuse.
“That’s one of my main goals,” Borges added.
Because she’s already had interest from clients, Borges is planning to begin offering self defense and concealed carry classes soon.
“We won’t be actually shooting, but it will be focusing on, ‘you’re close, get away, pull (draw),’” she said.
Borges is currently coordinating with qualified instructors to help teach the self defense and concealed carry classes.
She also hopes to eventually open up a women’s wellness center where women will not only have access to a gym, but access to naturopathic doctors, nutritionists and chiropractors.
“I want to have a one-stop care shop for women, basically. That’s my goal,” Borges said.
For updates on classes and events at Enchanted Wellness, follow the gym on its Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/enchantedwellness.fit/ or on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/5x9xb7fz.
To learn more about the gym, including membership options and to book a class, visit its website at https://www.enchantedwellness.fit/.
