The first privately owned gym in Standish will open in 10 days.
PNF, based in North Windham, is expanding to a second facility in a 3,000-square-foot building in the Colonial Marketplace complex on Route 25.
PNF stands for Personalized Nutrition and Fitness, and is owned by Mark York and Whitney Sullivan.
Sullivan said he was approached in December by the owner of Colonial Marketplace, Kevin Gagnon, who lives in Raymond. Gagnon said he wanted to bring PNF to Standish because “there’s no fitness (facility) in that area. It’s been needed for a long time.”
Gagnon knows people who are members of the fitness center, and has watched the center’s growth since they opened.
“PNF, in my opinion, has done an exceptional job at personal training and fitness. There are quite a few (fitness centers) out there now but PNF seem to really focus on customers and meeting those needs,” Gagnon said.
The next-closest fitness facility to the Standish area is My-Fit-24 in Gorham. The owner of the facility could not be reached for comment.
The new PNF facility, which opens Monday, Jan. 25, will offer the same services as the Windham location, including one-on-one personal training, “live fit,” a group program and 13 different exercise classes.
The classes range from spinning, a high-intensity bicycling workout, to Tabata, cardio interval training, to Silver & Fit, a class geared toward seniors.
York and Sullivan both have degrees in exercise science. Sullivan has been teaching exercise classes for 30 years.
“It’s never boring,” she said.
The co-owners met while they were trainers at the former 21st Century Family Fitness in Windham. In 2011, they decided to open a gym together.
Family Fitness, then Roham Family Fitness, closed abruptly in 2014. When the center closed, its former owner, John Booth, supplied PNF with dumbbells, Sullivan said. The equipment from Rohan will be used in the new Standish facility.
“Booth was always very supportive of us,” Sullivan said of Booth.
While locally owned fitness centers have struggled to compete with larger chains in the area, Sullivan said the knowledge and education of her staff “sets us apart.” The staff has “a lot of training about functional movement, and how you move in daily activities.” This knowledge and training helps the staff prevent injuries, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said they will not take on more trainers for their Standish location right away, until they have a better sense of how much their staff can handle.
Louis Knight of North Yarmouth has been a member of PNF since its opening. She is also York’s aunt.
Knight said she likes the facility because it’s “adaptable to fit your needs.” Even in a group class, she said, “you can do it at your own pace.”
“They bring out the best in us,” she added.
Judy Montecalvo of Standish was attending the Silver & Fit class on Monday. She has also been a member since the facility opened.
She likes the facility because “you don’t have to get all dressed up. It’s casual and friendly,” she said.
Montecalvo said even after the Standish location opens, she will continue to frequent the location in Windham.
“We have people we go to coffee with,” she said of her Silver & Fit class, which she attends regularly.
Montecalvo said the regulars may split time between the Windham and Standish location, so they will continue to see each other for classes.
Sullivan said she enjoys training individuals in fitness because “everybody has different goals.”
Participants at a Silver & Fit class. The class for seniors is held three times each week at the Windham location. 
The new PNF location on Ossipee Trail in Standish. 
Whitney Sullivan, right, leads Louis Knight in a workout. Sullivan is co-owner of PNF in Windham, which is expanding to Standish.
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