by Leann Zotis

Created on: January 15, 2009

I have gone to great lengths to find the perfect exercise venue for myself. I've tried a couple of the nationally renowned gyms, but found them too impersonal and too over-populated with the fittest of the fit and other Olympic hopeful types. That was just a little too intimidating for my taste.

I tried setting up a personal gym in my own home. A treadmill, an elliptical trainer, a weight bench and some assorted weights made up my own little exercise paradise. Oh sure, it was okay. I was committed enough to make use of the room at least three times a week. Funny thing, though, I didn't feel really good about my efforts. Going upstairs to the "exercise room" felt just a bit too much like I was giving myself my own personal "time out." Also, I never really felt any different when I did exercise than I did if I skipped exercising.

Frustration was setting in. I decided to try one more exercise facility. Here, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I chose a site very near to my home (a major plus) called Streamline Fitness. After my first session, I knew I had found my exercise home.

Streamline is a small gym, as gyms go, but it has everything I need (and even a few things I didn't know I needed until I got there) to create a healthy, productive fitness environment. A few sessions with a personal trainer got me on the right track to the proper use of the weight machines to flatten my stomach, strengthen my shoulders and legs, give me a solid core and, overall, develop a plan of action to improve my level of fitness.

Streamline is not "jock central." Oh sure, there are a fair number of muscular, bulked-up athletes who obviously see exercise as an important part of their daily existence as are eating and breathing. But there are also middle-aged people, older than middle-aged people and people who just want to get out and take in a little exercise in the company of some good people.

The staff at Streamline is well trained, very fit themselves, and an absolute delight to work with. They invite you in, right from the start, to the family-like atmosphere that fosters good health and attention to proper fitness practices. One of the first activities of Streamline that caught my attention immediately was the wide variety of classes that are offered to keep the idea of exercise fun and social and more about being active than about the drudgery of doing three sets of sit-ups. Classes are offered many times a week in spinning, yoga, Pilates, kick-boxing, Zumba, body sculpting and cardio stepping. They even offer a class called "Butts and Guts" that I haven't yet had a chance to check out. There is also a series of circuit machines available to help you ease into some of the more strenuous workouts.

The hours of operation are astounding. If you have the energy to exercise at 5:00 A.M. (not me!), by all means stop by. They are there to serve you. Seven days a week is no problem for them either. The place to go, for my money, if you're looking for a great place to exercise and have fun doing it is at Streamline Fitness in Kennedy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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