Visit the invigorated J-Fitness

Lisa Mongeau and Dori Venditti in the “farmhand training room.” /Photo | Irina Missiuro

Lisa Mongeau and Dori Venditti welcome everyone

J-Fitness has experienced an epiphany. Turns out, in order to foster a sense of community, you need to focus on the individual. That’s exactly what’s in store for the members who arrive to work out. So, if you haven’t been honoring your New Year’s resolution, now’s the time to begin. Feeling sluggish? Still, plan a visit to J-Fitness, if only to check out the changes and meet the newest members of the team, Dori Venditti, J-Fitness general manager, and Lisa Mongeau, consultant and founder of Body Soul Inspired Personal Training, J-Fitness’s new partner that will offer its services to Dwares JCC members.

Longtime members might remember Venditti from her stint as a part-time instructor at the center in 2001-04. She left for a full-time job in corporate fitness, working her way up to manager, a position she lost when she was suddenly laid off this January. That’s when she reconnected with Mongeau, who was in talks with the JCC to become a consultant. Now, Venditti is a manager for Body Soul, – “my right-hand person, an extension of me,” as Mongeau refers to her.

Venditti calls the timing “fateful,” saying that the circumstances provided her with an ideal opportunity. A past college athlete who loves working with people, Venditti sees the position as a perfect fusion of physical (fitness) and emotional (relationships). The job is everything she had hoped for – in addition to managing, Venditti will have a chance to continue as a trainer (her “first love”) as well as teach classes and do nutrition consults. She has been staying current in the field by keeping up with her certifications through American Council on Exercise (ACE).

Venditti says she grew up a tomboy – always playing sports, always outside. The more competitive she became, the more she exercised. When the time came to choose a major in college, Venditti selected human development, graduating with a bachelor’s of science from University of Rhode Island

Straight out of college, she stumbled onto a chance to work at a bank and decided to give it a try. Stressed out and unhappy, she felt frustrated about not having the power to correct inefficiencies. Nevertheless, Venditti doesn’t begrudge her time there. She says, “I needed to do it to know that it wasn’t for me.”

Managing a fitness center is much more Venditti’s cup of Gatorade. She says she has a good vibe with the team members, whom she trusts to make the right decisions with their clients. She thinks that having a rapport with the team is important because it shows the trainers that they are valued, increases productivity and decreases stress. Venditti approves of trainers exercising or going on bike rides with members to learn more about them and to know how the machines work. In addition, when members see how interactive the J-Fitness staff is, they realize that the organization cares about them.

Asked about her preference with regards to workouts, Venditti admits to being partial to functional sessions that involve body leveraging. As an example, she mentions a workout that entails hitting a sledge hammer on a tire, and can be done in the center’s old racquetball room, which was initially transformed into a mind/body studio, and now has morphed into “a farmhand training room.” Seeing a questioning look, she explains further, “It’s like working out in a barn. Nothing gives you a better workout. You are using your body the way it was designed to be used. You’re staying young.”

Mongeau chimes in, saying that such workouts are a great way to subscribe to a healthy lifestyle that advocates fueling yourself right and training yourself for everyday living. She brings up obstacle course races, which she believes to be so popular because they go back to the basics – crawling, jumping and running. “It’s a satisfaction you can’t get from a treadmill.” She prefers variety, saying, “There’s no one way to work out.” Yet, Mongeau concedes that the style really depends on the individual. That’s why trainers take their time to learn about their clients so that they can be certain of the best way to train them. She admits that many see the price of a session with a trainer as a splurge, but adds that they also realize that it’s better to invest in health than in a box of fancy cigars. After all, Mongeau says, training is about quality of life, not your abs.

Mongeau knows what she is talking about – she has 20 years’ experience behind her belt. A past J-Fitness director, she realized that people needed her after receiving a call from Jeff Vogel, who motivated her to open a business. Mongeau credits her husband John, daughter Rachael (who picked out the colors for Body Soul’s holistic logo), sister Amy and parents, Jerry and Sue Cournoyer, with guiding her. She says, “I am where I am today because of my parents.”

In fact, it was her mother who started her off on the fitness path. Concerned about her daughter’s weight, she brought her to a doctor, who instructed the eighth-grader to pick a sport. At 4’11”, Mongeau wasn’t deterred by height – she tried out and made the middle school basketball team – an accomplishment that inspired her lifestyle change. Mongeau went on to play the sport through high school and college. Ultimately, she added triathelons, Reiki and yoga to her fitness repertoire. Mongeau received certifications in multiple disciplines, including personal training and nutrition, attending numerous wellness seminars to enhance her knowledge.

She believes that exercising is a balance between internal motivation and physical limitations. To achieve equilibrium, she thinks it’s important to see a fitness professional who keeps up with the studies and weeds out fads. When a potential client contacts Body Soul, she makes sure that she finds the right trainer for his particular style and workout preference. Starting July, all existing J-Fitness trainers will begin working for Body Soul out of Dwares JCC.

Venditti says that the energy of Body Soul is contagious. Because the trainers inspire through fitness, she envisions their vigor helping her to get operations in order. Mongeau concurs, saying that when the Alliance reached out to her for personal training, she understood that they recognized the need for both parties to partner. Now, she says, “We are a high-quality, enthusiastic professional organization that’s here to help your life.”

Mongeau asks the community to consider the center again. She’s urging everyone to visit Dwares JCC or call her (401-714-7324). Mongeau is excited about the future. “If you’ve left, we invite you back.” When you return, she says, you will see quality, experience and passion. Mongeau sums up, “Hold on to your hats!”