Keeping up the exercise Pace

Jackson Bell

Geni Telkamp was inspired to open Pace Fitness because she wanted to

challenge herself -- in more ways than one.

Not only did Telkamp want to succeed as an entrepreneur by opening

her own fitness center, she wanted to provide a workout for other

women who don’t like traditional gyms.

“A lot of women who come here say that for the first time in their

life, they like exercising,” she said this week. “It’s less

intimidating than a gym because there are no men, and they don’t have

to figure out what types of weights to use.”

Pace Fitness, at 228 N. Glenoaks Blvd., specializes in circuit

training, a rapid-paced exercise system where members alternate every

30 seconds between using hydraulic strength-training machines that

work out every part of the body and cardiovascular stations that keep

their heart rates elevated. Telkamp says members can burn from 350 to

650 calories per session.

Telkamp, who opened the storefront center July 5, said what sets

it apart from other 30-minute circuit-training centers is the six

levels of resistance on Pace -- the brand of equipment she named her

business after.

“It provides a workout for women of all different fitness levels

so that they can obtain their fitness goals,” she said.

The cost for a membership is $75 to register and $25 a month.

Telkamp said she donates $20 of each new member’s registration fee to

the PTA of their choice or the parent-education program at Burbank

Adult School.

Jackie Cole, a Burbank resident who recently joined Pace, said she

likes the noncompetitive environment.

“Everyone is doing their own thing,” Cole said. “And if I have any

questions about the machines, I don’t feel uncomfortable asking,

whereas at a gym, I do.”