For many people, body image issues are real — feeling too fat, too thin, too ugly, too mousy, too short, too tall, too round, too small. And while many body issues may be out of an individual’s control, there is one area over which every person has command — fitness. Finding a way to love the shell in which the body is housed may be as simple as discovering ways to get, and stay, in shape through a tailored exercise regimen. And, fortunately, no one must go it alone. Places like 757 ROC, a local gym located on Canon Boulevard in Newport News, make it its vision to “change the way people think about fitness.”
757 ROC, says Ben Carr, head coach of programming, “is a community of people reaching and accomplishing goals. In other gyms, you go in by yourself, do your own program or workout with no accountability and no one to show you proper form and technique. We are not about a gym; we are about being a family.”
As a Spartan affiliate facility committed to physical fitness and well-being, the goal of 757 ROC is to help people find their place in the fitness world by offering a variety of classes, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength and functional fitness training designed to encourage overall fitness, help people lose weight, get in shape and/or train to compete in Spartan DEKA events. The idea is to have people training with a purpose as they go through their fitness journey.
757 ROC is fully equipped with obstacles for training toward that next fitness event, including rowers, rope climbs, torque tanks and the like. “People know they’ll be trained to get ready for their event,” says Coach Ben. “They also know it will be an incredible group of people with a common mission and goal.”
To meet the needs of more people in their fitness goals, 757 ROC just expanded its facility, partnering with Fire and Ice Recovery Center, where people can go to experience the “latest recovery methods in the health and fitness market today,” including full body cryotherapy, infrared sauna, NormaTec compression and red-light therapy, all designed to help the body heal after fitness injuries.
Regardless of fitness goals, big or small, 757 ROC offers a sort of “one-stop shop.” As it continues to grow and expand, its goal is to “get bigger and smaller at the same time,” says Coach Ben. “We don’t want to get so large that we forget the relational aspect. Rather, we want to be a community of people where all are welcome; we don’t want to become so big we forget the importance of people and their goals — where money replaces people,” says Carr.
The story of how 757 ROC came to be demonstrates well the importance of relationship as Carr’s full-time job as pastor of Water’s Edge is what brought Coach Adam, the owner of the company, and him together. From there, they built 757 ROC and now spend their time outside of their day job helping people realize they can do whatever they put their minds to, if they’re willing to take the risk. In the words of Audrey Hepburn, nothing is impossible; the word itself says “I’m possible”!
TO THE POINT:
757 ROC
Address: 11838 Canon Blvd., Newport News, VA 23606
Contacts: Adam Shelton, owner;
Ben Carr, senior coach of programming
Phone: 540-353-8792
Email: bcarrdfw@gmail.com
Website: www.757roc.com
