New studio brings fitness to the whole family

Fitness has always been a big part of Syndie Molina’s life: she spent most of her high school years as a cheerleader, then went on to join the Army Reserve and eventually became a paramedic. Now, the 34-year-old wants to help make it a part of the lives of local children; in order to do so she opened a unique fitness studio in West Hempstead.

Family Fitness Unlimited is just that — a place where all members of the family, from little kids to teens to adults, can come to get a full and fun workout. “Our mission is to education and bring fitness to all ages,” Molina said. “It has become such a passion, especially because I’m noticing that more and more kids are getting obese. It’s horrible when I get a patient who is 9 years old and 200 pounds. You think, ‘What’s going on here? Something is wrong with this picture.’”

For Molina, who works as an FDNY paramedic and holds a doctorate in health education, it’s important to regard fitness with a holistic approach, and to start doing so at a young age. That’s why she offers several free workshops on stress management, nutrition and CPR, among others, and a free program for teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 19. “It’s more than just addressing physical fitness: it’s also looking at the mental fitness,” Molina said, adding that she when she opened the studio in June, she wanted to do so knowing that she would be giving back to the community in some way.

As far as working with teenagers, Molina, who has an 8-year-old son, believes its important to get them on the right path by giving them the proper tools to handle life’s curveballs. “Times may have changed, but being a teenager is still hard,” Molina said. She created an environment at Family Fitness Unlimited that fosters and encourages positive learning: it’s a place were teenagers from different school districts can come together to share experiences, to learn from one another and to work together to provide service to the community.

The teen group “talks about everyday living for teenagers,” according to Molina. It focuses on stress management, applying to colleges and improving job-hunting and job-interviewing skills. The teens are also encouraged to come with community service ideas and then collaborate to carry them out. “This gives them the experience of working together in a group and also allows each person the ability to work in different roles within the group,” Molina said.

This month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the teens will do education and awareness  outreach in the community. They also hold environmental awareness workshops and distribute literature, and sometimes take a more hands-on approach, like making care packages for soldiers on deployment or collected and delivering donated toys for Toys for Tots.

Although Molina put together the community service and collaborative work to benefit the teens, she did it, in part, for herself. When Molina earned her master’s degree, she had planned to travel abroad to third-world countries to help establish health programs, but was quickly made aware that she didn’t have to go very far to find those who need help. “I noticed there’s just as big a problem right here in my backyard,” she said. “I can’t go and fix someone else’s house if there’s a problem here. So, because of that I decided to do this.”

Molina opened the Family Fitness Unlimited studio in June and has since received a warm welcome from the community. As she came to know the local residents, Molina quickly realized that she was serving a place with a large religious Jewish Community. As a result, she changed some of the studio’s scheduling to begin offering more classes on Sundays.

For more information, visit www.familyfitunlimited.com or call (516) 554-4774.