They will help you get it together

United we stand, divided we fall-fall out of shape, onto the couch and into bad habits. That could be the rallying cry of a personal fitness training studio in Franklin that believes that the bond between client and trainer is a crucial element in the pursuit of physical well-being.

Fitness Together is a private training facility specializing in one-on-one attention from certified professionals-experts who serve as coaches, colleagues and confidants throughout the otherwise daunting ordeal of getting in shape. In helping clients of all ages achieve and maintain optimal health and fitness, teachers and pupils-together-analyze needs and set goals, after which the trainer will custom-tailor an exercise and nutrition plan, organize workouts for maximum efficiency, eliminate distractions, focus entirely on the project at hand (you), ensure that exercises are done properly and in the right amount, monitor and measure progress, and, like any proper mentor, demand attention and accountability.

Fitness Together is a franchise operation, one of over 400 worldwide. Local owner Daniel Chastain opened his studio in Franklin three years ago. A health and fitness advocate since high school, he graduated from Jacksonville State and did personal training on his own for a while after college. He saw the need for a professional affiliation, and went to work for Fitness Together in Birmingham, part-time for a year. The company offered him his own operation, and he zeroed in on Franklin for its demographics and relative closeness to home (he grew up in Alabama).

Chastain is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. His brother, Wayne, who owns and manages a Fitness Together in Collierville (near Memphis), is certified by the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research. The brothers decided to do fitness together after Daniel, fresh out of high school, visited Wayne in Germany, where he was helping the U. S. Air Force with its fitness testing. Under his brother's tutelage, Daniel put on 30 pounds of muscle, got aerobically fit and got rid of the asthma that had curtailed his athletic career.

"I knew then that I wanted to do this," Daniel says.

Fitness Together has clients ranging from kids to grandmothers, from college athletes to weekend warriors. Besides Chastain, there are six other certified trainers on staff, including Dave Schardt, Michael Mindigo, Ashley Zink, Rachel Anderson, Kevin Swannigan and Manicia Weaver, all full-time except for Weaver. The studio offers a free initial visit including an introductory workout that takes into account any chronic pains or other conditions, and a fitness assessment and goals consultation. Those who sign on are assigned a personal coach and are taken in hand for the journey ahead.

During each workout session, clients are given a goal and a direction, and an explanation of the program being followed. Periodically, they are provided comprehensive, 16-page full-color fitness reports dramatizing their progress relative to their goals.

As well as offering cutting-edge instruction in exercise, the staff pays equal devotion to nutrition, including weekly updates on how to improve eating habits, with recipes and diet plans.

"Tough love" is the order of the day at Fitness Together. "With our one-on-one atmosphere, we can guarantee results, if a person will do what we ask," Chastain says. Just as the trainer invests his or her undivided attention, the same is expected of the client, because, after all, everyone's in this together. Fitness Together is at 1031 Riverside Drive Suite I in Franklin (near the Publix and Home Depot). Hours are by appointment, as early as 5 a.m. and as late 9 p.m. weekdays, and from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 615-599-2550; visit www.FitnessTogetherTN.com.