Experiencing the Minnetonka Fitness Community
It was a calm afternoon when I attended my first training session with Deanna Asbury, the owner and trainer at All in 1 Fitness. All in 1 Fitness is a small fitness training center located in Mound Minnesota. It was a short drive to the gym from my house and I had finally convinced my mom to train with me. We thought we were going to run a marathon before I leave for college. Additionally, I wanted to push my fitness journey to be more confident in myself and to better myself for dance.
That day I wore what I would consider to be my signature color, pink. I dressed in my baby pink lululemon align tank top and my baby pink hoodie, partnered with matching baby pink lululemon align shorts. I could never have enough pink on. I felt apprehensive on the way to the gym. I enjoy lifting but I don’t feel strong enough and I most definitely don’t feel like I possess enough endurance.
Finally we arrive at the gym, my mom turns the car off and with it the music and we meet our fate as we walk through the doors. Deanna greeted us with a huge smile and an energy full of warmth and confidence that you couldn’t help but smile back. To my surprise the workout wasn’t the exhausting, unbearable 45 minutes that I thought it would be. Training with my mom offered an inviting and fun atmosphere that I was not accustomed to. Deanna used this unique atmosphere as a training opportunity and gave us workouts that allowed us to interact with one another.
I walked out of the session proud and confident in myself. However, the confident feeling might have come from the fact that I knew I would get a chocolate strawberry protein shake. I ended up going back the next week and all of the weeks since that day.
I wanted to learn more about the Minnetonka fitness community so I talked with Nicole Lovald, a co-owner and trainer of Spirit of the Lake. Spirit of the Lake is a yoga Studio located in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Nicole has owned and operated her business for twelve years. Additionally she joined a program called Women’s Venture. Women’s Venture is a non-profit organization that helps female entrepreneurs to start and operate a small business. This unique opportunity allowed Nicole to learn and develop under a mentor to help her business succeed.
She attributes a great amount of her success to the authentic nature of her instructors, her spiritual environment, and the help of her co-owner Niki Scarpa. When discussing the impact her instructors have had on the studio Nicole says, “They really showed up for me when I needed it, especially during COVID when it all got to be too much when everything was online,” Nicole claimed.
Niki joined Nicole in ownership during Covid when Nicole felt she needed extra help. As small business owners they feel that compared to large corporations they need to know how to do everything as they do not have the resources to delegate tasks, “As a small business owner I have definitely had to learn how to do it all, the challenges have made me very adaptable to change,” Nicole said. Furthermore, in their success they enjoy being able to help support other fitness businesses and events. They joined the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce allows businesses in the community to support each other and inform them of community events that they can help sponsor. One of these events was the St.Patrick’s Fun Run in downtown Excelsior.
Both the Women’s Venture and Chamber of Commerce help support and aid local businesses that ultimately help to support the community. Overall the Minnetonka fitness community is created through the support of organizations and the encouragement of locals.
The Community of Minnetonka Fitness: A Feature on Local Fitness Client
As I spoke with Teri Fink I learned that she is an energetic and outgoing individual. She had a warm energy as she told her stories and experiences with fitness around Minnetonka. Her kind energy made me smile and laugh with her as she reminisced about her stories at Spirit of the Lake Yoga. Teri is 67 years old and has been attending classes at Spirit of the Lake yoga studio for about fourteen years. I spoke with Teri to learn more about the client’s impact on the fitness community. Fitness clients help grow the community and support each other to create a positive environment. Teri does just that at Spirit of the Lake. Previously, she was a fitness instructor at LifeTime Fitness. Throughout our conversation she described to me the difference between various styles of fitness. She enjoys spending time with her grandkids and biking on the Minnesota bike trails. Teri is fully immersed in the community and is a valuable asset at Spirit of the Lake.
Q: What do you enjoy most about the yoga classes at Spirit of the Lake?
A: I know the instructors really well, especially Nicole and Nikki.
There’s also a sense of community, you always know somebody in the class. We try to encourage each other. All the instructors are just amazing. They’re so knowledgeable and wise. 
Q: Can you tell me about the fitness community of Minnesota and how that plays a role at Spirit of the Lake?
A: In this community we have so many incredible bike trails. I think it’s like one of the largest bike trails in the Midwest. Yoga helps me with my flexibility and strength to bike. In Minnesota, I think it’s a pretty healthy state when it comes to keeping active. An example of this is Lifetime fitness. They’re everywhere and their clubs are just packed, so they’re doing fine. I think [the Minnesota fitness community] is pretty aware of how important it is to stay healthy and to work out.
Q: How do yoga classes differ from other styles of fitness?
A: Fitness is so different when you’re not the teacher because you can enjoy the class. There’s always a really neat meaning to the class.
A lot of times you set an intention at the beginning of class, and to me, that is just so awesome. There’s so much going on in the world, so it’s really neat when you take time to just come into yourself and give gratitude.
Q: Why would you recommend taking a yoga class?
A: It really helps with my energy levels, because when you get to be in your 60s, your hormones are kind of raging, going up and down and it helps with keeping the hormones regulated. It also helps your immune system and it helps calm the mind and sleep better. It also helped me with my flexibility and strength.
The Day in the Life of Local Owner and Fitness Instructor: Deanna Asbury
Deanna Asbury is a personal trainer and owner of All in One Fitness. All in One Fitness is a local fitness training company located in Mound, Minnesota. Deanna has always been a fitness enthusiast but began training others just 6 years ago. She tries every day to demonstrate what it means to be in the fitness community in Minnetonka. Deanna’s journey is unique as it went from being a fitness client to a fitness business owner. She hopes to inspire and aid others to embark on their health journey. In her day in the life she completes various tasks and training sessions. This is what a day in the life of a fitness trainer may look like.
5:45am: Deanna wakes up and gets ready for the day with a quick healthy breakfast. She starts her mornings early to be productive and live the healthy lifestyle that she promotes to her clients.
6:30am: Deanna completes administrative work such as checking emails, updating schedules, organizing employees, and completing additional gym management tasks. By staying organized, Deanna is able to successfully run her business and set customer service standards to maintain employees.
8:30am: Deanna teaches the first group fitness class.This class consists of various fitness styles like crossfit, boxing, weightlifting and more.
9:15am: Deanna teaches a second group fitness class.This class is typically larger and follows the structure of the first group fitness class.
10:00am: Personal training session with client. In this session Deanna takes her client through various exercises specifically catered to their fitness goals.
11:00am: Deanna plans for future classes and client workouts, brainstorming social media content for the gym. This is important to keep her business unique.
12:00pm: Lunch break and a bit of downtime. Deanna typically eats a healthy lunch and takes this time to relax before completing her afternoon tasks.
1:00pm: Meet with potential new clients or handle business-related tasks (memberships, marketing, ect). Marketing is a large part of making a small business successful, Deanna prioritizes networking and building genuine relationships with clients.
2:00pm: Personal training session with a second client.
3:00pm: Deanna completes her own personal workout. Deanna believes it is important to have a strong work life balance. She maintains this by taking time for herself throughout the day.
4:00pm: Deanna completes final gym tasks before going home to her husband and two kids. She wraps up work at the gym, chats with members and tidies up.
5:00pm: Head home for family time and evening responsibilities such as making dinner, cleaning around the house, helping her kids with homework, ect.
Evening: Catch up on planning for the next day, update client programs, and unwind. Deanna tries to get a full eight hours of sleep every night to stay healthy and be prepared for her early mornings.
