Fitness studio with ‘after-50’ focus opens in Bethel Park

For folks in the stage of life where they start dreading the next birthday, Jason Zawodniak offers encouraging words.

“We don’t believe that 50 is old, or 60, or even 70,” he said. “With the right programming, it doesn’t have to be.”

In May, Zawodniak and his wife, Rachel, opened A50 Fitness at 1752 N. Highland Road in Bethel Park with the goal of providing individualized training for people of that general age range.

“Not everybody needs the same thing, especially after 50. Some people actually need to avoid things just as much as they need to focus on things,” Jason said. “So it’s really all about personalization for us. We don’t really follow any ‘cookie-cutter’ plans.”

He studied physical therapy and massage therapy before moving into the field of fitness.

“Very early on, I noticed that people were always getting injured,” he said. “They were doing these high-intensity programs. And having a background in physical therapy, I thought, this is not a wise or intelligent way to train at a certain point.”

The Zawodniaks, who live in Bethel Park, previously ran a studio called Fuse Fitness to serve the general population, and it turned out they particularly were interested in the well-being of older clients. Following a transition to an online platform — prior to the pandemic, actually — they eventually decided to return to a physical presence, naming the new studio to reflect the “after-50” focus.

Training starts with an assessment of a client’s flexibility, mobility, strength and overall fitness.

“It’s a common mistake — and I’ve made in the past, myself — but you can’t just train somebody without knowing what they need,” Jason said.

Clients almost invariably want to improve their strength, and maintaining the ability to get around is a prime consideration.

“They want to move better. They don’t want to feel so stiff and tight. They’re injury-prone because of that tightness,” Jason explained.

With regard to avoiding injury, he emphasized a joint-friendly approach to training.

“It’s a huge misconception that it has to be painful and awful. It doesn’t have to be,” he said. “It should start out slow and cater to their needs. We’re often asking them, ‘How does it feel?’ We’re just tailoring it and customizing it the entire time.”

A50 Fitness provides an inviting environment in which clients have their own training areas.

“They like that, because they can just focus on themselves and not have to be distracted by a competitive atmosphere,” Jason said. “They don’t have to feel like they are measuring up with a 25-year-old.”