Goal-oriented clients push fitness trainer

At 5:30 on Christmas morning, Sandi Messineo was at work.

At an hour when about the only traffic on the streets was pulled by eight shining reindeer, Messineo was headed for the home of one of her clients for a 90-minute fitness session.

Her willingness to roll out of bed long before dawn on Christmas morning says something a lot about Messineo.

It says even more about her clients.

"They're goal-oriented," says the owner of Strictly Form Inc., a private fitness training outfit that counts a goodly number of top corporate executives among its 45 clients.

The company's clients are so goal-oriented, in fact, that they think nothing of working hard on Christmas morning.

Or Sunday morning.

Or two weekend mornings in a row if they're going to be traveling.

They're both able and willing to pay well for guidance in reaching their goals.

Clients pay $100 for a single 90- minute session at their own homes with Messineo or one of the four trainers who work under contract with her company.

Most opt instead for the quarterly rate $75 for an hour and a half.

Less expensive are sessions at Strictly Form's studio, a well-equipped facility in a modest building behind a Sparky's sports bar on South McCarran.

There, an hour with a private trainer is $62 or $50 for clients who pre-pay on a quarterly basis.

For the price, clients get the guidance of college-educated, experienced trainers who focus all their attention on the client stretching the client's muscles manually, watching to make sure that exercise equipment is used properly.

"They always want to be corrected," Messineo said.

"They want to do things right."

Clients who opt to use the studio never have to wait in line for equipment no more than three clients at a time use the facility and the place is sparkling clean.

And they get a trainer who is truly a personal trainer, who is attuned to their moods and knows whether how hard the client wants to be pushed toward a goal today.

No matter how much iron they may be pumping, few of the clients can be working as hard as Messineo.

The busy hours for a personal trainer come before and after traditional business hours.

"Sometimes, it's kind of hard to get up at 4 in the morning," said Messineo.

"I'm not going to stay out until 9 o'clock at night."

Between early morning and late afternoon appointments, the trainer works on her own regimen she runs marathons for fun and keeps the business going.

Established about three and a half years ago, Strictly Form grew steadily until the post-Sept.

11 recession settled in.

Revenues last year, Messineo said, held about steady as some of her executive clients needed to devote more of their time to business and less to fitness.

In a company where each individual client accounts for a good chunk of revenue, the loss of even a single customer causes a big bump.

Still, Messineo hasn't spent a dime on advertising since she opened for business.

"It's all word of mouth," she said.

A single-line listing in the telephone directory draws a flurry of calls from folks who make resolutions at the start of a New Year price shoppers who quickly look elsewhere after hearing Strictly Form's rates.

A 20-year veteran of the fitness business who holds a degree in exercise physiology from Central Michigan University, Messineo often worked two jobs including a stint as director of IGT's fitness facilities while she saved money to launch Strictly Form Inc.

The company has been profitable from the start, but that's not the point of the exercise.

"Making more money isn't the key here," Messineo said.

"I like to see people become more fit.

It's the most satisfying profession I can imagine."