Cypress Fitness on Elm Street is a community fitness hub, where members and guests are happy to arrive and feel even better when they leave. 

Shelly Breslin, Director of Operations and Jimmy Harshbarger, Director of Fitness take a few minutes to give wonderful insight to this unique gym that they call home.  

Q: Explain Cypress Gym and what fitness areas you offer?

We specialize in private and small group training.  We have 10 personal trainers, 2 physical therapists and a nutritionist.  We offer custom workouts and a state of the art facility.  With 8400 square feet on two floors, the main floor is for personal and group training and the upper floor is physical therapy and nutrition. 

Our programs include fitness, nutrition, physical therapy and massage.  We will take care of all your wellness needs.  

Q: What is the atmosphere like at Cypress?

“Where the staff treats you like family.” That’s what we do.  Everything is very open and welcoming, very community based.  Very light, friendly atmosphere. 

I am often so surprised at the relationships that our clients have with our trainers.  Our clients know we care, and in return they care about us.  It is a happy place to work. 

Q: You have a nutrtion program on-site?

Our nutritionist Liz Greenlaw is wonderful.  She meets clients either onsite or at their home. 

Liz just completed a 6-week member program called Commit to Fit.  The program included a one-hour per week session with Liz, seminars and a new topic each week.  There was an average weight loss of 6 lbs.  She did a fantastic job!

Q: How is Cypress part of the McLean community?

Our clients are mostly from McLean with some from North Arlington.  We aim to be your local gym and private training studio.  We also have great corporate partnerships, for people who work on Elm Street.  Business members may commute in, where they can hit a class at lunch or before or after work.  

"We like to think of ourselves as the 'Cheers' of gyms!"  A place to be, where people know each other and stop to chat before or after their workouts.  Elm Street is a great location to be in this community.  

Do you visit Sweetbites Bakery on Elm? – Yes, a daily visit for us!  (Kudos, Sandra Panetta!)

What’s happening at Cypress in 2018? 

We added a physical therapist from Virginia Hospital Center who specializes in Manual Therapy, Pelvic Rehab Therapy and Biofeedback.  Since she has come onboard, we have doubled our PT business!

We added a Yoga program recently and this year we will continue to look at areas for organic growth to build on it.  We always welcome feedback from our members always so that we continue improving.

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Jimmy Harshbarger, Director of Fitness is the one to talk to about your fitness goals and how to achieve them.  Whether you are training in a specific athletic area, or you need overall fitness and wellness, Jimmy is the one to help you achieve your next level of fitness.

Jimmy, what is your background?

I have been with Cypress since they opened in 2013 and personal training since 2010. 

In high school, team sports was a constant and the Presidential Physical Fitness Testing was a big thing.

I am a small individual, so fitness has always been important for me.  I had Scoliosis when I was younger and strength training helped to align everything.  

Many fitness professionals have had to rehab from something, so fitness becomes an educational portion of taking care of their health.  This holds true for me.  

At work, I get the gratification that comes from helping others reach their goals.  It makes coming to work a joy.

Jimmy says one buzzword around the gym is "Community.”

We thrive on our community at Cypress.   We want to be the same engaged community that you might see at a coffee shop but from a fitness sense.  We feel like, "Let’s get to know everyone that’s coming in our doors and build a spirit of motivation together!"

I enjoy the group classes and the comradery that comes it.  It's a great thing to be a part of group members motivating each other and seeing people grow that way.  The floorspace at Cypress lends to everyone being part of one fitness culture.  It is one large open room.  We want to treat everyone as equal and give proper supervision.

We have lots of community events, such as yogurt parfait night and Workout of the Month.  Every October, we have a "Train the Trainer" charity fundraiser.  We have weight loss challenges, a Christmas party. 

Jimmy, have you have hit your professional stride as a trainer?   

I once read from an elite level trainer, “If you think you’ve learned everything in the training industry, then you can hang them up.”  What I take from that is that there is always more to learn.  Always.  

I am listening to podcasts, educate myself, I'm always learning, always trying to build my library, medically, professionally, how to fix and address things.  The training environment is a constant learning environment.  

A client comes in and says, I’d like to look better overall, what do you say?

The more concrete the goal is, the more successful the client will be.

In general, we give them about 8-12 weeks to achieve smaller goals.  Small victories are a good way to keep motivation.  The bigger success is what happens outside of the gym, the types of decisions a person makes between workouts.  For instance, sleep, diet, alcohol consumption. 

We believe Cypress Fitness is successful if…

Members come with a smile and leave with a bigger smile.  That’s success to us.  From staff-to-members and members-to-members, community building is a measure of our success. 

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If you have not discovered Cypress yet, stop in and say hello and have a look around this healthy atmosphere.  There is much to gain at Cypress toward being a healthier, happier, more balanced you. 

Jimmy Harshbarger - jharshbarger@cypressfit.com

Shelly Breslin - shellybreslin@cypressfit.com

Reach out to Jimmy with any questions you have and check out Cypress Fitness on the web!  

https://www.cypressfit.com/