Instructors Expand Menu, Stress Multiple Movements

b fit

Owners: Claudia Smith and Tara Kelsey

Address: 25 N. Block St., Fayetteville

Phone: 479-935-4400

E-mail: [email protected]

Hours: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday

Web site: www.bfitfayetteville.com

Startup date: Aug. 1

Monotony has doomed many a workout plan, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem at b fit, a 900-SF exercise studio in downtown Fayetteville whose owners are determined to keep their regimens as fresh as the produce at the nearby Farmers Market.

While co-owners Claudia Smith and Tara Kelsey have a combined 15 years experience as Pilates instructors, they opened b fit due to a desire to include other forms of “movement” in their work. At b fit, group classes are $9 and $10, while individual and small-group sessions range from $15 to $55.

The content varies, too. Smith said elements of yoga, dance and weight-training, among others, are melded to expose clients to as many benefits as possible.

Smith and Kelsey, who invested about $20,000 to start the business, said they have been gleaning tidbits from other disciplines since before they started work as Pilates instructors. Smith’s background is rooted in dance, while Kelsey’s is in nutrition.

“With that experience, you see what works and what doesn’t … and we like to explore different kinds of movements,” Kelsey said.

The ultimate aim, Smith added, is finding a way to push people despite their different abilities, goals, limitations, etc. The client base at b fit, she said, ranges from teenagers to an 88-year-old.

Smith also said she and Kelsey were willing to take the financial risk of launching a new business because so many people in Northwest Arkansas seem willing to commit money to staying in shape even during uncertain economic times.

“Fitness is still a priority for a lot of people,” she said.

RAND Corp. Releases ‘Affordable Care Act’ Analysis

The RAND Corp., a nonpartisan research institution, recently released a report analyzing the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on employers and enrollees in employer-sponsored health insurance, with a focus on small businesses and businesses offering coverage through health insurance exchanges.

Using a microsimulation model, RAND predicts the PPACA will increase insurance offer rates among small businesses from 53 to 77 percent for firms with 10 or fewer workers, from 71 to 90 percent for firms with 11 to 25 workers, and from 90 percent to nearly 100 percent for firms with 26 to 100 workers.

The model further predicts about 60 percent of businesses will offer coverage through health insurance exchanges. Under baseline assumptions, a total of 68 million people will enroll in the exchanges, of whom 35 million will receive exchange-based coverage from an employer.