<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830648364.jpeg" alt="Aimee Riegel recently opened in a new location in Hays at 2013 Vine, with new services after running Fit PT and Wellness as a mobile business for the past year.&nbsp;EDITORS NOTE: As the client in the photos was already a close contact of Riegel, face coverings were not worn during the session, but are worn during a regular visit." />
 <figcaption>Aimee Riegel recently opened in a new location in Hays at 2013 Vine, with new services after running Fit PT and Wellness as a mobile business for the past year.&nbsp;EDITORS NOTE: As the client in the photos was already a close contact of Riegel, face coverings were not worn during the session, but are worn during a regular visit.</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="October a perfect time to explore health benefits provided by physical therapy" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/taiks-f0898b?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth=&btn-skin=101"></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostAfter offering mobile physical therapy services in the area last
year, Aimee Riegel recently expanded Fit PT and Wellness into a new location at
2013 Vine, with a full slate of new services.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/6ad0b333-6f66-47fe-b19e-8fa17cd396a4">“Last year, when I opened my practice, I was strictly mobile — seeing clients in their homes,” Riegel said. </a>Through the business, she was able to provide her physical therapy
services to clients — but she had an eye on being able to help even more.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830639508.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>“I have been very passionate about, not just the illness side
of things, treating clients that have injured themselves and require the rehabilitation
aspect of what I do as a physical therapist, but I’ve also been very interested
in the wellness side of things,” Riegel said.Over the last year, she had provided some of those services,
but wanted to have the space to offer group classes after finding a core group
of clients that participated in online workouts through the COVID-19 pandemic.“I kind of knew when I found a spot I would want to open my
own group fitness studio,” Riegel said.After looking around for a location in Hays, she found the
building space on Vine at the end of September and moved quickly with group fitness
classes starting within a couple of weeks.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830692429.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>“This space is so perfect, I am so blessed to have found it,”
Riegel said. “Not only do I have the group fitness studio, I have my own
office, with my own entry from the back.”She said that enables, her clients to come in without having
to interrupt a class going on in the front.“So I can have a couple of different things going on at
once,” Riegel said, “which is really nice.”This week, yoga classes also began in the location, something
Riegel said is harder to find in Hays now than just a few years ago.Generally, she said the group fitness classes run 50 minutes long with a variety
of class, offerings taught with four instructors and herself.“I get really, really bored when I work out. I hate doing
the same thing over and over,” she said, noting she schedules the classes to ensure
a rotation of workouts.She also likes to have the classes target all of the different
muscle groups over the course of a week.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830681205.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>Some of the classes offered include free weights, step
classes, cardio burst, barre classes, hit classes and three different styles of
yoga.And, most Fridays, she will offer mobility classes.“It’s a lot of body awareness, a lot of core, a lot of deep breathing
and a lot of activation work,” she said. “It’s something that you don’t typically
see in your standard group fitness class.”While she does not teach yoga herself, she said she had
trained with many qualified individuals and found three instructors that will
teach at the location.“I wanted to offer that to the community as well as some
other specialty classes for people that have chronic diseases and classes for
those that don’t really know where to start with group fitness or those that
are coming from the physical therapy side and are not ready to go on their own
who need a little extra guidance and maybe want to do that in a group setting,”
Riegel said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830675284.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>Moving forward she hopes to expand those services, toward
groups with specific maladies.“Some of the programs that have yet to develop are going to
be more toward arthritis, osteoporosis and general diseases like fibromyalgia,
chronic pain, joint issues and aches and pains and can’t go to a regular
fitness class,” Riegel said. “I really want to offer things for a multitude of clientele
to where we can really promote physical activity for anyone at any level or any
age.”And for those uncomfortable during COVID-19, online sessions will continue.“I’m still doing virtual as well because not everyone is
comfortable coming into the gym setting,” Riegel said. “For the time being and
for the future, I feel like virtual is not going away, so most of the classes
are live-streamed as well.”For the in-person sessions, she said they are currently
keeping classes small, to ensure a 6-foot distance can be maintained between participants.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830686661.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>Generally, she sees the connection between fitness and physical
therapy as going hand in hand with overall wellness.“You are getting the best of both worlds, with the medical
driven model of exercise and fitness programs and you are still getting the
direct model of physical therapy care in that individualized treatment that I
have always been providing,” Riegel said. “It’s kind of a nice blend.”That blended model of care is something Riegel emphasizes,
and can come without the difficulties of working through insurance companies.“I really like to give my clients a real patient-driven model
of care,” she said. “Which sometimes, unfortunately, we cannot provide under an
insurance model of care.”There is a good model of care that can be provided by
combining the wellness classes and the physical therapy, she said.Most health savings and flex saving accounts, however, can be
used, she said.Riegel also offers package deals for both the group fitness
classes and physical therapy.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830655860.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>“The other nice thing is if someone happens to be having
some problems and coming into the fitness side of things, they can schedule a
free consultation and we can chat about it and I can take care of them right
after they have their workout,” Riegel said.She also offers add-on services to the workouts that combine
both services.“If somebody wanted to do a workout, it gives you the option
online to schedule an add-on,” Riegel said. “Like if you wanted to have a
person 15-minute stretch session after your workout, you could arrange that. If
you wanted to have dry needling after or before a workout, you could schedule
that with me.”Overall, she said the individualized model provided at Fit
PT and Wellness can work for anyone, no matter their fitness level.“I want people to come in and feel comfortable, and I want
everyone to succeed,” Riegel said.<a href="https://www.fitptandwellness.com/.">For more about Fit PT and Wellness visit their website at fitptandwellness.com.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603830668268.jpeg" alt="" />
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🎤New location, new services offered at Fit PT and Wellness