Kicked-up workout

Ana and Tiffany Astrologo have always been interested in fitness, so opening 9Round, a kickboxing fitness gym, in Chico was a natural step in their workout evolution. Their active lifestyles were reinforced by their service in the Air Force, where Ana (pictured) and Tiffany met. They then attended college on the GI Bill and decided to move from their home in Torrance to Northern California last September to be closer to Tiffany’s family in Red Bluff. The Astrologos had been members of a 9Round gym in Torrance for about a year and fell in love with the 30-minute kickboxing workouts that include personal trainers and nine different stations with routines that change daily. So, upon settling into their new home of Chico, they decided to open a franchise. Try it out for free at 754 Mangrove Ave., in the Safeway shopping center, or go online to 9round.com/fitness/Chico-CA-x0391.

Did you study fitness in college?

I got an MBA from Pepperdine and Tiffany has a master’s in psychology. I didn’t get a degree in it, but fitness has always been a part of my life. I grew up playing basketball in high school and junior college and then, in the military, you had to work out. I was a physical training leader while I was in there, and same thing with Tiffany. Her introduction to fitness was Billy Blanks videos her mom used to do, and workout tapes. We’ve tried many different types of workouts, but hands down 9Round is my favorite.

Do you teach actual kickboxing?

This is a kickbox-for-fitness gym, so the emphasis is on fitness. [We] don’t have a fighting background … although [Tiffany] did coach youth boxing in South Central L.A. for about a year. The beauty of it is, we’re not teaching people to fight and spar—we infuse the kickboxing techniques to make a fun workout, so when you’re doing it, hopefully you’re not feeling like, “Oh, I’m just working out”—it’s like getting your body moving and it’s just fun.

Do you have to schedule a time to come in to see a trainer?

No, there’s a trainer here any time we’re open.

How do you change up the workouts?

What doesn’t change is where the stations are—you can see 1 through 9. What changes is what you do at that station every day. So, for round 2, today we did 20 toe taps and five push-ups; tomorrow it could be biceps curls and mountain climbers.

Who are your clientele?

I would say it’s 65 percent women to 35 percent men here. I would say our demographic is working professionals—there are lots of moms, we get lots of teachers, we have a lot of nurses, mostly working adults. I feel like we’ve been pretty lucky; I genuinely like our members. They’re just cool and neat and kind people. I feel blessed and appreciate the open-arms welcome.