Where athletes pro and amateur go to train
East Lyme — It's the gym where World Series star Rajai Davis works out, and where three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Sharp trains in the off season, along with the Connecticut Sun basketball team during the summer.
But Tim Yuhas, owner of Yuhas Performance Training in downtown Niantic next to the Spice Club restaurant, says he doesn't want to be known only as the place where star athletes train.
"We have people from all walks of life," he said. "From 89-year-old grandmothers to professional athletes."
Still, it's a place where commitment is encouraged and where a training system is on proud display. All around the 3,700-square-foot gym signs are posted related to Yuhas' four pillars of training: mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery.
"We want people to know it's not just a lifting place," Yuhas said. "It's change for the long haul."
Members are first assessed head to toe, including questions about what they are hoping to accomplish. Yuhas said nearly everyone wants one of three things: to look better, feel better or perform better.
Unlike other gyms, movement is a big part of the training regimen with Yuhas, especially for athletes like Davis, the speedy East Lyme resident and New London native who starred as center fielder for the Cleveland Indians last year and signed with the Oakland Athletics in the off-season.
Davis, who trains four days a week with Yuhas, had chronic hamstring issues before coming to the Pennsylvania Avenue gym. Last year, he was the American League stolen-bases champion.
"We like to think we played a big part in that," Yuhas said.
Davis, a softspoken and friendly man of medium height with a powerful build, agreed that Yuhas, whom he has trained with for four off-seasons, has helped him improve his speed, explosiveness, flexibility and mobility while also keeping him injury-free.
"He's a very smart guy, very knowledgeable," the 36-year-old Davis said. "He's helped me to not only maintain my speed but actually get faster. I've seen increases every year."
Yuhas, a former strength and conditioning coach at the University of Connecticut, said most of his business comes by word of mouth. Pro athletes he has worked with include Pete Walker and John McDonald in baseball, the Black Wolves lacrosse team that plays out of the Mohegan Sun, and Kara Lawson, a former WNBA star now doing commentary for ESPN.
"We try to stay on the cutting edge of everything," Yuhas said. "Everything is individualized."
Training for pro athletes usually is one-on-one with Yuhas, though all of his four full-time trainers are fully trained to take over if need be. Others are encouraged to try semi-private or group training.
In addition to weight training, Yuhas spends a lot of time on flexibility and mobility — performance that affects everyday life. Training regimens vary from day to day so clients don't get bored, Yuhas said, and while upbeat music is going all the time, you won't find a television set at his gym.
"If you're going to watch TV while you're working out, you're not working out hard enough," Yuhas said.
The average person spends about an hour in the gym three days a week, and spends anywhere from $199 to $749 a month, depending on whether the client wants private or group sessions.
"Every time you come in, we want you to get a little better than the last time," Yuhas said. "Even if you've never played a sport, we are going to train you like an athlete."
What: Yuhas Performance Training
Where: 14 Pennsylvania Ave., Niantic
Who: Tim Yuhas, owner
Years in business: 16
No. of employees: 5
Website: www.yuhasperformance.com/
Email: tim@yuhasperformance.com
Phone: 860-739-0042
Hours: 5 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 8 p.m. Mon.-Fri; 7 a.m.-noon Sat.; closed Sun.
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