WHEN Kym Burns moved to Bermuda from her hometown of Windsor, Ontario almost 17 years ago, she had no idea that within a year she'd be the co-owner and managing director of The Athletic Club.

"I came here as a dental hygienist originally," Kym explained. "When I came to the facility, I asked the dentist I was working for where I could find a good health club to work out at and he was a member here, so he brought me as a guest."

Fittingly for the self-proclaimed fitness buff, Kym met her future husband Richard while working out at the club. After a 10?-month courtship they married and Richard purchased The Athletic Club. "It was a bit of a whirlwind," she laughed. "It's one of those fantasy marriages, I guess!"

Now, years later, Kym works on-site, dealing with administration, marketing and personnel, while Richard takes care of accounts and maintenance from a nearby office building. "I kicked him out of my office," Kym said laughingly. "I painted it peach!"

An ACE-qualified personal trainer, Kym has never been content just to sit in her office.

"I was always a fitness enthusiast," she said. "I couldn't see my life without some form of activity in it. I do everything. My past training experiences include competitive body-building and the Miss Fitness competition."

True to character, Kym takes a decidedly hands-on approach to running the club, teaching power yoga and studio cycle classes and most recently adding Thai Yoga Massage Therapy to her resum?.

"It's a massage, a yoga session and meditation all in one," she explained. "It's got a bit of everything ? it's relaxing yet it's intense. It's assisted yoga postures, and working the energy lines which are called meridians."

Running the busy, popular club has been both rewarding and challenging for Kym, who follows a hectic weekly schedule.

"In the winters I generally work six days a week," she said. "In the summers I try to work 4? days a week ? I try and take some time off. Really, I do whatever is required. When it's your own business, it's 24/7."

Kym's greatest difficulty lies in staffing, as there are few Bermudians qualified as personal trainers who can also teach classes.

"As a prerequisite, we only hire people if they do both, or there's a huge void in our VersaTraining schedule," she explained. "If we just hire a personal trainer, who's going to help me teach four of five classes a week?"

As a result, Kym's staff of around 20 hail from as far afield as Jamaica and Colombia. Catalina, a new Colombian addition to the staff, will begin teaching salsa classes today. Said Kym excitedly: "We've done it in the past, but we're bringing it back!"

With Christmas and New Year's indulgences still clinging to the hips of many Bermudians, Kym and her staff have organised some impressive programming over the next few months to help locals stick to their New Year's resolutions.

"Body by TAC is probably our most popular programme and we're offering it three times a day starting this weekend. It's a combined sculpting programme with cardiovascular training along with nutrition counselling," Kym explained. "It's intense, but the results are amazing. We find that it promotes a lifestyle change, so when you do lose the weight, you can keep it off."

900 active members, The Athletic Club is enjoying singular success and will only continue to grow. "The key to our success as a fitness facility is programming," Kym said. "It's finding someone who's going to put you on a programme and help oversee that programme with you, be it Body by TAC, our Winter Running Clinic, Power Yoga, Pilates Mat, personal training, or buddy training. It's all about getting results."

Kym had advice for those with New Year's resolutions looking to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles. For once, no mention was made of the low-carb, Atkins'-style diets that have attracted a huge following over the last year.

"I haven't read the books," Kym admitted. "I'm very much for eating six small meals a day, because I find it quickens your metabolism. Drink loads of water ? eight glasses a day ? and try to have a little protein and a little carbohydrate with every meal."

As far as fitness training for those who haven't necessarily followed a rigorous training regime in the past, Kym advocated consistent activity regardless of duration.

"Do something most days a week even if its just 30 minutes a day, and do it consistently for a six-month period," she advised. "Once you get to six months, it just becomes maintenance. It's automatic ? it becomes part of your life."

The clientele at The Athletic Club is as diverse as the services it offers. While the club is an adult facility, not admitting anyone under 18, Kym has been working alongside the Department of Youth & Sport to pilot a Teen Lifestyle Programme.

Over the next few years, Kym plans to target the aging Baby Boomer generation by incorporating clinical exercise programming into the club's impressive schedule.

"I would like to incorporate training for pre- and post-surgery heart patients, and people who have had strokes or have diabetes. I'd like to get them to a point where they can live a healthier lifestyle and have a better quality of life," she explained.

"I see us taking care of the Baby Boomers, who are getting to the point now where they're starting to have problems with obesity, high blood pressure, and all these different, preventable things."

and her staff must be doing something right: their longest standing active member is just a year away from his 90th birthday. "He's an honorary member now," Kym smiled. "He comes to our Christmas party every year!"

Needless to say, Kym sees herself at The Athletic Club for the long haul.

"This is my passion," she said. "I love this industry because it's preventative medicine. It helps to give you a better quality of life, especially later on in life."

When not managing the club, teaching, or training, Kym spends her precious down-time relaxing.

"I love to see a good movie and have a good dinner. I have a dog too ? I like to hang out with my dog and my husband!"

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