About
Champagne Fitness
Champagne Fitness was established in 2004 in Tiburon CA emphasizing elite training for high school and collegiate athletes looking excel in their sport at a Division 1 university. In 2008 Champagne Fitness opened up its Corte Madera location where it currently is today. Over the years, clientele have ranged from 16 years old to 84 years young, male and female and all different fitness levels.
Since 2008, Champagne Fitness has emphasized in private personal training for those who are completely new to working out as well as intermediates who need the extra guidance of a professional. The beautifully decorated 800sq/ft studio is a combination of carpet and synthetic flooring and is fully equipped with up to date, top of the line machines and free weights. Unlike many of the industrial training warehouses in the area, Champagne Fitness is located in a secluded shopping center and has a warm, clean and inviting feel. The studio also has its own private restroom, very efficient Heat/AC unit, 60 inch HD TV, state of the art surround sound acoustics and double wide French doors that open into a secluded asphalt parking lot. It is the PERFECT place for high end private training.
The studio is very versatile and adjusts to every client's preferred environment of workout. Some clients prefer to keep all the doors closed and heater on while they can check in on the news, sports or favorite show between exercises. Others enjoy having the French doors open while listening to their workout playlists over the sonos studio speakers as they transition between indoor and outdoor exercises. Those who are looking for the more rugged, tire flipping, rope climbing, weight dropping, CrossFit style of workout might consider another training studio that compliments your preferred style of training.
Gary won Gold Medals at the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta in Boston competing against international crews in 2020 and 2021.
About
Gary Champagne
Gary Champagne was born and raised in Tiburon CA where he began his athletic career at 5 years old playing a variety of sports. At the age of 16, he suffered a severe foot injury while playing baseball that resulted in him having to give up all sports requiring running. After several months of inactivity, his weight topped off at 240lbs as a freshman in high school. Ashamed of his physical presence, he decided to join the Marin Rowing Association, a sport that would respect his athletic drive but not compromise his foot injury. During his years at Marin Rowing, Gary quickly excelled to the top of the squad and in 2001 and 2002 was selected as one of the top eight rowers in the nation to race internationally for the U.S. Junior National Team. The following year he was top collegiate recruit in the nation for where he chose to be a Golden Bear at his parents’ alma mater U.C. Berkeley. His success continued at Cal, rowing for Steve Gladstone in his top Varsity boats culminating in a national championship in 2006.
After graduating, Gary was forced to decide between embracing rowing as an Olympic endeavor or opening up his own business and begin growing his life here in Marin. He opened up his new location of Champagne Fitness in 2006 and it has been a success from day one. Gary’s love of teaching and his advanced knowledge of the physical body is the perfect combination for what he does. His kind, humorous and extroverted personality is the most important part of being able to comfortably interact with clients of all ages and fitness levels.
Gary currently lives with his wife, Kelly, and young son, Gus, in Corte Madera, only minutes from his training studio. His outgoing character is very well known in the community and you will soon find that by becoming one of his clients, you will become a lifelong member of his Champagne Fitness family of clientele.
What to expect
The sessions will usually start right on the hour and last around 50-55 minutes, depending on if it is a private or group session and what exercises we have planned for that day. During each session we will start with a brief 3-7 minute warmup on the cardio machine of your choice to get the body awake and the blood pressure up. If it’s an early morning session and especially if we are doing more lower body, a longer warmup might be necessary. During the warmup I will check in with you to see how you’re feeling which will help me adjust the workout if necessary. I completely understand not everyone has 100% energy and may be a little compromised from the wine they had the night before…lack of sleep the night before ;-)
Immediately following the warmup, we will do a few specific stretches that will help your joint mobility so that the muscles can work though a fuller range of motion and get the most out of the exercises.
During the workouts we will do anywhere from 16-24 total sets divided up between 8-14 different exercises. Some days might be 2 sets of 12 different exercises whereas other days may be 3 sets of 8 different exercises. The exercises will range from slower, very isolated, toning exercises to faster paced, compound movement, plyometric exercises. Once I get a better feel of what you want to work and what you need to work, the program will become specifically tailored to you and your health/physique goals. Between sets of the more physically demanding exercises, we will take a couple minutes to foam roll on areas of the body that need to be loosened up. This will also allow you to briefly recover for the next set. Because I have trained hundreds of people for over 20 years, I am very good at keeping the appropriate pace and intensity that the client prefers. If you ever feel you want me to adjust that pace/intensity, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Since there are no other people in the studio with us, feel free to keep your phone on if you need to make a quick call or send a text between sets.
After every session, you are welcome to a complimentary protein bar or drink which will jumpstart the recovery process from a nutrition standpoint. Nutrition is very important and that is why I include it in your package price. At the end of the session, we will take a moment to look at our schedules and set up times for the following week.