Altoona Fitness Center: Fantastic for Student Athletes!

Courtesy of Zach Haulman

Haulman’s Therapy. Zach Haulman is helping Ayla Hieman with her injury from basketball. Haulman selects the best exercises and treatments to help everyone with their own individual injuries. “I especially like working with athletes because of their motivation to get better and back on the field,” Haulman said.

When you walk into Altoona Fitness Center, weights will be crashing, music will be booming  and you can smell the determination and perspiration in the air. 

Altoona Fitness Center is different from other gyms.

It offers many programs including physical therapy, athlete training, boxing, as well as other activities. This gym is especially helpful for student athletes and provides unique opportunities for them. 

At Altoona Fitness Center, physical therapist Zach Haulman helps many student athletes with orthopedic injuries to shoulders, knees, elbows etc. Haulman is an orthopedic clinical specialist with over 10 years of experience. He tries his best to get his patients back into the field as soon as possible. 

One of Haulmans partners, Brent Dodson, works with people that have post-concussion, vertigo and other neurological injuries.

At Haulman’s Physical Therapy, he has a unique way of helping people. Instead of having multiple people at one time, he makes time for each of his clients, so he can have one-on-one appointments with them. He does this to make sure they get the best care he can offer. 

“Rather than taking a negotiated rate from insurance companies, we will either bill cash rates or out of network benefits, so we get paid for what we do and the patient gets better care,” Haulman said. 

The Altoona Fitness Center will not only help with injuries, but they can also help athletes get stronger. 

Sports Performance coach Ambrose Aquadro helps athletes grow stronger and faster by giving them the best workout programs he can offer. 

“The program can offer whatever the individual needs. We can do sport-specific work, general fitness, health benefits or whatever they may need,” Aquadro said.

Aquadro helps many student athletes. He helps give a place for kids to work on discipline, structure and personal connections with other local athletes and coaches. Aquadro also helps with any parameters the athlete may need. Such as speed, strength, power, movement efficiency and much more.

“Subjectively, my athletes and clients have noted improvements to quality of life, sports and fitness levels at all levels, including non- athletes, high schoolers, college students and professional athletes,” Aquadro said. 

He has helped an Olympic track athlete and an NFL athlete get to a point they believe is the best they’ve ever felt in their career. His experience in sports performance also includes training an Olympic track athlete, as well as NFL football player, Kevin Givens. 

Altoona Fitness Center also offers boxing. Boxing coach Jeremiah Witherspoon has helped many athletes find a sport they love and has also helped athletes get stronger in general.

“Boxing creates discipline within people’s lives; it gives you confidence, balance, coordination, helps your subconscious, your mental health, spiritual form and your physical body becomes stronger than ever,” Witherspoon said. 

Witherspoon does private lessons, pad work, weekly memberships and people can also drop in. He helps everyone including beginners and advanced athletes. 

Altoona Fitness Center offers many different programs. All of their programs are for anyone who wishes to try them. 

“We’re not expanding in square footage, were trying to grow vertically not outwardly, so were trying to offer better things like cheaper prices but better service,” owner Fred Dorman said.