The world of fitness is a social one. Group classes, team exercises, even just following an instructor on your phone — most of us prefer to get our burn on with others around. While COVID-19 has greatly reduced that capability over the past year, it hasn’t removed that spirit, and people are eager to gather once again to meet their fitness goals.
Located at 1104 14th Street in Downtown Plano, a new building sits under construction. Mostly finished, but still filled with scurrying workers placing final touches, it is the latest addition to the collection of Downtown Plano businesses owned by locals Nathan and Bonnie Shea. Although the first floor of the four-story complex will house the highly anticipated Urban Seafood Company restaurant from the Sheas and their business partners Salvatore and Jeanne-Marie Gisellu, Nathan and Bonnie’s three daughters will handle business on the second floor.
Allie Hickey, Caycee Holt and McKenzie Shea are into fitness in its many forms. When developing ideas for the new building, the three came to their parents with a proposition: to start a fitness studio with all the bells and whistles spanning across the entire second story.
“It wasn’t a hard conversation at all.” Caycee recalls. “We asked them what they thought, and they thought it was a great idea. We wanted to get back into it, and to have a flexible schedule to be with our kids, so it was a perfect fit.”
Urban Core specializes in Lagree fitness, a specialized workout that is similar to – but not the same as – Pilates. The exercise course emphasizes a more balanced, full-body workout with a cardio kick that is sure to make anyone sweat.
“It’s a more high-intensity workout, and a lot more of a cardio workout than Pilates.” Caycee says. “You’re able to target all the muscles you want to work out.”
Another feature of Lagree is its ability to be adjusted for any kind of person. “We can tailor it to the 22-year-old who wants to work out hard — and to the 60-year-old, so everyone can work out at their own level.”
Alongside the scores of Lagree machines spanning across the studio room, the floor features a smoothie bar and a merchandise shop.
“It’s called Blended Bar.” Allie says. “After a workout there is nothing better than getting a smoothie with protein. Plus the açaí is a good breakfast, or any time of day.”
With four different bowls and four different smoothies to begin with, they say the menu is flexible depending on what works best with customers. With a bright white space lit by large floor-to-ceiling windows, it is an inviting area that allows guests to interact with one another after classes.
Along with the Blended Bar, the sisters also plan on selling leggings, sports bras, water bottles and a variety of other logoed items at their merchandise shop. With fitness becoming more and more of a full lifestyle, as opposed to just an activity one does, creating a brand to reflect that reality has been a full-time job.
Guests looking to bring themselves back into the fitness world can do so by booking classes via the studio’s app, simply titled Urban Core on mobile app stores. The trio plans on offering a mix of class packs, monthly memberships and individual workout options.
“While COVID changed how we thought we were going to run our classes, we’ve seen throughout the fitness world that the people who want to come to class are still coming to class,” Caycee says. “I think a lot of people are excited about being able to come into the studio.”
