Health and Fitness Entrepreneur Opens First Body Fit Training Studio in Rockridge

Body Fit Training (BFT), a global boutique fitness brand offering 50-minute group strength training classes in an inclusive, coach-led group environment, has opened its first studio in the SF Bay Area. Located at 5151 Broadway in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, CA, BFT fills a gap in the fitness industry by offering progressive group strength classes built for all fitness levels. BFT Rockridge has also taken the 1% Pledge, a global movement that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages to donate 1% of their staff time, product, profit, and/or equity to charities of their choosing.

BFT Rockridge is owned and operated by health and fitness executive and entrepreneur Chris Cestaro. Hailing from New York, Cestaro moved to Atlanta GA to attend graduate school. Upon receiving his MBA, he embarked on a 15-year career as a management consultant, focused on business strategy and operations. Cestaro met his fiancée and moved out west, taking a leadership role helping cancer patients receive better care in a diagnostics company based in Tucson, AZ.

Cestaro would later transition to the SF Bay Area, assuming marketing and sales executive roles in healthcare technology companies driven by the desire to make it easier for people to better understand their health needs and better manage their healthcare journey. In 2020, Cestaro decided to step back to focus on his family. He continued to follow the latest trends in healthcare innovation as an investor, using his skills in finding innovation that improve peoples’ lives and helping modernize the industry. For Cestaro, BFT is a key component of health and wellness, as a proven training program that can deliver all around health and fitness to its members helps those members address many of the lifestyle drivers of disease. The new BFT location in Rockbridge is also intended to serve as a place for the surrounding community to enjoy, with the company donating their time and product in service of improving the lives of the Oakland and Piedmont communities.

“I have been training for more than 40 years, and credit my passion for sports and fitness for so many of the good things in my life,” said Cestaro. “My family has a terrible history of cardiovascular disease, so lifting weights became a way to manage my risk of a heart attack and the metabolic disorders that impact so many people these days. BFT is a chance to share what I’ve learned about training and nutrition with others. To take some of the confusion and guesswork out of exercise with a science-backed and complete training program. For me, the new studio is all about creating a hub for fitness in our community, providing others with proven approach to staying healthy that is also fun and inspiring and social.”

The new strength training studio coming to Rockridge elevates these functionalities by combining elements of personal training with group exercise instruction, built to deliver results at every fitness level. Progressive programming periodized over eight to ten weeks allows members to recover properly while attending classes an average of four to five times per week, which in turn maintains engagement. Classes incorporate scientifically proven training techniques aimed at reducing fat and creating lean muscle and utilize state-of-the-art technology including proprietary heart rate monitors. By combining cardio with resistance programs across 13 class types, members benefit from activating all three muscle fiber types, working through all three planes of movement, and stressing all three energy systems. Unique to BFT, every class is led by two to three highly accredited coaches to help members achieve health goals in a safe and inclusive environment.

BFT Rockridge is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. The studio team can be reached online at www.bodyfittraining.com, by email at [email protected], or by phone or SMS at (510) 735-0010. Stay connected by following @bft_rockridge on Instagram and Body Fit Training on Facebook.