Training meets technology at Koko Fit Club

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Working out at Koko Fit Club, the new gym in Pembroke Crossing, is like exercise meeting the Starship Enterprise.

Six exercise machines full of pullies, levers and straps accommodate more than 75 exercises, all guided by a small computer screen on a rotating arm that the user can move as he or she moves.

All of the workout information is stored on a “Koko Key,” which is plugged into the Smartrainer screen to guide a person through one of the programs developed by “chief fitness officer” Michael Wood, a former strength coach at the University of Connecticut who has been a personal trainer for 20 years.

“It’s dummy-proof. It really is,” he said. “We’re not going to replace a personal trainer, but we put the trainer in a box.”

Koko Fitness was the brainchild of Mary Obana and Michael Lannon, a married couple who founded the business four years ago in Norwell. They did a year of research, then another 18 months on market research after developing a prototype.

“We interviewed over 1,000 people, and the question was, ‘What happens as baby boomers age?’” Obana said.

The answer, according to Obana, was that they didn’t want to become like their parents, but didn’t have time to work out because “life gets in the way,” and that workout programs have always been for 18- to 25-year-old men, even for women over 40.

At Koko, the workout options include weight loss, burning fat, core fitness, Fit to the Core, Beautiful Bride and Performance Golf. All are 24 sessions of 30 minutes apiece.

“We do all the thinking and planning for you, and you’re off to the races,” Obana said.

When a person starts a program at Koko, the first step is a strength assessment based on age, weight and a basic strength test. Once that is determined and the program selected, the Smartrainer gives the exercises, recommends the weight, explains how to do the exercises and judges whether the person is using proper form by the speed the exercise is being done.

Once a workout is over, the information is recorded on the Koko Key, and users have their own personal Web pages to track results.

“As you’re gaining strength, it knows you’re getting stronger, and it tells you to lift more weight,” Obana said.

And users don’t have to wait for a machine.

“You can reserve a machine like a table at your favorite restaurant,” Obana said.

Wood said the technology allows personal training to be brought to the masses.

“As a trainer, that’s what I want,” he said. “I could put you on a program for eight weeks, and I guarantee you’re going to get stronger if you do it two to three times a week.”

As Wood and Obana explained Koko to potential customers, Nancy Colella of Norwell was working out on one of the machines, deftly moving from exercise to another and rotating the Smartrainer along with her. She said she was doing an overall strength program to get back in the swing of working out.

“I kind of took the summer off from exercising,” she said. “This is, I think, going to be good for me. I’ve used personal trainers before, but like most women, I get too chatty.”

Colella said watching the bar that tracks whether she is doing an exercise properly is like playing a game with herself, and, holding up the Koko Key, that the early training is important.

“This, to an older person who’s not computer savvy, it can be a little daunting,” said Colella, who is 57.

The Pembroke location, which is next to the British Beer Company on Route 139/53, is Koko’s first actual facility, although the company has been selling the equipment commercially since June 2006. The reception, Obana said, has been fantastic, as the club is up to more than 80 members.

“We’re already looking at our second location in Florida,” she said.

The gym opened in the summer, but the grand opening was the last week of August. Through Sept. 29, membership fees are $49 before increasing to the regular rate of $249. Monthly dues are $49 with a 12-month commitment, or $69 with the ability to cancel at any time with 30 days notice.

For information, call 781-826-8085 or visit kokofitclub.com.