Fern Fitness: Workouts in a welcoming atmosphere

The Elizabeth Township fitness studio opened its doors in March.

A new fitness studio has arrived in Elizabeth Township.

Cousins and Elizabeth Township natives Molly Watterworth and Kelly McHolme opened Fern Fitness at 605 Scenery Drive on March 20, providing ride, power and flow classes.

Stemming from a dream Watterworth had of opening her own fitness studio following 16 years of teaching at other locations, the location was renovated for more than a year from a closed doctor’s office.

Watterworth had a vision of what she wanted the space to be like as far as class types and ambiance. She wanted it to be in a commercial area of the township and thought the location would be a great spot when she called to ask about renting it in January of 2025.

“We moved three years ago, and I was living far away to drive to teach,” Watterworth said. “Honestly, after doing this for so long, I was kind of tired of doing it everyone else’s way when I thought of a really good idea of how this could go.

“The primary reason was yes, this was something I wanted to do, but also I feel deeply rooted in this community that I wanted to bring what I love here and help people feel better.”

The business has an equipment wall, cubbies, top-ofthe- line equipment and more.

McHolme said they want the space to be welcoming for everybody, so they made sure the environment is inviting.

The name of the studio comes from Watterworth’s love of nature and a dream where she opened a studio called Fern Fitness. Ferns are adaptable, and grow in tough places.

A picture of Watterworth’s aunt, who inspired her to pursue fitness, hangs in the lobby area surrounded by a bunch of ferns. Her aunt also incorporated nature and fitness.

“When you come in here, it feels inspired — being surrounded by plants and kind people,” Watterworth said. “That environmental ethos is deeply ingrained in me, and I’ve never seen an interwoven nature and fitness metaphor done anywhere.”

“The vibe that we wanted people to feel as soon as they walked through the front door is that everyone is welcome here,” McHolme added. “It doesn’t matter if you are picking up a weight for the first time or clipping into the bike for the first time, or have done it a hundred times. We are here for you. We want to meet you. It’s just a place for everyone to move our bodies.”

Watterworth is the lead instructor and teaches around 24 classes a week. They have three other instructors, around 130 members and a work exchange program that provides help with check in, clean up and more.

Class types include ride, which are spin and cycling classes; power that aims toward strength training; and circuit-based workouts and flow classes that are similar to yoga, but not fully yoga classes.

There are three types of classes for the ride category: intervals, endurance and pedal party. Intervals class is high-intensity interval training. It’s demanding but powerfully beneficial, Watterworth said, noting that endurance gradually builds up in intensity for the class.

The pedal party is very music based.

Power classes have a pulse and push option, she added. Push is more heavy lifting with explosive movements, while pulse classes are similar to barre and pilates style strength training.

Watterworth said flow classes are all heated. Sculpt is an infrared-heated flow that blends strength, stability and continuous movement, while Restore classes are an infrared-heated vinyasa flow designed to support recovery without losing intention.

With a background in business, McHolme was behind all the operations. When Watterworth said she wanted to open a studio, McHolme jumped on board to bring it to fruition.

“This is definitely her dream,” McHolme said. “She and I have always been really close, and she’s got four kids, I’ve got two kids. We were having a play date one day a little over a year ago, and she was like ‘I think I want to do this,’ and I was like what can I do to help? So we just took it from there, and everything fell into place.”

Watterworth and McHolme hope people come in to be seen, supported and nurtured. They said their user experience is top notch, the community has been amazing and people are kind in their safe space.

“If you really think about it, every human civilization in every place throughout history has combined movement, music and community as a form of healing through millennia,” Watterworth said. “Now through these modern times, we call that group fitness, and I think it’s so much more powerful than that name lends itself to. It’s fun. It feels good to take care of yourself in a place where you don’t dread it.”

More information on classes and memberships can be found at https://fernfitnesspgh. com.