Flex Performance and Training

Specialties

Athletic and General Fitness Classes utilizing Jump Stretch Bands. Classes led by Carl LaRosa, who has a B.A. in Exercise Science/​Fitness Management) and Coach Dick Hartzell, Jump Stretch inventor.

Our weight room has 24-​hour access.

We also sell the Jump Stretch Bands and related equipment.

History

Established in 2012.

In 1980, Coach Dick Hartzell invented large exercise bands called FlexBands and established his company Jump Stretch, Inc. Over the years, the bands came to be used by high schools, colleges, and pro teams across the country and around the world.

Coach Hartzell and his son-​in-​law Carl LaRosa opened the first rubberband gym in Austintown, OH in 1997. Known as the Jump Stretch Fitness Center, it quickly became the premier place for athletes to train in order to excel in their sports.

A morning class was also started for adults who wanted to feel better, lose weight and improve quality of life. The athletes come and go throughout the year, due to the nature «off-​season» conditioning, but the adult class remains consistent year ’round.

The Jump Stretch Fitness Center closed its doors in June of 2012, and Carl and his wife Sherri opened Flex Performance and Training in North Lima, OH. Now 72, Coach Hartzell continues to be involved with the business.

Meet the Business Owner

Carl L.

Business Owner

Carl received his B.A. from Youngstown State University in 1994 in Exercise Science and Human Performance/​Fitness Management. He has been a competitive athlete since high school, involved in football, martial arts, bodybuilding, powerlifting, and armored fighting.

After working in a pain management clinic for several years, Carl and his father-​in-​law Coach Dick Hartzell started the Jump Stretch Fitness Center in Austintown, OH. While Coach Hartzell, inventor of the FlexBands, was frequently on the road promoting his bands, Carl was holding down the fort at the gym.

Carl fine-​tuned the stretching routine done at the start of each class, and formulated the workouts. He implemented the facility’s Orientation Class for making potential members familiar with the techniques, and also designed what came to be known as the Jump Stretch «Certification» Class for the purpose of «training the trainers». This class has equipped more than 800 participants to successfully teach the techniques.