Lumber Capital Athletics, home of CrossFit Lumber Capital, is an open-concept, functional training facility located at 575 East Third St. in Williamsport. The facility opened in October 2022 and is owned by Ben Wise and Stacey Kadenas. They offer group CrossFit classes, individualized programming, personal training, and performance programs for athletes ranging from middle & high school to college age.
Wise and Kadenas got into the fitness field through slightly different paths. While competing as a collegiate wrestler, Ben Wise earned his degree in Health and Physical Education. During his time wrestling for Messiah College, however, it became clear that he loved training even more than competing. After graduating, Wise needed a competitive outlet which ultimately led him to the sport of CrossFit. For him, it was the best of both worlds as it combined competition and training. While working as a Health and Physical Education teacher, Ben began competitive CrossFit and coaching at an affiliate. Eventually, he left teaching to pursue CrossFit coaching full-time. In 2018 he founded ZOAR Fitness and began remote coaching CrossFit athletes. Now he coaches athletes from around the world at all levels.
Kadenas is a Williamsport native and has a passion for health and fitness that has transformed over the years from hours and miles of running on roads to training competitively in the sport of CrossFit under ZOAR Fitness. Shortly after discovering CrossFit, she joined a local affiliate, and within a few months, she knew that this was where she wanted her career in the fitness world to be. Stacey received her CrossFit L1 certification and then shortly after opened and owned her own affiliate in 2013, continuing down that path for the next seven years.
While working closely with members each day, Stacey realized that the missing piece for many people was nutrition. Properly fueling the body and coaching nutrition became her next step. Not long after, Kadenas received nutrition coaching certifications which enabled her members to fully realize their fitness goals both inside and outside of the gym. In 2020 Stacey expanded her nutrition services by offering a meal prep service. Macros from Ma were formed, preparing and delivering meals to clients, complete with a well-balanced macro-nutrient breakdown.
In 2022, Wise and Kadenas founded Lumber Capital Athletics with the goal of providing a premier coaching experience for athletes of all ability levels. Programming for CrossFit Lumber Capital and running the Coaches Education Program have been some of their greatest joys. “I love working with athletes who want to take their fitness to the next level because that’s what I help people do,” said Wise. Kadenas is equally committed and passionate about helping people achieve overall health and wellness goals through fitness combined with proper nutrition.
When asked why they wanted to open a facility, Wise responded, “Before 2022, I had a very healthy hesitation to open a gym…it’s a ton of work. But when you see a hole in the market, you have to jump on it, and thankfully I have a great partner to share the workload with, and our strengths complement each other.”
Opening a new business is difficult in a good economy but opening right before a global pandemic made the process exponentially more difficult. Still, Wise and Kadenas were able to make it work. “Thankfully, Stacey and I were already established fitness professionals in this area even though we didn’t have a building to offer our clientele at the time,” said Wise. “So, while the physical location and building was brand new, we had a group of dedicated people waiting for us to open our doors.”
When asked about their plans for growing their business, Wise responded, “Our primary focus will always be serving our current clients better by meeting their needs first. For example, many members were asking about a CrossFit Kids program, and since Stacey was already certified to teach that we recently added that offering for children between 7 and 11.”
For more information about Lumber City Athletics, you can go to their website, lumbercapital.fit or catch Ben & Stacey’s Podcast, The Fitness Movement, on YouTube.
