New Fitness Center Comes to the Area

CKO Kickboxing, a new Upstate fitness franchise, will hold a grand opening today (Saturday) for its cardio kickboxing gym, located at 626 Congaree Rd, Unit 1, in Greenville. 

The cross-training gym provides a family friendly setting to residents of Mauldin, Simpsonville, Greenville, Greer, Spartanburg and Anderson, who are looking for a new way to get physically fit or augment their fitness routines, the franchise's owners said.

"We're excited to offer cardio boxing classes in Greenville," said Carlos Handal, franchisee and head trainer.

Free classes will be held at 9 a.m. and at 11:00 a.m. New members will receive free T-shirts and starter gloves.

The gym will be open Monday-Saturday, offering scheduled group classes, as well personal and small group training.

Located near the Haywood Mall, CKO Kickboxing is a state-of-the-art workout facility with 28 heavy bags in 3,100 square feet. Plans are to add another 28 bags as the business grows.

A typical group class consists of one hour of kickboxing with integrated cross training to offer a full-body work out.  There is no body contact.  The program combines cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training.  The workout is good for all fitness levels.

CKO Kickboxing Greenville is owned and operated by husband and wife Carlos Handal and Melissa Giarraputo-Handal. 

Carlos is from Honduras, Central America and ran many successful businesses there.

Melissa grew up on Long Island, New York. She is a Physician Assistant. 

They met in 2005 in Honduras while Melissa was volunteering in a public hospital, and working with medical missions. They married in Honduras in 2008 and moved to New York. 

While living in Brooklyn they joined CKO, and were amazed by how much they enjoyed the classes and how great they felt, they said. They soon became friends with the owners Joe and Trisha Virga, and were touched by the mutual gratitude between the Virga's and the gym's members, they said. 

In July of 2011, they moved to Greenville. They knew it would be the perfect community to raise their little girl, the cpipl said. They also came with the dream of bringing CKO Kickboxing to the area. 

Carlos furthered his education, this time in Personal Training at Greenville Technical College, and became certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. 

Just over a year later, their dream of opening CKO Kickboxing in Greenville is a reality. 

"We truly love CKO. The gym will be our second home. You will always be treated with the warmth of family, and we will make sure you get the work out you came for," Carlos said. 

Carlos cannot wait to share his passion for physical fitness, as is apparent by the way his eyes shine with excitement, when he talks about the gym and the positive influence he believes training at CKO will have on its members. 

Melissa feels blessed to promote health through their program, as she states, "As much as I love the practice of medicine, I would much rather train and cheer a member on at CKO, then to see them as a patient; suffering with a medical condition, that could have been prevented."

CKO Kickboxing Greenville, SC will post its kickboxing classes online.