Stars shape up with Josh

ACTOR Josh Piterman has started a new venture away from the bright lights of the theatre.

He has developed a new fitness program designed for performers which is also available to members of the public in his new gym.

The fitness program is called Pitfit and has been running for more than a year in a rented gym, but last month it moved into a new permanent studio space in St Kilda.

“I thought that stage performers should be able to train physically for their roles in a similar way that AFL players get fit for their season by doing strength and conditioning as well as skills work,” explains Piterman, who has completed a personal trainer course and has studied with the Australian Institute of Fitness.

Piterman is one of the instructors at the gym.

“I put together a program to train performers to prevent injuries on stage in a way that has not been done before,” he says.

“Once Pitfit opened, I got a lot of interest from the casts of Wicked, Grease, King Kong and Les Miserables, who started coming to the gym.”

Piterman is well known for his stage roles in productions including West Side Story, An Officer and a Gentleman and The Drowsy Chaperone. He also had a successful stint on London’s West End in Hairspray.

Piterman was determined to bring a sense of the theatrical and fun to the gym.

“We wanted to create a gym environment where people sweat and have fun while working out in an inviting space,” he says.

“Musical theatre is a cut-throat business where they are doing eight shows a week.

“Performers like myself have never had access to completely tailored strength and conditioning programs designed to help them move more dynamically and powerfully.

“I’ve witnessed a lot of preventable injuries happen on the stage – including a few close calls myself – simply because performers, although technically trained, haven’t had a specific strength and conditioning program such as those for athletes to prevent injuries happening on stage.”

Piterman is working towards national recognition of the Pitfit program for entertainers that could benefit the industry by helping to prevent injury and result in a reduction in insurance premiums for shows.

While Josh is currently focusing his energies on his gym, he hopes to be back on the stage in the coming year.

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