For area native Eden Roach, fitness and everyday life go hand-in-hand.  Born and raised in the hills of Waterloo, Ohio, Roach's love for fitness began at age 12 when she began lifting with her father.  
    "My father was always into fitness," Roach said.  "My first memories of body builders were inside his fitness magazines. This is when bikini was getting started and I wanted to be just like the girls I saw on the pages."
    "I remember lifting in a spare bedroom, on our back porch and wherever I could early on in my fitness journey."
    Raised on a tobacco farm, Roach remembers walking behind their farm's setter for hours at a time. "I didn't realize it then, but I was doing squats anyway when helping my father plant," Roach laughs.
    Growing up, Roach's family lived almost entirely off the land. "My papaw had a cow and we bought buffalo meat from a farm in Oak Hill, Ohio.  All the vegetables were grown on our farm and we ate what was canned all winter long. There was no such thing as going to town," she said with a smile.
    During high school, Roach began lifting with the football team.  "The coach gave me access to the gym so I could practice my squats, dead lifts and other rudimentary exercises," she stated.
    After graduating from Sims Valley High School in 2003, Roach began her college career at Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky.  A major car accident brought her back home where she continued her education at Ohio University, completing a bachelor degree  in nutrition with a minor in business.
    Despite the college change, Roach maintained employment with General Nutrition Centers (GNC)  for six-and-a-half  years through college. "In addition to my college commitments, I was also committed to learning what I could about the nutrition and fitness industry while working for GNC."
    Roach admits the superficial appeal she experienced from constant exposure to the industry's most athletic and fit women, but there was something more that drove her.  It was that hard work ethic combined with her natural competitive drive that made her want to dig deeper into the fitness life.      "Growing up on a farm, I was used to hard work," Roach said."
    While still in college, Roach earned her American Centers for Exercise certification and began personal training clients on the side.  After college graduation and the birth of her first child, Roach began holding Mommy and Me classes until a short time later when she became a boot camp instructor at Ashland Pro Fitness. It was during this time that Roach became founder and CEO of Barbells & Bombshellz, L.L.C. In 2015, Roach took herself to the next level by entering the competitive fitness world. She competed in the North Coast Championships, taking home the 2015 Bikini Overall Champion award against 120 other competitors.
    In that same year, Roach went on to compete in the 2015 NPC Ultimate Bikini Showdown, this time taking home the Women's Bikini Overall Champion award against 70 other competitors.
    After competing, Roach decided it was time to venture deeper into the business side of the fitness industry. In early 2018, Roach began collaborating with long-time client Alicia Eldridge on a brand-new gym space geared toward woman's fitness.
    "There was room for expansion and I knew it," Roach said.  
    For Roach and her co-trainer Kelli Freeman, business was booming and relocation was a necessity. In August of 2018, ground broke for a brand new fitness facility and on January 1, 2019, The Gym, located just off U.S. Route 60, opened its doors for business.
    "I've always had a special passion for women's fitness, which is why I began doing group fitness and why I'm still doing it today."
    Roach uses circuit training with each of her groups. "The movement patterns are the same for everyone, but the variations are tailored to each body type. Nothing is cookie cutter here," she said.  "Everything we do is tailored to fit each individual, making it achievable by all."
    Roach encourages anyone interested in feeling and looking their best to "Stop on by The Gym! When you're here, you feel wanted because we are like one big family," Roach said. "I love my job!"