About
Hygge Fitness
At Hygge Fitness, we are most proud of our amazing community of people. We have class options from kids & teens all the way through Longevity. We believe in fitness as a lifestyle. Our team of fitness and nutrition professionals are invested in your health. We make every decision with our members’ well-being in mind. Achieve your goals with us!
The Team
Mike Ambrosino
Owner
Mike has been a member of Hygge Fitness for over 7 years. He has been passionate about weightlifting and fitness for a long time and is living his dream now of owning a gym!
He was a member at our Cherry Hill location years ago and made the move over to Mt Laurel. He can often be found in the 9am class!
Mike is husband to Pam and father to Cole & Mia. He is a true family man in that he absolutely loves when the 4 of them do things together. He is also the owner and operator of an HVAC company, Therm Arye.
He is a CrossFit enthusiast and his favorite lift is the clean & jerk. He is super excited to know all of our current members, so say hello when you see him at the gym!
Heather Sponseller
Coach & GENERAL MANAGER
M.S. Exercise Science; CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
I have always had a love of fitness. I grew up dancing and competing in dance. I ended up getting a BS in accounting and I knew quickly that was not what I wanted my career to be. After taking a college course in nutrition, I decided to go for an MS in exercise science. I worked in many gyms as we moved around for my husband’s military career, holding jobs managing gyms as well as working in group exercise teaching yoga, pilates, spin, and boot camp.
Even though I was very involved in fitness, I had never done any olympic lifting prior to trying functional fitness. I was interested in trying it because I wanted a new challenge. Being in my late 30’s at the time, my first impression was that it would be a really great workout, but there was no way that I was going to climb that rope…or ever be able to do a double under…or even think about doing a handstand pushup. Now I can do all of those things and I actually really love all three! There are so many exercises that I am still working on and I always hope to improve, but functional fitness has given me a sense of accomplishment and motivation to encourage others that they will be able to do it!
The CrossFit Level 1 training was amazing and I love constantly learning and improving for myself as well as being able to help others on their fitness journey. I started our current kids & teens program in September 2019 and it has been so awesome to watch all of the kids come in and have fun with fitness. We laugh and have fun but I am also helping kids who want to improve their sports performance as well as help kids who have not found a sport that they like learn to be confident in themselves and be healthy. Fitness & nutrition for lifelong health is my passion and I love that I get to share my passion with others every day!
Ryan Leafey
COACH
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer
With a BA in education from Rowan University, I spent three years as a teacher before discovering my love for functional fitness during off-season football training. In 2013, I opened CrossFit Northwood and have been dedicated to serving the community for over a decade.
My passion for working with youth is unwavering, and I’ve had the privilege of coaching multiple regional-level and CrossFit Games athletes. With consistency as my cornerstone, I take pride in holding athletes and clients accountable, guided by the HERE acronym: H for habits, E for every day, R for rituals and routines, and E for elevate and meditate.
My overarching goal is to contribute to the community’s well-being, aiming to help as many people as possible lead healthy, happy lives using fitness as a transformative tool. I’m thrilled to be part of the Hygge community, and I look forward to our journey together.
Joyce Brady
Longevity & Kids Coach
B.A in Education, Masters of the Arts in Curriculum, Instruction, and Supervision, CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
As a recently retired teacher of 30 years and member of Hygge Fitness for 10 years, I made the decision to learn more about the sport. I became certified in CrossFit, earning my CF-L1 certification. Since joining I have become a power lifting enthusiast with a recent one rep deadlift of 300 pounds. Through my journey with CrossFit I have learned how being strong can offer so many more daily benefits than one may realize for people of all ages.
Currently, you can find me coaching our kids and teens class, as well as the Longevity program. Both of these specialized programs were designed to improve strength and conditioning and are scalable for all fitness levels. I enjoy helping these different age groups focus on proper techniques that will assist them to be more empowered, confident, and capable individuals in their daily lives.
I love being a member and a coach in this wonderful community that we have built over the years. You can find us supporting each other both in life and in the gym. Come join us for functional fitness, lots of fun, and most of all, friendship!
Sam Farina
COACH
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer, NSCA CSCS, NASM-CSNC, USAW-L1
I have been captured by health and fitness from a very young age; I can remember making myself little workouts from as young as 2nd grade, where I’d see how fast or how long I could run around my house while also swimming numerous laps in my above-ground pool.. that was what I did for fun. In high school I was not much different, I continued to find not only entertainment, but also relief from the outside world through fitness, more specifically Track and Cross Country. I attended Ocean County Vocational School for 2 years in the Health & Fitness program, which is where my educational background officially started. From there I attended Rowan University where I earned my Bachelor’s in Exercise Science while running competitively on the Track and Cross Country teams. To me, health and fitness was more than just sports, it was an outlet and therapeutic in countless ways; I knew I wanted to be able to share that experience with as many people as I could, which is why I am in this field.
Upon completing college, I went on to acquire my NSCA-CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist) while frequently continuing my credentials through earning my USAW L1 certification, as well as my NASM-CSNC (Certified Sports Nutrition Coach). What I find fascinating about nutrition and exercise is that it is constantly evolving; we are always researching to help enhance our health and I am also committed to doing so. My main goal as a fitness professional is to help spread the positive impact of exercise and proper nutrition to as many members and clients as I can. It is not always about a fit, toned body or being able to squat 3x your bodyweight; sometimes it’s about proving to yourself that you can show up for yourself and do hard things!
Sean McAvinue
NUTRITION COACH
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer, Precision Nutrition Level 1, Opex Fitness Coaching Certificate Program Level 1
I grew up playing every sport under the sun with my two brothers and our sister. When my oldest brother first introduced me to CrossFit in 2012 I was hooked! This one moment set me on the path I have been on ever since. A journey full of learning everything I could about health and fitness. I even met my wife Lauren at a CrossFit gym!
I have an A.A. in Health and Physical Education and a B.S in Public Health as my base of knowledge. I have taken countless seminars, courses, and obtained certifications in fitness and mostly the nutrition field (CF-L2, PN-L1, OPEX CCP L1). I have taken that knowledge and used it to fuel my own training in Crossfit, Ironman triathlon, and even ultra marathon running. I truly believe learning about nutrition enabled me to finish these physical endeavors.
It’s been an amazing journey, but by putting together 1.) the science I’ve learned, 2.) my own experiences, and 3.) book after book on learning how to develop habits, I’ve been able to help hundreds of people improve their relationship with food, their performance in the gym, their body composition, and their overall confidence in their body. And it’s been amazing. I am looking forward to getting to help as many people as possible at Hygge again!
Take the first step.
We can’t wait to meet you
Chat with a coach at our gym to learn more about what program will fit your goals.