As snow began to fall last Friday morning, Ralph Grieco stood against a stairwell on the first-floor of the newly-renovated medical building at 237 Lexington St. and flipped through Peopelfit's inaugural newsletter.

The Southboro resident was there only to help with accounting, but he couldn't help but gasp out loud when scanning Peoplefit's "Top Ten Tips to Better Health."

"Wow," Grieco exclaimed before he recited a suggestion that 25 percent of a person's total daily caloric intake should come from breakfast. He then scoffed at the suggestion to drink half one's body weight in ounces of water each day.

"This is interesting, and a lot more defined," he said. "I find it fascinating what they're trying to do, appealing to the 40-plus crowd. Nutrition is where people need the most help, just working out doesn't go as far as it used to."

The "they" Grieco is referring to is Peoplefit, a new health and fitness operation started up by the Lexington based Agostino family. Preparing for a Nov. 29 grand opening at their office near Four Corners, Peoplefit is priding itself on giving people more than the use of its cardiovascular workout machines. At Peoplefit, the design revolves around the program, individually built for each member in a hands-on environment where the Agostino's extensive medical background influences each decision.

Jim Agostino said he and his wife, Beth, along with his brother, Pat, sister-in-law Karen, and sister Carla Nazarro, felt frustration as physical therapists when patients with osteoporosis, arthritis problems or cardiac disease had to end treatment after regular rehab.

"At the end of their recovery program, folks start to feel better, but time is up and there is nowhere to go," Agostino said. "Here we have a high level of support with a high level of safety built in."

As part of the Peoplefit membership, the Agostinos spend two one-hour sessions to evaluate a member's medical history and health goals, then design a specialized program that fits their needs. It's a three-month process altogether.

The Agostinos are certainly qualified, and provide a medical-based alternative to the typical fitness facility. Jim, Karen and Pat Agostino are licensed physical therapists with more than 25 years combined experience creating fitness programs for the individual, specializing in helping those who are healthy as well as those with health related issues such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiac disease and prenatal/post-partum exercise.

Jim Agostino specializes in acute care and rehab, fitness interventions and ergonomics, Karen's specialty is rehabilitation and women's issues, and Pat is a former rehabilitation director at two local facilities as well as a clinical instructor.

"We love to work with people who just finished rehabilitation as well as the healthy and fit," Agostino said.

And then there's the technical side of every business, and that's where Jim's wife, Beth, and Nazzaro come in. Beth has worked as a software consultant, developer and engineer for more than a decade, and is responsible for membership management and human resources. Nazarro's expertise comes in business administration and consulting.

"We're not corporate, this is just two households coming together," Agostino said. "It's both our dream and both our economic resourses. We had to be confident this would work out. There seems to be a need for this type of service. This is for people who don't feel comfortable going to other current facilities."

Add Woburn resident Thelma Tisdale to that group.

"It's quite a unique concept, and it's great," Tisdale said as she filled out a membership form Friday morning with her husband, John. "People with a medical background working with elder people - I've looked around for this type of service for a long time."

With "all the equipment you'd see in a typical fitness facility" spread throughout the 6,000 square foot space, Agostino said membership is open to people of all ages and health stages. With a child care room and yoga classes in the works, Agostino hopes to reach beyond the typical workout routine.

The hands-on training will allow Peoplefit to program a person's specialized routine into a database, so before a person starts to work out, he or she knows what needs to be done. The program is stored in a key that will be inserted into a cardio machine, for example, recording the person's heart rate and other vital information as they are monitored by a staff member.

"We can look at your data to chart your progress to see how the workout is developing," Agostino said, noting the method is used to prevent a person from either not getting a full workout or becoming too ambitious on the machines. "We all feel different from one day to the next, so this is a safety feature."

Agostino said he's thrilled to be a part of the Woburn community, where his parents now reside. After a year-long attempt to set up shop in Lexington, where he grew up, road blocks and red tape led him just across the border to Four Corners, where Peoplefit now shares a building with an audiologist, a dentist and a lawyer.

With less than two weeks until the grand opening, the lobby has been busy each morning with curious onlookers stopping by to learn more about Peoplefit, and the owners couldn't be more pleased.

"When something is specialized people will travel for it," Nazarro said. "We're really psyched about everything."