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No Pain, No Gain

Anytime Fitness Providing Convenience

From left, Dave Dix and Erica Ireland, owners of Anytime Fitness, stand in their gym in which members workout in the background. The gym recently celebrated its sixth anniversary and picked up new equipment, including a stair climber. P-J photo by Eric Zavinski

Anytime Fitness has been a staple of the gym community for six years. Having celebrated its six-year anniversary Thursday, the current owners are excited to reach out to new members at a Jamestown Rebels hockey game at Northwest Arena on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Members of the gym can take advantage of a membership appreciation initiative by asking Anytime Fitness to pay for their ticket to the game. The gym will also be hosting a promotional table on the rink walkway, featuring push-up challenges and t-shirt giveaways. The game will also serve as a great way for interested health enthusiasts to apply for a membership or try one of many classes that will be hosted this November.

Classes for members and non-members alike range from various types of yoga to cycling, Zumba and Pilates. One class is $5 for non-members, and all classes are included free of additional charge for members. Memberships, which last as long as two years at a time, are priced between $32 and $55. Pound classes are also offered in which members get to pound the floor with drum sticks and work out to the rhythm of music.

“You can be beginner to advanced and jump into any of the classes. We cater (the calendar) to what the members want. You don’t have to go to the mall for a workout,” said Erica Ireland, co-owner of Anytime Fitness. “We really can cater to any fitness level.”

A stair climber, which was requested by members, is the gym’s most recent equipment addition, and Anytime Fitness gets new equipment every year to keep the workouts fresh for members. A touchscreen in the back room allows members to workout to routines when classes aren’t in session as well.

An Anytime Fitness membership appreciation day will be held at the Jamestown Rebels hockey game Friday at Northwest Arena. P-J photo by Eric Zavinski

Co-owner Dave Dix, who is also a Persell Middle School gym teacher, and Ireland both talked about the gym’s dedicated regulars, who they check in on if they end up not working out on their normal schedule. Patrons said the gym allows for a communal gym experience and enough space for meditative exercise alone when wanted. Many members said the space is big enough to provide many workout options but also small enough to not intimidate new members.

“The family-type feel: I think that’s important,” Dix said.

Mike Sorce, one of the most active members as represented by a chalk board in the front of the gym that logs how many days each member visited in the current month, said he joined Anytime Fitness when it first opened.

He wasn’t the only one who thought the gym gave him everything he needed. Fellow member Wallace Page had worked out at Snap Fitness before it’s closure, but switched to Anytime Fitness while Snap had still been an option for him. He was impressed by the cleanliness of Anytime Fitness and switched to what he felt was the better gym as soon as he realized what was being offered.

“You can’t beat it,” Page said in reference to the 24/7 schedule. “I got to know everybody. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”

Page said he enjoys how Anytime Fitness gave him and others equal opportunity to weight train and do cardio exercises. He said some gyms don’t like their members making loud noises with the weights, but he lauded Anytime Fitness for giving him and others the space and encouragement to workout how they desire. The gym has helped him and his son take first place in their divisions for a weight training competition.

Daniel Potter started working out at Anytime Fitness two and a half years ago. The convenience and flexibility at the gym gave him the chance to start out with more cardio and follow suit with weight training that has helped him lose 90 pounds and turn fat into muscle mass.

“I signed up and it stuck,” said Potter, who had at first decided on a whim to join.

He said the gym staff and members helped him learn how to exercise properly. He had a small knowledge base when he first began his membership, but has since become someone who is easily able to set up a workout plan and exercise healthily.

A group of older health enthusiasts started making it routine to visit often in the mid-mornings, and Ireland and Dix know them by name and expect them to show up often. It wasn’t an organized meeting, but rather a friend group that was nurtured by the gym experience.

Anytime’s location is one of more than 3,000 worldwide and 2,500 in the country. Members who vacation can use their key fob to workout at any location. The stores are locally owned and operated, which give them a communal feel.

Nutritional supplements are also available for sale and have a two-day order turnaround.

The gym hosts fundraisers too, including a recently finished shoe collection for Hearts for the Homeless. The gym will now be a drop-off site for Blue Star Mothers of America. From Nov. 1-21, members are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items and free time activities such as puzzles for troops overseas.

“We have a lot of military members here,” Ireland said. “It means a lot to the members. We really have a great member base; they love giving back to the community.”

For anyone wanting to take a tour of Anytime Fitness, learn more about equipment and programs or sign up for a class, staff can be contacted at 489-3089. The gym is open 24/7 for members, and staff are available on site from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and by appointment. The gym is located at 901 Fairmount Ave.

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