We opened in June of 2004 as a sports supplements store only. This was right when internet supplements sales really started to increase and there was no way we could match or beat their prices, as we had all of our overhead to cover. We give a lot of personal service and advice with every purchase, but in a town with a tight economy, even in the best of times, the bottom line was always going to be the price.

So we turned about 2/3 of our 1200sf. storefront unit into a very small, private training studio space. We put up a temporary wall to divide the store from the training area and give even more privacy. We had 3 pieces of cardio equipment, dumbbells up to 50# and some multi-purpose machines, so we could easily work every bodypart in a variety of ways in a small amount of space. Honestly, this was more “up my alley”. Larry had the long history of supplement knowledge & sales. My degree is in Exercise Science and I’ve been a personal trainer since 1998.

Our very small space tended to attract a certain sort of clientele that appreciates privacy and doesn’t feel comfortable in a crowded gym atmosphere, but we were limited in who we could accommodate and we certainly could never offer memberships.

Then in January of 2008 we had the opportunity to expand into the neighboring 1200sf unit as the previous tenant had moved. Now we have a full 2400sf with 11 pieces of cardio, a circuit training area, dumbbells up to 100# and plenty of weight training equipment to choose from, including a power rack, inverted leg press, Cybex squat press and a cable crossover unit.

Our personal training business was doing quite well until the downturn in the economy. We lost almost every client because they could no longer afford it. So in April of 2009 we started offering monthly memberships, with a cap at 200 so we should never get too crowded. We promote ourselves as a “neighborhood gym - where you’re always welcome” because that truly conveys the image we have in our minds for what we want to create here. Our gym is still a small space with a private feel. We envision a place where everybody of any age or fitness level feels comfortable and encouraged; a gym where everybody knows eachother’s names and interacts in a friendly manner. We want people to feel like this is their place to escape and concentrate only on themselves. We want them to feel like they truly belong. Larry & I make ourselves very available for any questions, advice or help. We enjoy seeing more & more members using the equipment on a regular basis. As a personal training studio it wasn’t getting used enough. It was sad to see so many great pieces of equipment sitting idle!

FYI - We may be small but we have enough variety of equipment to meet just about anybody’s needs. I am ranked among the Top 10 National Level NPC Bodybuilders and I prepared for the 2008 Nationals almost exclusively at my own gym.