Iron Warehouse is getting pumped up for the major change to its services that’s going to allow members more flexible time to work out.
Starting Nov. 25, the local gym will be operating 24 hours a day, which will be a first in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
“We want to be different,” said Meaghan L’Heureux, who co-owns the gym with husband Steven Orcutt. “No one else in town has a 24-hour gym. The closest one would be Nanaimo. We want to give our members somthing that no other gym in town was doing.”
Iron Warehouse, which is located at 425 Stanford and also has a satellite gym on 1117 Industrial Way No. 55, has been in business here for only two years.
L’Heureux said when she and husband started to toy with the idea of a 24-hour gym a few months ago, the input and comments they received from members was positive.
“One was this guy who is working in Port Alberni and in Nanaimo,” said L’Heureux.
“He starts at six (a.m.) so he needs to be in here at four to get a workout in before he goes to work. There’s also a lot of good response from moms who said after they put the kids to bed and after everyone else is sleeping then they could come to do a workout about 10 to 11 at night. There was a lot of great feedback.”
Currently the gym is open from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
L’Heureux said she doesn’t know for sure when most of the members would come in to train once the 24-hour operation starts.
“I don’t know if I am going to expect anyone here at 2 a.m. but you’ll never know,” said L’Heureux. “It’s between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m. at night that we know there’s going to be people coming in.”
It’s a big decision said L’Heureux, who indicated that they’ve done a lot of renovations to the gym and also invested a lot of money toward setting up a new security system and installation of a camera.
“It will be good,” said L’Heureux. “Our atmosphere here is amazing. The people are good and we don’t expect any issues or anything like that.”
Despite turning into a 24-hour gym, L’Heureux has no intentions of raising the rates. It will remain $40 a month or, for those who choose to have the fee deducted automatically from their bank account, $30 a month. There are no sign-up fees required.
“We want to keep it that way for our members,” said L’Heureux.
“We didn’t want anything to change for them. We just wanted to make it better for them. We didn’t want any negatives to come with it.”
Aside from offering a place to work out, the gym also has personal trainers to help you either on a one-to-one basis or in a group setting, which L’Heureux said is cheaper.
“We realize personal training can be expensive so we want an option for people that is feasible,” said L’Heureux, who is also a certified personal trainer and also a nutrition and weight loss specialist. As well, she is a certified TRX and spin instructor.
L’Heureux said the gym has the latest fitness equipment, including custom-built equipment, that will provide members a great body workout and help them improve their health and strength.
