Friday, March 29, 2024
Nick Retzer works on leg strength as Director of Personal Training Zach Hodgson checks in on the trainee.

Activity ramps up at Anytime Fitness

The Anytime Fitness operations in Byron and Kasson are seeing an uptick in new memberships as they typically do at the start of a new year. What they’re still recovering from are previous business shut downs due to COVID-19.

The latest shutdown was from Nov. 17 through Dec. 19, said Zach Hodgson, general manager with Anytime Fitness in Byron. “It was a big hit,” he said.

“We definitely haven’t recovered from the previous shutdown earlier this year so it was a big blow,” he said. The previous shutdown Hodgson refers to was from mid March through the beginning of June, with the governor ordering the gym closure.

“Business has been picking up again,” Hodgson said. “Obviously with the shut down we were a little concerned with how things would be going. But we have a lot more people after the holidays getting ready to focus on their health and fitness.”

Membership at the Byron Anytime Fitness is down about 100 people from last year at this time. In Kasson, membership at Anytime Fitness is down about 100 too.

Mikayla Becker, an Anytime Fitness member in Kasson, goes into the gym each evening to do cardio and weights with her partner, Sumner Paschke. Becker said she’s been an Anytime member for about four years, and calls the facility “the best thing that’s happened to this town in a long time.”

“Anytime is not just a gym for us,” she said. “It’s a second home. It has quickly become a huge part of our life. During the shut down it affected us. We didn’t have an outlet. We were just stuck at home with nothing to do. It’s a place where we have met some of our closest friends. We have made lots of connections with new people. It’s also an outlet for our mental health. It keeps us sane.”

“My members mean everything to me,” said Kasson Anytime Fitness manager Alissa Theuer. “We obviously have a lot fewer members than last year at this time, but I have faith that it will pick up. Absolutely.”

During the gym closure, Theuer said the hit was both monetary but more importantly, a sense of community and unity was lost. “People use us as a way to cope with their mental health,” she said. “I feel like the damage that’s been done is to people’s sense of community, taking away that outlet for cultivating mental health. That’s the greatest damage. That’s been an absolute travesty.”

In the future, Theuer expects Anytime Fitness in Kasson to continue to be a place where personal relationships are developed with each and every member. “This is a hopeful time,” she said. “We manage to love one another, and support one another on this journey. We give people a safe place to be in process. That’s what our future holds.”

The most popular machines at Byron Anytime Fitness are the treadmills and rowing machines, with free weights also being a popular fitness station. The facility expanded from 3,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet in February 2020 and now features 13 squat racks. “People are definitely using them,” Hodgson said.

“What gyms are doing, especially us at Anytime, to keep our members safe and keep the gym clean is above and beyond,” he said. “Our members have always been our top priority and that just continues with COVID. We’ve stepped it up but the focus is on our members’ health, whether it was keeping the gym clean or helping people with their nutrition. It’s always been a top priority.”

William Shillingford of Dodge Center works out at the Byron Anytime Fitness and said he appreciates the warm, welcoming atmosphere he finds there. He does body building exercises and cardio such as the stair stepper and rowing machine.

“The culture at Anytime in Byron is very welcoming and very motivational,” Shillingford said. “People have the same mindset, which is to get work done. The staff really makes you feel welcome, like they actually want to be there with you and want to help you.”

 

 

See full story in this week’s print edition or subscribe online. Please subscribe here or current subscribers can login here.

Dodge County Independent

Dodge County Independent
Dodge County ADvantage
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

Dodge County Printing
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

507-634-7503
 
Hours: 
Monday-Thursday 10a.m.-3p.m.