Anytime Fitness Removes Another Workout Barrier

Mar. 1–Insomniacs and workaholics wanting to exercise now have a new option.

Anytime Fitness opened Feb. 17 in Northeast Richland, and it is the area’s only 24-hour gym, offering cardio and strength training with equipment.

Two more locations are scheduled to open May 1 in Irmo and Lexington, said Tony Turkett, Anytime Fitness area director. And by the end of the year, five should be open in the Midlands, he said.

Turkett said the 24-hour facility removes the excuse for those who have foregone exercise because their schedules conflict with gym hours. In general, area gyms are open between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Although Anytime Fitness is staffed only from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, members have round-the-clock access to the building seven days a week.

“The first obstacle is always convenience, but that’s out the door now,” said Turkett, 48, a certified personal trainer who also has worked as a hospital wellness director. “You can say, ‘I don’t have time to work out,’ but if you do, you’re just lazy.”

Columbia-native and Augusta resident Dennis Rabon owns the franchises in the Midlands. The fitness chain is based in Minnesota.

Anytime’s 100 members include professionals with limited free time — much of which is in the early morning or late evening, Turkett said. The fitness center also is focusing on signing up nurses, factory and industrial workers who get off work at 11 p.m. and are still “wired,” he said.

For safety’s sake, the facility has 24-hour surveillance. Those who work out when the club is not staffed are advised to wear emergency call bracelets or necklaces that the club provides, though they are not required.

Those who need assistance can push the button on the bracelet or necklace, as well as a button on the center’s wall. AlertOne, a medical alarm company, will ask what help is needed over the facility’s speaker and will have someone dispatched if necessary.

Although they usually work out at 4:30 or 5 p.m., husband and wife Paul and B.J. Lee like the idea of knowing they can go to Anytime Fitness anytime they like. Before joining Anytime, B.J. had worked out at a local women-only fitness center. But she wanted a place where they could work out together.

Both self-employed, Paul, 51, works in construction and B.J., 49, cleans houses. The pair try to work out 25 to 30 minutes at least six days a week, to relieve stress and get fit.

“I had gotten away from working out for about two years because of a lack of enthusiasm,” Paul said.

Adrian and Leigh McGahee, instead of exchanging flowers and candy for Valentine’s Day, gave each other Anytime Fitness memberships.

At 51, Adrian — who has a history of heart and back problems — said he grew tired of complaining and decided exercising was the answer. His goal is to walk the treadmill and do some light stretching at Anytime at least one hour five days a week.

“Without your health, you don’t have anything.”

—–

To see more of The State, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thestate.com.

(c) 2005, The State, Columbia, S.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.