Anytime Fitness sets neighborhood tone

POST FALLS – When Mike Reilly pledged to shed pounds last year as a New Year’s resolution, he made sure to arm himself with all the right tools: some camaraderie, a whole lot of perseverance and Monday Night Football. With a tried-and-true method at his back, Reilly found that as he sweated away hours on a TV-equipped cardio machine, the weight beaded off right along with it – 90 pounds and counting.

Back then, Reilly was just shy of an impending 30th birthday – and wanting to drop an equal amount in pounds – when he and his wife, Holly, decided to check out the new gym in the River City Center, Anytime Fitness.

“Post Falls is a pretty small town,” Mike Reilly said about their search to find a neighborhood gym to join after their old one closed down. So when they spotted the arched front entrance of the new facility near the intersection of Highway 41 and Mullan Avenue, they decided to stop in. “We kind of jumped at the opportunity. We were looking for something that maybe wasn’t so busy,” Reilly said.

Inside Anytime Fitness, where its 4,300-square-foot spacious interior houses rows of high-tech Precor cardio machines mounted with an 80-channel small screen, a separate sitting area with a flat-panel TV, a free-weight corner and tanning rooms, the couple was greeted by co-owners and managers Amy and Dan Briggs, who opened the franchise’s North Idaho facility last fall and recently opened another in Liberty Lake.

“We were just really impressed with Dan and Amy, and we signed up that day. It seemed like a really good fit,” Reilly recalled.

What makes Anytime Fitness unlike other big-box chains, Briggs said, is that “our concept is more like your neighborhood exclusive, high-tech club.” With members ranging in age from about 25 to 75 and spread across all fitness levels, Anytime doesn’t attract the muscle-bound crowd like other outlets, she added.

“It’s not like a fashion show, it’s not intimidating,” Amy Briggs said.

In fact, that’s what attracted the Minnesota native to join the club in her home state before she became a franchise owner.

“I absolutely loved it,” said Amy Briggs, who holds degrees in social work and elementary education. “It was a membership that I stuck with because of the concept. It’s a membership that you’ll actually use.”

Among the perks members receive include group outings such as ski trips, white-water rafting and a local take on “The Biggest Loser” reality show, 24-hour access every day of the year, and gym-goers can rest easy as they are monitored constantly on a closed-circuit digital video feed linked to corporate headquarters. Members can also exercise at any Anytime Fitness location across the country through the club’s reciprocity privilege. “You literally can go anytime, anywhere. As small as the world is now, it’s a really nice perk. It’s especially nice for anyone who travels a lot,” Briggs said. As for the club’s community activities, she said they are there to enliven any exercise routine. “If you want to do your own thing, you can. If you want help achieving your personal fitness goals, you can get it,” she said.

For Reilly, he said the club’s clientele, nonintimidating environment, affordability and conveniences have proven to be the biggest boons. “People are really friendly and seem to be focused on working out, and it’s a really good environment,” he said. “I also really like the fact that the cardio machines have TVs. I can watch Monday Night Football, or whatever I want to do.”

Since turning 30 and shattering his initial goal of dropping 30 pounds, Reilly’s dramatic transformation hasn’t gone unnoticed by club members. “People that I know there have positive support,” he said. “I’ve seen some good results. I feel good.”

That kind of lifestyle change is the perfect example for what the staff at Anytime Fitness hopes clients get out of a membership. “I love the industry,” Briggs said. “It’s amazing to see people who feel healthy and feel good. Everyone needs health and wellness in their lives.”