Fitness for $10 opens doors Monday

The treadmills are warming up and the weights are ready to be lifted as Fallon’s newest health club opens for business Monday.

Fitness for $10, a Carson City-based firm, has taken up residence at the site of Total Fitness Athletic Club, which closed on Jan. 1. The new club aims to bring an inexpensive and energetic atmosphere to Fallon.

John Gutierrez, one of the businesses co-partners, said soon-to-be members will be treated to new cardio equipment, cheap membership fees, tanning beds, personal trainers and more.

The club will be open from 5 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m.-7 p.m. on Fridays and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Gutierrez said he and his partners jumped at the opportunity to open a facility in Fallon and found space already suited to hold a gym. Once the details were worked out — which he said was done quickly — he and his staff started refurbishing the inside to match the philosophy of Fitness for $10.

“Right now, our main focus is to get the club open, Gutierrez said. “This happened all so quickly. We moved in about a week ago.”

Admittedly, Gutierrez said while the club will be open Monday, there is work still to be completed. Nevertheless, he is excited about the opportunity of opening a club in Fallon.

The buzz around town, meanwhile, has spread and Gutierrez said he speaks with numerous people every day about the new gym’s opening.

“Our tentative opening date is the (Feb.) 24th, of course that is all depending on inspections and paper work,” Gutierrez said. “We have had a lot of people come in off the street and ask us if it really is $10 a month. And it is.”

Memberships cost $10 for a basic package, or $19 for VIP. Each membership allows for a free one-hour session with a personal trainer, while the VIP allows for members unlimited tanning, guest passes and access to other Fitness for $10 clubs around Nevada and the country.

Gutierrez said the company has clubs in Carson City, Sparks, Reno, Tonopah and Las Vegas, plus addition facilities in Arizona, California, Utah, Florida, Minnesota and Canada.

The session with a trainer will allow members access to equipment and other features of the club plus workout tips. After the free session, customers must hire a personal trainer for any future work, Gutierrez said.

“We keep things very simple,” he added. “That’s just a philosophy we adopted years ago.”

The layout of the club, meanwhile, will feature cardio, free weights and nautical equipment in the front of the building, while the side room behind the front desk is for the personal trainers.

The women’s only workout room, a feature brought in by Total Athletic Fitness, will be kept, Gutierrez said. As for the upstairs room, it will initially be used for stretching, jump roping and other activities.

“We love the idea of having a ladies only room,” Gutierrez said. “We will be reworking the free weight area to improve flow. We just want to provide the most value for our members. A quality health club doesn’t have to be expensive.

Specialized classes such as Zumba will not be available to start, although Gutierrez said depending on feedback about those classes they may be added.

Customer feedback is a big part of Fitness for $10’s philosophy. Gutierrez said he and his partners changed their business model from a sales-heavy approach to a more laid-back style allowing customers to feel comfortable in the gym.

“We do a lot of polling” Gutierrez said. “Our goal is to have a full-service club, but what dictates that is our membership base. It is very important to get member input.”

The change, he said, has sparked growth as in the past five years the organization has grown from two clubs to 19.

“It’s close to home, which is great for us,” Gutierrez said. “We have be looking at this area for quite some time. We were just waiting for the right opportunity. Finally, the right opportunity opened up for us. We know there is a need out here.

The city itself is not big, but it draws from a lot of areas, so that was an appeal for us. There are a lot of commuters.”