Glens Falls Business Journal photo
By Susan Elise Campbell
At The Gym in Queensbury, a workout is not only about physical fitness. It’s about building relationships and the team effort behind the wellness of each client. According to owner Ryan Holderman, this philosophy has served him well.
“Here we care about people more than money,” he said, a mantra shared by The Gym’s personal training manager, Kasey Gorton.
The business that Holderman started 10 years ago in a 2,500-square-foot space in South Glens Falls now occupies 26,000 square feet at Aviation Mall. The Gym is ever growing its customer base and adding new fitness programs and equipment to its offerings, and Holderman said he is always looking to expand further.
The “fun career path” he took out of college was not one he thought would culminate in his own business, Holderman said.
“I played baseball at Adirondack Community College, and I think athletes want to stay fit,” he said. “After you retire from sports, what do you do next?”
He dabbled in a few jobs in two other states, but went to New York City for four years and joined an independently owned, three-story fitness club with 3,000 members. His first year there earned him the title ‘personal trainer of the year’ because, he said, “I’m not afraid to work.”
This experience in the corporate world helped Holderman realize that businesses make more money than employees do.
“I had the idea that when I moved back home, I would start a fitness center that was trainer-based rather then machine-based,” said Holderman.
“The staff are all personal trainers who are given the freedom to create their own schedules and to make as much or as little money as they want while helping as many people as possible,” he said.
“We do a lot of things that don’t necessarily benefit our bank accounts,” he said. “It is more of a karma-based methodology.”
“A gym can be a really intimidating place for people,” said Gorton. “When people hear about us they may think of group classes, but we offer much more.”
“Whether a 15-year-old athlete, a soccer mom, a senior citizen, or someone recovering from surgery, our ideology is that fitness is for everyone,” she said, noting that the majority of members are women.
With 10 to 15 trainers at The Gym, one will be the best match for whoever walks through their door, Gorton said.
Holderman said he offers a free, three-part consultation for new clients involving an initial “meet and greet” to document such things as workout history, injuries, and nutrition, and so they can get to know the client “as a person and not just a scan card.”
There follows a movement screening to observe the person’s basic movement patterns, such as how they get off a chair or do squats, lunges or push-ups. Holderman said, “this is for us to help coach them on proper form.”
The final session is a 30-minute workout that informs how to customize a program that will be based on goals and affordability, he said.
“Newcomers always ask how much membership is going to cost, but it really depends on the program,” Gorton said. “It could be 10 dollars or go up to two hundred and fifty dollars.”
Pricing depends largely on whether the client will use equipment on their own, take group classes, or build a customized program with a personal trainer, as well as frequency and time at The Gym, she said.
“It does the customer a disservice to blanket your cost structures,” Holderman said. “And we are flexible, so you don’t pay if you go on vacation for a week.”
The Gym has a full spectrum of services: boxing, cycling, yoga, pilates, weight training for weight loss or functional fitness, motivational challenges, and more, he said. Young ballplayers may be interested in the batting cage and computerized HitTrax system while some parents are looking for a healthy outlet for a depressed or autistic child, Holderman said.
“At times the community atmosphere at The Gym is much like life coaching as our staff educate, motivate, inspire and influence people,” he said.
“Sometimes I think we care more about the results our clients are achieving than they do,” he said.
Staff and members alike are community-conscious people, Holderman said. Together they have done food drives and meal deliveries, raised funds for Lucky Puppy, and supported the marathon dance and backpack program locally, Gorton said.
“We may be the driving force, but the people who come in here are some of the most generous people in our community,” said Holderman.
Visit www.thegym518.com to learn more about fitness programs and an upcoming ladies night event.