Those who stick with that popular New Year’s resolution to lose weight or get in shape will have several new places to help achieve that goal in the coming weeks.
At least four gyms and recreation centers – two privately owned, two built by Horry County – are in the works along the Grand Strand, with all but one planning to be up and running by mid- to late January.
Headed into their peak season with a surge of business from folks aiming to get in shape in the new year, fitness center owners say there’s enough demand – especially in what some local officials call an active town - to support all the new workout hubs, adding that each is unique and fills a different niche.
“Now, there are some other competitors,” said Chal Lester, manager of American 24-7 Fitness, formerly American Athletic Club, at 38th Avenue North that has operated on the beach for years but retooled recently because of the shaky economy. “But they are all kind of different animals.”
Two new clubs are in the works in Myrtle Beach. Core Fitness is moving into the former American Athletic Club off Robert Grissom Parkway, with zumba, spinning and other classes already underway and the rest of the 14,000-square-foot fitness center expected to open the week of Jan. 19, said co-owner Judy McCrackin Langfitt, who operates a Pilates studio in the same building that will move into the gym space.
“With American downsizing, I knew there would be a huge need,” McCrackin Langfitt said. “This is a no-brainer. It was a perfect fit.”
Just a few miles away, Planet Fitness, a chain known for its purple-and-yellow theme, is moving into the former Barnes & Noble Bookstore off Seaboard Street near Target. It opened a pre-sales office at the site last week and plans to open the 25,000-square-foot gym in the spring, regional manager Joe Bernardini said.
And Horry County is opening two much-needed recreation centers this month, one in Carolina Forest and the other off Holmestown Road on the county’s southern end, said Brent Taylor, Horry County’s Parks and Recreation director. Both are 21,000-square-feet and will be home to the usually popular youth sports leagues, but Taylor predicts residents looking for cheap ways to stay fit will make good use of the walking tracks and courts. Folks can browse the new centers this week, with an official opening next week.
“Any place we’ve opened has pretty much been booming,” Taylor said. “It’s a county that has been starving for recreation.”
Maybe it’s the love of being at the beach, but residents in Myrtle Beach seem to be quite active, which might be one reason two new gyms are opening in the city in early 2012, city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
“We are an extremely active community,” he said. “People are more health conscious than they used to be. There’s a lot of talk about weight, calories and exercise and people are taking that to heart.”
Residents aiming to get in shape could benefit from the increased competition, with better prices on memberships and more workout options.
American 24-7 Fitness, formerly American Athletic Club that has four gyms stretching from Murrells Inlet to Myrtle Beach, recently retooled in part because of the tough economy and the increased competition, Lester said. The building it was in on Grissom Parkway that featured the gym and several other businesses was owned by American’s owner and recently was bought out of foreclosure. American moved back to the Village Square Shopping Center at 38th Avenue North about a month ago and scaled back its offerings at that location, cutting zumba and other classes and dropping the day care center.
It also just started a $19.95 a month special, with an enrollment charge ranging between $89 and $109 – rates were nearly $55 a month during better economic times – and dropped its one-year or two-year contracts, now allowing members to cancel after four months with no charge, Lester said. The gym also started staying open around the clock to accommodate the often unusual hours for residents working in the hospitality industry or night owls, he said.
“With today’s economy and being in such a transient town, we kind of had to recreate the wheel,” Lester said. “We try to cater to the economy and the uncertainty…This is a new era with more competition we have yet to endure. But the economy was the biggest challenge.”
Each fitness center says it has something a bit different from the others, so each should lure a following. American says it caters to those wanting to lift weights any time of day, while Core Fitness specializes in classes and Planet Fitness, which also will be open 24 hours a day and has $19.99-a-month memberships, wants to lure the “average Joe” by offering tanning beds, massage chairs – even free pizza on the first Monday of every month.
“I don’t think it is ever going to be an issue,” Bernardini said of the competition among the fitness centers in the area.
Still, the two new gyms are missing the kick off of the annual New Year’s resolution rush, but anticipate folks will still be ready for them when they open.
“The timing is tough because it is a great time for people to come and work out,” McCrackin Langfitt said, “but we are not too far behind.”
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