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Local Fitness Biz Shows Healthy Growth

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By JULIA FERRANTE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 19, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Three years ago, World Gym off State Road 54 was the only fitness club in town.

Residents from Carpenter's Run in Land O' Lakes to Meadow Pointe in Wesley Chapel had to travel to the far reaches of east or west Pasco or cross the county line for an alternative.

Now, fast-growing central Pasco is becoming a hub for gyms, with a half dozen clubs popping up between S.R. 54 and County Line Road.

The businesses, which range from specialized studios to a 24-hour franchise with card-key access and a supermarket-sized club with a combination of services, are capitalizing on an influx of new homes, affordable rent and proximity to Tampa.

"Over the past three or four years, our members have been calling us and asking, 'When are you opening here?'" said Todd Bright, president and CEO of St. Petersburg-based Lifestyle Family Fitness, which purchased the rights to World Gym's membership last year and plans to open a 36,000-square-foot club at Willow Bend Town Centre off Collier Parkway this summer.

"With the population growth, it was a natural fit for us to move in," Bright said.

Among the newer fitness businesses are:

• Studio Group X, slated to open today with personal and group training classes at Eagle Plaza off S.R. 54 in Land O' Lakes.

• Anytime Fitness, an around-the-clock facility with weight machines and personal training, which opened last month at 1041 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. off County Line Road in Wesley Chapel.

• Namaste Yoga Studio, which plans to move from New Tampa to a storefront at plaza at 23606 S.R. 54 in Land O' Lakes in July.

The trend began in 2005, when Kaizen International LLC opened Sports + Field, a 35,000-square-foot, high-end training center on State Road 56 east of Interstate 75 in hopes of drawing athletes from around the world. The facility has two sides, one exclusively for professional athletes and one for the public.

Lady BodFit followed suit a year later, opening a 2,800-square-foot storefront with group and individual training and classes for women at 23600 S.R. 54, east of Collier Parkway off S.R. 54, in Highland Oaks Village.

Each Says They're Unique

The competition may seem stiff, but each business owner or manager says they offer something different.

Studio Group X owner CarolAnn, a Meadow Pointe resident who has a line of DVDs and another branch in Cross Creek, chose Land O' Lakes because of the recent growth, strong supply of younger families and because it is closer to home, she said. Rent also is less expensive in Pasco than it is in New Tampa.

Studio Group X is built around the concept that people are more likely to continue exercizing if it becomes a consistent part of their schedule, CarolAnn said, so yoga, weight training, cardio and Pilates classes are offered at the same time each day.

"We don't water it down. We are group exercise classes. When you engage students, you will get results," she said.

Prices at Studio Group X, which start at about $10 per class, are lower than some of her competitors, CarolAnn said, in part because of the struggling economy but also because some overestimated the demographics and charged too much.

"On paper, it looks like everybody is making a certain amount of money, but I think everyone is living beyond their means," she said.

Namaste Yoga Studio, which is moving to the same S.R. 54 strip center as Lady BodFit this summer, is doing so because of rent increases at its New Tampa location, according to its Web site. Namaste will be less than a mile from Tree Frog Yoga at Eagle Plaza.

Jay Nichols, a trainer at Lady BodFit, said the yoga studio will be a complement to his gym, which offers "out of the box" personal and group training. Clients, some of whom trained with Nichols at the coed Club BodFit off Dale Mabry in Carrollwood, come from as far away as Dade City, Temple Terrace and Westchase.

"You could put our facility next to Lifestyle and it is like apples and oranges," Nichols said. "We could work you out and not use one dumbbell or bar bell. We use body weight and exercises with the medicine ball."

Lack Of Visibility Corrected

Ty Pena, a partner in the BodFit clubs, said he chose Land O' Lakes location because of the "explosion" of new homes and the planned Cypress Creek Town Center mall. A disadvantage has been a lack of visibility from S.R. 54. The plaza landlord recently trimmed the palm trees and gave the business more space on a sign to increase its presence. Since then, Lady BodFit has had more walk-in traffic.

Patrick Corcoran, who with his sister Mary Jo opened an Anytime Fitness franchise about a month ago at County Line Road and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, said his club offers convenience and personalized service in a casual atmosphere.

"It's not a muscle gym or a night club. You can pull your hair back in a ponytail and show up," he said.

The 4,000-square-foot Anytime Fitness never closes. It's staffed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays with more limited hours on weekends. Members can use a key card to enter any of the 620 franchises.

Bright of Lifestyle Family Fitness said he isn't worried about the proliferation of gyms in central Pasco.

"We provide a service these other clubs don't provide," he said. "We not only have group and personal training and fitness classes, we have state-of the art equipment. ...For somebody just starting out or someone who has been a member for eight or 10 years and wants something new, we have that."

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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