Day 1
My version of "The Decision".
Today I realized what it is that I truly what out of what I am doing- my own gym. A sanctuary for the hardcore athlete and lifter. A haven for the refugees sick of health clubs and planet weakness gyms. A place to get away from the frat boys and magazine lifters trying out the latest fad in fitness.Those who are committed to a cause and need a facility to help them achieve these goals.
So what the hell am I going to call it?
I had a couple ideas so far. One being my blogs name but not sure I want the word 'fitness' to be associated with what I plan on doing. Fitness is a by product. A side effect. Its something that is just to be expected and therefore not a goal in my training.
One name I am starting to like is Body Shop Athletics or BSA. This was inspired not only by the idea of starting a gym in a garage or warehouse but also the notion that every athlete I have worked with in the past 10+ years has all gone through some major body modifications. With my latest program and my athletes this season thus far speaks volumes to this. Hell, I got one kid that has been training for about 12 weeks since football ended has packed on almost 20lbs and is stretching out of his shirts. So I am definitly putting that at the top of my list.
Another idea was Olympus Athletics and Fitness. Once again I dont like that fitness word being in there. Everyone just tags that onto their treadmill health club just to attract the resolution or spring break crowd. So how about Olympus Athletics? Maybe. OA? Not much a ring to that. Plus it has the Greek theme to it that I really dont relate to at all. Im mostly German/Irish so thats about the farthest away from Greece you can be while still being in the same Continent...moving on.
I could just go with Praters Training Systems- PTS. Then I would feel like Im ripping off DeFranco and thats just an insult to the man who I have pulled more than a few ideas from. Then again I can't rule it out.
Location?
Right now I found a few warehouse locations in the Berea area. I would like to stick to either Strongsville, Berea, or possibly Middleburg. Biggest issue I am having is pricing for the lease and proximity to a major road. Just being realistic I need to be by people and easily accesible.
Pricing?
This ones tricky. How can I keep prices low enough to attract clients but high enough to stay afloat and keep the club somewhat private. In other words every commercial gym charges 10-20 bucks these days just attract thousands of clients and hope that only 20 of them regularly use the place. My plan is to have 30-40 clients paying either a monthly premium around 30-50 a month or the typical style of programming and the athlete pays for a training package.
Packages?
This ones trickier. Ive been looking at ideas for training packages of 4-12 weeks in duration and 1,2,3, or 4 days a week training periods. Id expect the 1 a week clients to pay the most per session (probably 15) while the 4 a week would be around 8 bucks or less. Overall the 4x/wk would be more but there programs would be the most effective and time consuming.
Lastly, I need to look at training camps. I figure my primary clients are going to be Football, Track, Baseball, and maybe Wrestling. A big one will be pre-season training and Combine Preperation. Lets face it these are not my specialities but bills need to be paid and exposure given. Nothing better than producing a few big name D1 athletes and peoples heads will start turning your direction. So not only do I need equipment but some more training myself. Heres what I got so far....
-Several bands. Probably 3 dozen total varying from micro (5lbs) to a single Monster (200lbs).
-About 150kg in bumper plates
-A few predesigned training programs (although I will personalize when I can)
-4lb, 6lb, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 18lb medicine balls
-A bigass dream
...yea I got a long way to go.
