Ground Floor: Cedar Rapids gym emphasizes working out with science

Bruce Elgin, with his wife, Erin, founded their first Thrive Gym in 2015 to counteract what he called 'bro-science' that he believed was permeating the fitness industry.

Elgin specifically was frustrated with the way in which ideas of questionable scientific credibility seemed to spread. He wanted to provide a place where clients could get workout and nutrition advice based on actual research, not anecdotal evidence.

'As a personal trainer and teaching at other places, I got dissatisfied with how most gyms don't focus on the client,' Elgin said. 'I wanted to give people the equipment and training that will actually help them.'

At that point, Elgin had been 'hanging around the fitness industry for a long time,' he said. As a longtime martial arts instructor, conditioning coach and personal trainer, he had done extensive research on conditioning and fitness approaches.

'After a lot of thinking and going through the numbers, we decided to try it out and do it right,' he said of opening that first gym. 'A buddy and I built out most of it ourselves, and people loved it.'

But the location, tucked away by the Coralville Hy-Vee, was small, lacking room for showers and other amenities.

'It just wasn't the right size for us,' Elgin said.

That gym closed in June 2016, and Elgin started looking for a new location and a business partner-investor.

He found the latter in Dr. Kaaren Vargas. Vargas, a pediatric dentist, had been a martial arts student of Elgin's and a client of the old gym. She shared Elgin's passion for science-based fitness.

As for the location, Elgin found a highly visible location in Coralville off Oakdale Boulevard, adjacent to a residential neighborhood and easily accessible from downtown Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty.

The lease was signed in late December, but the space required a significant build-out.

'Getting through construction was the biggest challenge,' Elgin said. 'It was a very complicated build because this isn't a little box gym. We have so many things going on here.'

Those things include a full demo kitchen for healthy cooking classes and individual changing rooms with showers, both of which Elgin said are rare finds in a gym. Other amenities include a sprint track, a coffee and smoothie bar, a children's room with a climbing wall, and an on-site massage therapy.

After months of construction, the gym opened for business on Oct. 19.

'It was fun switching from construction helper mode to running a gym mode,' Elgin said.

Elgin said that Thrive Gym offers an array of fitness equipment and classes that allow people to train in different ways. Members can hoist sandbags, pull sleds or wield sledgehammers for a workout. They even can play a game on the gym's hopscotch and four-square grids.

'Our focus is to provide a place that's fun and offers a lot of different options,' Elgin said. 'Cardio doesn't have to be time on a treadmill. We don't want people to get bored.'

[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 60px;"]AT A GLANCE

Owners: Bruce Elgin and Dr. Kaaren Vargas

Business: Thrive Gym

Address: 2205 E. Grantview Dr., Coralville

Telephone: (319) 499-1009

Website: www.thrivegym.com

Know a business in operation for less than a year that would make an interesting 'Ground Floor'? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com