My Biz: iGYM offers affordable fitness option

CEDAR RAPIDS - The concept for iGYM in Cedar Rapids is a simple one.

The gym offers cheaper monthly dues, no long-term contract to sign and fewer amenities than its larger competitors, while still providing the opportunity to improve overall health and strength on equipment members might not have at home.

Toss in social connection and dedicated customer care, and it's easy to understand why this gym model is adding a second location in southwest Cedar Rapids next month.

iGYM offers personal training, group fitness classes that include yoga or the high-intensity Tabata, cardio equipment, free weights/circuit, strength/functional training equipment and locker rooms and showers.

Unlike the larger workout center formats, there is no swimming pool or running track.

Curtis Meier and his sister, Chelsey Oberreuter, opened their first iGYM at 1100 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE three years ago.

Meier said he developed the idea for a gym with cheaper monthly dues and fewer amenities from a group of gym owners around the country that he meets with several times each year.

'It is kind of a mastermind group,” he explained, 'We bounce ideas off each other and over the years this concept has started to take off.

'I realized there was nothing like it here in Cedar Rapids, so instead of venturing off into another market, we thought it would be a good idea to open up this different brand and structure.”

Meier and his sister are no strangers to the gym business format. Their family owns and works together in the Midwest Athletic Club (MAC) fitness centers in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Fairfax.

General Manager Rachel Williams oversees the day-to-day operations of iGYM.

'We've worked to create an environment that is welcoming and interactive here so that people want to come to the gym,” she said.

'We aren't focused on attracting all crowds. We attract those who just need equipment and simply want to be healthier.”

Williams said iGYM typically does not attract body builders because it doesn't stock the heavier dumbbells they require.

iGYM is open six days a week and offers classes as early as 5:30 a.m. and again at 5:30 p.m.

The monthly fee is $14.99 or $19.99 for the VIP membership.

'The only incentive shared by those two fees is that there is no contract to sign and people get a free iGYM app that shows the class schedules,” Williams explained.

'The incentive for the VIP is free classes, 40 percent discounts on anything we sell, and those members get an unlimited guest pass privilege,” she said. 'They can bring in one person a day with them.”

The appeal of a more approachable solution to personal health is evident in the broad spectrum of iGYM's membership, which ranges from those in their 30s to those approaching 70.

'We have nearly 600 members in the 20-30 age group,” Williams noted, 'but we also have over 700 members in the 40-69 age bracket.”

AT A GLANCE

Owners: Curtis Meier and Chelsey Oberreuter

General manager: Rachel Williams

Business: iGYM

Address: 1100 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids

Telephone: (319) 826-6372

Website: www.iGYMia.com

Know a company in business for more than a year that would make a great My Biz? Contact George C. Ford at george.ford@thegazette.com