SIDNEY — Larry Bell, of Sidney, had been a member of the Power Station gym for more than 12 years when it suddenly closed in April.
He wasn’t the only one to feel that Power Station members felt like a family and the closing felt like the family was breaking up. So Bell, and his wife, Anita, have taken steps to put the family back together.
They purchased the Power Station equipment and Saturday, June 23, will open a new gym, Bar Bell Fitness, at 1445 Vandemark Road, with an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The whole thing happened really fast,” Larry said. “We bought the equipment on a Thursday and on Saturday, bought this building.” He looked at Anita, then, and said, “We got the building. We got the equipment. I guess we’re going to open a gym.”
The Bells already owned Bell Industrial Service, an industrial electrical and mechanical repair business. That operation needed additional space, so the couple had started to construct a new building for it.
The gym, therefore, will grow in stages, because the Vandemark facility is now also a storage facility for the industrial business until its new building is finished.
At the gym, the first stage will have the most of the free weights, cardio machines and exercise equipment available for members to use.
The second stage, which Larry hopes to have open in “a couple of months,” will make all the free weights available in another part of the building.
“We want to separate the free weights from the cardio and exercise machines. Some people are intimidated by (lifters),” Larry said.
In the fall, the third stage will open: a room for aerobics and mixed martial arts. He also plans to have tanning beds.
Single memberships will cost $35 per month or $385 per year. People who sign up for a year during the open house will get a price break: $350 for the year. A family membership for up to four people is available at $700 per year. Members will have access to the gym 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A staff member will be on site during the day, and the Bells plan to hire a certified personal trainer soon.
The first challenge to get the gym going was moving the equipment, Anita said. There are 5,000 pounds of free weights, alone.
“We have more free weights than anyone in Sidney. We match some of the bigger gyms,” Larry said. There are also treadmills, a seated rower, indoor cycles, steppers, a bench press, a shoulder press, an incline and a decline available now. Ellipticals and other machines will be available in Phase 2.
The other challenge has been getting everything ready to open in time, said Tessa Stringfield, of Sidney, the Bell’s daughter. Before the equipment could be set up, the Vandemark building needed a thorough cleaning, from ceiling to carpets to lockers to restrooms.
Why the rush?
“We’re getting so much interest, so many phone calls (asking), ‘How soon can it happen?’” Larry said.
“Everyone (at Power Station) was like family. Some will follow to here,” Anita said.
The Bells are open to suggestions from members about what they’d like to see at Bar Bell Fitness.
“(Opening a) gym was not a plan,” Larry said. But he and Anita look forward to welcoming experienced gym-goers, as well as novices of all ages.
“Older people, senior high school students in football, power lifters, and a lot of people like me who are trying to stay in shape and keep moving,” he said.
