Chris Massey and Jennifer Berry have shared a passion for living a healthy and active lifestyle for years. Before they opened Iron Jungle Gym on June 1st of 2018, the pair considered themselves “gym hoppers.”
“We’d leave a gym because it didn’t have enough equipment or wouldn’t have something we wanted, so we’d hop over to the next gym. At one point, we had multiple gym memberships, which became costly,” says Jennifer.
The couple began to envision a gym that would “have it all.” They bought and stockpiled exercise machines and gym supplies, hosted garage workouts with friends, and eventually had eight storage units full of gym equipment, in hopes that one day the equipment would be in their own gym facility.
“We knew we had to have something that set our gym apart from the rest of the gyms in town. It had to be unique and something no one else was doing. Our mentor, Bob Brown with Victory Fitness in Ohio, and owner of several gyms, encouraged us to have a section dedicated to women, only.”
The women-only section is a spacious and private area in the facility boasting a row of pink treadmills, free weights, and machines. Female personal trainers are staffed and childcare is available during select hours. Women have the ability to focus on one area of the body or they can do a full body workout.
“We have a lady who drives from out of town to come here just for the Women Only section, because she feels comfortable in the space. She’s lost 75 lbs. Women who have a corporate membership from their place of work will come by and use the women’s only section during their lunch break and then pick up a healthy meal from Gourmet Meals to Go to take with them.”
Jennifer says that members become like family and many women have shared their stories with her.
“Couples will exercise together as a hobby, but when children come into the picture, it becomes an excuse for the mother to stay home, while the father continues to workout. Women develop self-confidence issues or can be intimidated without knowing how to use the equipment. Having a safe and friendly environment with women encouraging each other makes them want to come to Iron Jungle Gym. With childcare offered, it becomes a healthy lifestyle for the family. Children can play in our supervised play area or attend our Kid’s Strength and Agility class for 8-12 year olds.”
IJG member, Sarah Robinson believes the “family feel, space of the facility, variety of equipment, group classes and the Women Only section,” is what makes Iron Jungle Gym special.
Membership includes two free sessions with a personal trainer, who can set goals and teach members how to operate and effectively use all of the equipment, 24-hour access to the facility, group fitness classes, tanning, access to basketball courts, access to the cardio area and child care for select hours.
