Anytime Fitness plans 4th Q-C location

ROCK ISLAND -- A 24-hour fitness chain plans to open its fourth Quad-Cities site by the end of this month in a strip mall at 1733 30th St.

Franchise co-owner Heather DelVecchio and her husband, Paul, opened their first club last month next to Ace Hardware, 985 Avenue of the Cities, Silvis.

"It's gone really well. The club looks great, people love the concept of it," Ms. DelVecchio said. "It's working out great."

There are 1,000 Anytime Fitness locations across the country, including ones on 53rd Avenue in Bettendorf and Northwest Boulevard in Davenport, run by other franchise owners.

"We just felt there was a need in that area of Rock Island for our particular niche," Ms. DelVecchio said. "There's nothing else like this at all. It's a brand-new concept to the Quad-Cities. We kind of spread it out and hit all the areas."

Members access the club 24/7 with an electronic key fob. There is a guest entrance that is unlocked only during staffed hours - 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Surveillance cameras survey every corner of the clubs 24 hours a day. Special security necklaces are available free for women or those with serious health conditions, with a button that will contact 911, Ms. DelVecchio said.

Anytime Fitness has very minimal staff, doesn't offer classes, and only admits those age 18 and older, she said.

"It's kind of a fitness boutique -- what a majority of people use the majority of the time," Ms. DelVecchio said. At other fitness clubs, many times the "classroom may be empty, but members are still paying for it," she said.

"We don't do pools, tracks or basketball. That's not who we are. It's for the person who wants to get in any time, get their business in, and get out," Ms. DelVecchio said. Each location has a personal trainer available for orientations and one-on-one consultation.

Like other Anytime Fitness Clubs, the 3,800-square-foot Rock Island site will be outfitted with the latest, state-of-the-art cardio-exercise equipment with individual LCD screens. It also has full circuit trainers and strength machines with free weights.

Salon-quality tanning will be available for an additional fee for club members, Ms. DelVecchio said.

There are separate men's and women's restrooms with showers, but no locker rooms or child-care services, she said.

In addition to televisions in the club, the treadmills are iPod-compatible - with a docking station where you can charge the iPod and the contents show up on the machine screen, Ms. DelVecchio said. You can use that to watch movies or TV shows on the iPod.

So far, there about 150 members at the Silvis club, and members can use any of the locations nationwide, Ms. DelVecchio said.

Memberships are typically $25 to $30 a month, depending on the term of membership (12- 18- or 24-months), with discounts for senior citizens, police, firefighters, members of the armed forces and teachers.

One member can sign up a spouse or an adult child for an additional $19 a month, Ms. DelVecchio said.

"There's a lot of cool technology the franchise has built in," she said, noting the security system brings up the member's picture on a screen when his or her key is swiped.

"The nice thing is that it's not staffed 24 hours a day, which for the owner is key," Ms. DelVecchio said. "It's a way to keep the overhead down. The biggest headaches associated with a business are with employees - the taxes, insurance."

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