BUSINESS: All American Fitness Xpress
The season to get back into shape is here. The weeks of holiday celebrations are behind us, as are those pesky new pounds … literally. Edmond’s All American Fitness Xpress 24/7 provides ample opportunity to fulfill that New Year’s resolution to lose weight, especially for those with difficult schedules.
Members of All American Fitness Xpress 24/7, 204 S. Littler off 2nd street, have 24-hour access to the facility, seven days a week, through the use of a key card. The center is staffed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, but members can access the fitness club any time they are in the mood to work out, said owner Jim Benien.
“The Xpress 24/7 facilities were designed specifically for convenience, as opposed to the larger clubs, which are more about the amenities,” he said. Xpress has everything you need to get a good workout, but is great for people to come and go when they want, Benien said.
The Xpress is one of six in the state, all of which are part of the All American Fitness (AAF) Club family. An Oklahoma company, AAF began in 1976 with two locations and now has 13, making it the most diversified fitness company in the state, according to Benien, who is also AAF president.
“The larger clubs have been around for years, but technology has changed dramatically in the past decade, which has allowed us to create a new kind of club, to fill a new niche — convenience,” he said. These technological advances allow the facility to be used safely even when staff members aren’t present. Six to eight cameras are constantly scanning and recording, and the doors remain locked, allowing access only to members with key cards.
Open since March 2007, the Edmond All American Fitness Xpress 24/7 is an 8,400-square-foot facility with an open floor plan and private locker rooms with restrooms and showers. The cardio area has private television viewing, and each piece of cardio equipment – including treadmills, elliptical trainers, recumbent and upright bikes – has its own electronic LCD entertainment system. Xpress resistance equipment includes plate-load and pin-select weight machines, as well as rubber free weights and dumbbells, all on a specialized rubber flooring to provide extra cushion for gym-goers’ joints.
Along with the convenience of 24/7 access, they offer several membership options including month-to-month as well as special student, military and group discounts.
“Our membership tends to come from about a 3-mile radius, and we don’t aggressively market (Xpress 24/7 clubs) because we like to keep the membership numbers down enough to keep them from being overcrowded,” Benien said. For more information, call 562-1100, or visit
www.allamericanfitness.net.
