By Jill Nagy
At the new Vent Fitness facility in Saratoga Springs members have to share the data collected by their heart-rate monitors. The idea, according to marketing and promotion manager Germaine Wright, is to keep things competitive and to promote “compatibility and camaraderie” and encourage people to “reinvent together.”
The facility, at 307 Broadway, at the corner of Congress Street, is the fifth in the area for Vent Fitness, but the first to feature a studio concept.
Vent has renovated an existing building to provide 4,600 square feet of space. A mid-June “soft opening” is planned with something more celebratory later in the summer. They expect to employ between five and 10 people, including fitness instructors and office staff.
Members will participate in group classes featuring interval training at various levels of difficulty.
Interval training alternates periods of high-intensity exercise with less strenuous intervals. Every student receives a heart-rate monitor and the data is posted on a screen for all to see. Sharing is compulsory, Wright said.
The gym will also have locker rooms and showers, as well as a lounge area, a live DJ to provide music, a shake bar and a retail sales area, selling athletic clothing and gear and other items that might come in handy during a workout.
Wright promises “an amazing experience with high energy, live DJ music, a unique and beautiful facility, and an awesome shake bar.” His target audience is women 35 to 55 years of age, he said. Men are welcome, but he is aiming his message at the women because “they are the decision makers and buyers in this market.”
Costs will vary with single classes at $25, 10-class packages for $198, and memberships that include two classes a week at $99 a month. People joining the Saratoga Springs facility will also have access to Vent’s four other area gyms, in Niskayuna, Guilderland, Latham and Clifton Park. Each has its own combination of facilities. Clifton Park, for example, offers an oxygen bar, tanning equipment and massage. Guilderland has a rock-climbing wall, swimming pool and basketball courts.
Wright comes to his position at Vent Fitness with a background as a chef, a caterer and a dancer, with education in marketing and communication. In addition to his duties promoting Vent Fitness, he owns 8 Count Kitchen, a catering and personal chef service and was an award-winner on the Food Network series “All-Star Academy.”