Local Gym Owner Wants You to Become a Rascal

What's the number one reason Americans do not frequent their local gyms?

Personally, I thought the answer would be, "I don't have the time."

*buzz* Wrong. In actuality 82 percent of Americans do not go to the gym, and the number one reason? Intimidation. So, the battle against that is the core philosophy of Limerick Township's newest gym, Rascals Fitness Center, 463 W. Ridge Pike.

Owned and operated by Marc Polignano, a Spring-Ford High School graduate and current resident of Schwenksville, Rascals opened in North Coventry in January 2008. The Limerick location opened up on March 15 of this year.

Polignano is also a graduate of West Chester University, where he received a degree in physical education. He opened up his first health club in Collegeville in 1990 called Body Transit. When he sold the club in Collegeville in 2004 to a different owner, Polignano took a job at ACAC in West Chester as Director of Business Development. ACAC is a large health and wellness center, known as the largest for-profit center on the East Coast, located on Boot Road in West Chester.

A few years later, Polignano thought about health clubs as a whole and wanted to do something unique.

"I put together the Rascal model when I got back in the industry, because I wanted to try and attack the deconditioned believer – the guy that says 'Look, I need to work out, I know I do, but I’m just not doing it,' or the girl that says 'Yeah, yeah, I know, but I’m just not doing it,'" said Polignano.

Intimidation, Polignano said, is the main factor for most people.

"Intimidation as in someone might have body issues and is not comfortable in the typical health club environment," Polignano explained. "Or they don’t want to see the meathead at the gym – the guy that throws the weights around, rips off his shirt and checks out babes. So, we try and have a non-intimidating environment. That 82 percent also says health clubs are dirty. We diamond polish the concrete floors, because we can dust mop them every shift.

"There’s not enough equipment in my health club. We have 20 treadmills. The treadmill is probably the most popular piece. We probably have more treadmills than in facilities four times our size. They say the price is too high. We’re a value club. The most you’re ever going to pay is $19.99 per month. That option includes both locations, you can tan if you’re into it, you can bring in guests for free, you get a printed custom workout for you with a system called ActivTrax and 10 percent off of any protein shake at our front desk."

The current promotion runs through the end of March, which is $5.99 to join. Polignano said that promotion will probably be extended until the end of April, but it is not definite yet. After joining, members pay $19.99 per month, and once a year pay an equipment maintenance fee of $39, which is paid in October.

The tanning beds are standup at the Limerick location, but with membership, customers can also use the North Coventry location, which is six miles away, and has lay-down tanning beds.

ActivTrax is also offered in the membership, which is a custom-designed program that can be used at home or in the gym's facilities.

"We’re the only club in this area that has this system," Polignano said. "It was important to me that we weren’t perceived as a bait and switch company. We weren’t going to be like you can join for only $19 a month and you get all this stuff, but if you want help, you’re going to have to pay for it. To me that wasn’t fair, because a lot of the people we attract never exercised before. We have conditioned athletes, but we also have your mom, because we’re non-intimidating."

After doing some research, Polignano found the Maryland-based company, which was started by 10 personal trainers. The system has a nutritional component to it, along with its custom-designed exercise programs, which are created for each individual user upon completion of a strength test and quick questionaire.

After that, users get a custom-printed workout to carry around the gym and track results. If users need to drop or increase the weight or repetitions, they can go home, entered their results in the system and the workout adapts for the next time it is printed.

"It gets to know you in a period of time," said Polignano. "You do this for 10 weeks and you have a pretty customized workout plan that’s free. ActivTrax came up and did training with my staff. They said most clubs that have it charge between $5 and $20 a month. That’s our membership and we give it away for free. To me, the value is important and exercise is perceived value. You can have the best health club in the world that has everything in there, but if the price isn’t correct, you’re not getting the value."

Polignano said the juice bar just opened up this week, and members get 10 percent off purchases there, which offers recovery drinks for post-workout. The bar is sponsored by Performance Food Corporation, located on Airport Road. Also coming soon, with hopes of beginning on May 1, is the GXT Program, or Group Cross Training.

GXT is designed to be a dynamic exercise room. With personal training prices in the $35 - $80 per session range, Polignano decided to offer group training at $12 per session, where five to seven individuals can take a class with a personal trainer in a separate room. Packages can be purchased in groups of five to 20, and are deducted on a per-use basis.

The titles of the classes will be designed for certain niches, too. They’ll have strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, dynamic balancing aspects, TRX, light resistance, and some plyometric exercises.

"Some other studios have it all in one room," Polignano said. "We have a whole gym next to us. So you can go out there and do your cardio and come in here warmed up and ready to go. The floor is made for indoor basketball courts on a second deck situation. It’s low impact and can handle the bounce of a ball. You can turn your brain off. They’ll be 45-minute classes. The whole idea is to bring exercise to everyone and cost in this environment right now is a major obstacle to people."

Polignano said the community is an important aspect in the success of the Limerick Rascals location.

"We’re very customer-centered," he said. "If they want us to be here, they will respond by joining. My job is to keep the doors open, keep the facility clean, operational and kind of expound our mission, which is mass community participation in exercise. If the people buy into that, we’ll be hugely successful. I chose this location because there’s nothing like us around and there seems to be a lot of interest in exercise. I think we’ll do well."

Rascals is open 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday. Polignano is happy to be close to home again.

"It’s exciting to be back closer to home," he concluded. "It’s been since 2004 since I’ve been in this area on a health club basis. Anyone who remembers Marc from Collegeville, ORIGINAL owner of Body Transit, feel free to stop by and check us out."