Retro Fitness Wants to 'Pump. .. You Up!'

Nestled in Norriton Square Shopping Center on East Germantown Pike, Megan Sweitzer and her husband, Jeff, have opened Retro Fitness, a new kind of gym.

Retro Fitness has many features of a conventional gym – it's well lit, bright and friendly, it even has a smoothie bar and a pro-shop that will soon be selling Under Armor apparel – but it's also a bit different from your average fitness center. For one thing, it's got cardio room that doubles as a full-scale theater where predominantly '80s movies are shown throughout the day. Tanning is also available for guests for $9.99 a month and has become so popular that the gym is going to purchase another tanning bed.

The response has already been fantastic from the local community. In its first two weeks open, the gym doubled its membership.

The Sweitzers decided to open a branch after Jeff Sweitzer was a regular client of a Retro Fitness in New Jersey.

“He would come home and tell me about this fantastic, low-key gym that had a theater that he worked out at with friends from work,” said Megan. “We wanted to
contribute something positive to the community and to people’s health, and this was a great franchise opportunity.”

Retro Fitness has a couple of other sites regionally. Guests enjoy a full locker room with storage facilities and showers, a range of different weights, cardio equipment, and other workout stations. Membership is $19.99 a month, and signing up entitles you to one free training session.

Nick Rueger, the trainer on staff, informed passersby that the current week’s focus was on abs and legs, but that every week would center on something different. Rueger emphasized the importance in his training sessions of keeping each group capped off at a small number so that all participants could get equal attention.

While staff trainers are definitely a draw, Sweitzer can't dismiss the popularity of the movie theater.

“Guests have told me that watching a movie helps to make them lose track of time and work out for longer,” she said.

Sweitzer and staff said that while there is an '80s theme to the establishment, there is a diverse age range in the customers that visit the gym. Child care is available for visitors to the gym to encourage moms and dads to comfortably come and work out. For $9.99 a month, customers get unlimited child care for one child, with $4.99 a month for each additional child. And if you refer friends and family to Retro Fitness, you are able to earn RetroBucks, a point system which then allows you to purchase smoothies, power bars and other gym items easily.

Sweitzer is interested in showing new potential members around the space. Check out our video tour of Retro Fitness at right or call 484-681-4370 for a live tour. For more information, go to www.retrofitness.net.

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