Name of Gym: Weik Fitness
Names of Owners: Matt Weik, BS, CSCS, CPT, CSN
Address:
Private Residence in Wernersville, PA
Number Of Members: Varies
Square Feet: 1,500 sq ft
Website: www.mattweik.com
Email: mcwtrainer@aol.com
Hours of Operation: By appointment only
Number of Trainers on Staff: 1
1. How did the gym start and why did you decide to begin (or work within) the gym business.
Weik Fitness was created for the simple fact that people don't always want to feel like they are being watched in the gym. Many people who feel they are overweight are very self-conscious about their looks and feel even though they are at the gym for a good reason (to lose weight), they feel that they are looked at differently. I wanted a place where clients can workout without monthly membership fees, without people surrounding them, without people hogging up machines, and without people bothering them with annoying cell phones. Ultimately a place where they can focus on fitness while blocking out all outside distractions.
Cellar, beware. Matt Weik's preparing to raise the roof with heavy curls.
2. Can you give us a description on what went into opening your awesome establishment?
It wasn't a hard decision or even any down-sides to opening. It was a matter of finding the equipment I wanted, ordering it and getting everything set up the way I wanted. There isn't anything that can't be done in the studio.
3. What makes your gym different?
Rather than a "judgment free" gym this is a "distraction free" gym. You want to be a hardcore powerlifter and throw some heavy weight around you may. You want to become the best athlete you can and train sport specific you may. You want to get lean for the summer or for a special occasion you may. You want to bulk up and put on some quality lean mass you may. There isn't just one specific way to train in the gym and has everything anyone would need. Want to kick-box? There's a bag. Want to work on footwork and get in a good cardio session? There's an agility ladder. For a studio, you cannot beat everything here.
4. What sort of people do you attract into your gym?
Anyone and everyone. From soccer moms to the elderly looking to stay active. From student athletes to professional athletes. There's no discrimination or people turned away. If you want to get in the best shape of your life and live a healthy lifestyle, my door is always open to talk and help.
Weik's workouts go from pedal to metal in no time flat.
5. What inspires people to train at you facility?
People like training at Weik Fitness because it is more than just moving weights around and doing cardio. The people that train here learn something. There is no cookie cutter program or diet and people understand why they do certain things and what they should be looking for a feeling while exercising. This isn't a place where reps are counted all session long and nothing else takes place. If people aren't learning so they understand why they do certain things then they really have no reason to trust you or any trainer they work with.
A good trainer doesn't string their clients along that they feel they have to stay with the trainer for the rest of their life. My goal is to help them get a better understanding so one day they won't need me. I'll always be there for support and guidance, but they wouldn't necessarily need to work with me because they will know and understand what they need to do in order to reach a certain goal.
6. Do you have any top trainers and why are they so good?
I (Matt Weik) am a certified personal trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist, as well as a certified sports nutritionist. I have been training since 2002 and have worked with rehab patients, athletes, elderly, pregnant women, celebrities, and kids. I held a class that I created at a local school district to get the community involved in physical activity and exercise. Each session was held in a school fitness room where there were between 20-40 people each session that came to learn something new about health/fitness and to get in a workout created and customized by me. My background is in kinesiology.
7. What special services do you provide?
One-on-one personal training as well as group training. Athletes also have customized sport specific routines to fit their given sport.
8. Who are your most notable present and past members?
Unfortunately with client confidentiality I am not at liberty to give out names.
9. What was the hardest part about operating your gym?
There honestly isn't a hard part to operating the gym. I love the interaction of clients with my business and know the clients appreciate the way I conduct business. From an operation standpoint just knowing when you turn the lights on that lives will be changed is all I need to keep pushing forward. I'll keep doing what I'm doing until I can no longer complete my duties and continue changing lives.
10. What makes you competitive over the other gym chains?
No comparison as it's like comparing apples to oranges. They all have monthly contracts/payments to use the gym. My gym you only pay when you train. The other gyms you never truly have a one-on-one experience because you have hundreds of members that can be using the gym at the same time. My gym is strictly one-on-one unless people ask to train as a group. Why pay a monthly fee to use the gym and then pay a trainer on top of that? You're looking at hundreds of dollars a month to do so.
Why not cut out the gym membership and simply pay to train? I don't have goofy initiation fees and all that garbage that there is really no reason to charge for. On top of that you don't have a trainer that simply counts reps for you, you have a trainer who is focused on getting you in the best shape of your life in the quickest amount of time possible. You get a trainer that is focused on you. No distractions. Period.
For once, screams from the basement aren't cause to dial 911. Someone's just getting dialed in.
11. How have you been able to remain so successful and how do you hope to remain so?
I pride myself in the service I provide. I go above and beyond what is expected of a trainer and gym. My focus is on the client in front of me and getting them in the best shape of their life. I strive to not only have each client think of me as their trainer, but also as a friend. If you do not have a good relationship with your client, it makes for a bad environment.
Someone doesn't want to train if they don't feel comfortable around you and that they have your undivided attention. Each client gets 100% of my time and focus at the gym. There are no distractions and although each session will be grueling and intense, they are always fun. As long as I maintain the core values I have in place for myself and my gym, the sky is the limit for the future.
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