New fitness center gives patrons 24-hour access

By Sara Greene

LITTLE ROCK — Instead of making time for the gym, the gym should make time for you.

That's the philosophy behind 24/7 Fitness Center at 605 Salem Road in the Sherman Heights Shopping Center.

Ty and Tori Miller of Springhill opened the center earlier this month.

"Everybody is busy and sometimes it's hard to find time, so we wanted to remove that obstacle for people," Ty Miller said.

He has a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the University of Central Arkansas.

He said the center's co-owners are Wade and Sissy Collins of Monroe, La. The Collinses started 24-7 Fitness Center more than a year ago there. Miller said with the business framework for a 24-hour gym already established by the Collinses, he and Tori spent many hours in prayer before deciding to open the Conway location.

He said possible customers include students at the city's three institutions of higher education and employees of the 24-hour manufacturing companies.

Like the name implies, patrons can enter the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a door that opens with a membership card tag that fitson a key ring. The bar code on the tag not only unlocks the door, but records who enters the facility and at what time.

"We'll know who is in here and when," Miller said.

Extra security measures include 24-hour surveillance cameras within the fitness center, as well as a security system panic button that summons the police.

The 4,000-square-foot gym is outfitted with new Lift Fitness brand equipment. On one side is a cardio theater that includes seven treadmills, five elliptical machines and three stationary bicycles. All face a wall of seven flat-screen televisions.

On the other side is a sea of weight-training equipment such as dumb bells that weigh up to 100 pounds. There is also a shower, two bathrooms, and two tanning rooms.

Miller said there are four personal trainers available to guide customers through using the equipment comfortably and safely from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

"We tell people we have everything they need to break a sweat," Miller said.

For people who work swing shifts, finding time to work out can be difficult. Just ask Charles Coleman, 27, of Greenbrier.This Houston, Texas, native is a geologist who spends most of his daylight hours working for the natural-gas industry.

"My wife and I come in here at night, usually from 10 p.m. to midnight. I use all the strength equipment, then cardio. It's all nice, good equipment," Coleman said.

Miller said he has spent about five years working at fitness centers throughout Conway.

"The most important thing I've learned along the way is make sure people are taken care of. I was up here at 3:50 a.m. Monday morning. That's just something you have to do sometimes," Miller said.

A native of Lubbock, Texas, Miller said he has a photograph of himself at about age 8 or 10 holding up a pair of dumb bells Christmas morning.

"My father worked out, and I remember how fun it was doing push-ups and sit-ups with him," he said.

Miller attended UCA on a baseball scholarship, which is where he met his wife, Tori, a physical education teacher at Marguerite Vann Elementary in Conway.

"We have 2 1/2-year-old twins, boy and girl, Miles and Avery, so we're pretty busy ourselves," Miller said.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 78 on 09/25/2008