MACON, Ga. — A new 30,000-sq ft. gym is set to open in Macon next week.
Keith and Jolynn Hoogstad are the owners of Legends Fitness in Macon.
It’s located at 4551 Billy Williamson Drive — the old HHGregg building off Presidential Parkway.
“I really want people to know that this is a family-owned business,” Jolynn said. “It’s not a franchise. It’s not a chain.”
It has a pool with four lanes, basketball courts, an aerobics room, a cardio theater, a spin room, and nearly $700,000 in brand new Matrix exercise equipment.
“We offer anything they can imagine we have,” Keith said.
Jolynn says they have 25 treadmills, 25 elliptical machines, rowing machines, and more.
“We’ve got enough cardio for everybody in Macon,” Jolynn said.
There are also ready-to-go meals people can heat up and eat at the gym, as well as saunas in the locker rooms. People can also drop off their kids at the gym’s day care while they work out.
'There is such a sense of family': New gym opens in former Macon HHGregg
Legends will have group fitness classes, personal classes for one-on-one training, and even virtual classes.
Jolynn says those in-person group fitness classes won’t start up until 2021.
Keith says the virtual classes are included in any of the gym’s purchased packages at no extra cost.
“If they were to go on a trip or out of town, they can log into our virtual package with no charge and do a workout while they’re gone,” he said.
This feature is not an accommodation to the pandemic, Keith says. Although the couple does have COVID-19 precautions in place, like having employees solely dedicated to sanitizing equipment and giving gym members personal cleaning towels.
“The thing that honestly really makes this stand out is it’s something that Macon has always needed, always wanted, and never had,” Keith said.
Keith says the response from the community about the new gym has already been overwhelming.
“We really believe that we’re going to be a shining light in the community that’s going to bring everyone together,” he said.
Jolynn has been an International Federation of Body Building professional since 2015, a dietitian of 20 years, and a trainer. Keith says owning a gym like this has been the Hoogstad’s dream for years.
“To walk in there now, it’s overwhelming,” he said.
They’ve opened four gyms across the country, Jolynn said. They’ve been in Georgia for four years now and live in Fort Valley, but Legends is the first gym they’ve opened in the state.
“When they walk in this place, they’re going to feel like there is such a sense of family, that they should have always been there,” Keith said.
The couple invited local artists to paint murals of literal ‘Macon legends’ inside the gym walls. People can feel inspired by the Allman Brothers, Little Richard, Norm Nixon and Otis Redding while getting their workout in.
“We’ve got tribute walls to the city of Macon just everywhere through the gym,” Keith said. “I think people are going to walk in and they’re just going to be totally impressed by what they see. That we truly took Macon to heart and that’s what it’s for.”
Legends is having tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and they’re offering no enrollment fees until they open for the first time on Nov. 1.
Starting Sunday, they’ll be open Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“We just can’t wait to see the look on everybody’s faces when they get to really get in there and workout for the first time,” Keith said.