Biz Beat: A new option to help Get Fit in valley communities

HILMAR -- Michael Valadez gives the highest praise to his Get Fit 24-7 gyms: "I would come to this gym even if I didn't own it."

Valadez, who says he has worked at several area gymnasiums throughout his career, opened a Get Fit location in Hughson three years ago, followed by a site in Newman last year. Now he is getting ready to open a third site, this one in Hilmar this spring.

Get 24-7 is just what it sounds like, with 24-hour key-card access for members. The gym uses a turnstile system that prevents members from letting friends in, Valadez said.

The gyms offer state-of-the-art equipment in smaller communities, where larger gyms don't generally locate. "You can work out in your neighborhood, on your schedule," Valadez said. He said he and his wife are from Newman, "and we had to drive 30 to 40 minutes to work out, and by then you're already burned out."

In addition to weights, machines and cardio equipment, Fit 24-7 offers personal training and boot camp classes, all for about $30 per month, he said.

"And you will never find a gym as clean as our gym," Valadez said.

He said he is looking for more opportunities for expansion. Though his first three gyms are in smaller towns, he said he wouldn't rule out a site in a larger city.

The Hilmar site is set to open in late March or early April. For more information, call (209) 632-0247 or go to www.get-fit-247.com

Elsewhere around the Business Beat:

Modesto has some health club happenings, as well. Elite Health Club Production, a personal training business on McHenry Avenue, opened in November. Owners say the club is a "results- based facility" that offers unlimited personal training, including workouts with TRX systems, kettle bells, tire flipping, agility cones, free weights and more. Nutritionists are available to design eating plans for members.

The club is hosting an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The public is invited to check out the facility and watch fitness demonstrations.

Elite is at 426 McHenry Ave. Call (209) 576-1953.

Blockbuster in Modesto is no more, reports Bee Photo Director Joan Barnett Lee. Staff members at the stores at Orangeburg and Oakdale and Standiford and Sisk said the stores would be closed as of Feb. 9. The remaining area store on Geer Road in Turlock remains open.

Have an item for Business Beat? Contact Patty Guerra at The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto 95352; (209) 578-2343; or pguerra@modbee.com.