Meadow Lake fitness expansion aims to meet growing demand for more options

“There’s lots of shift workers,” she said. “There’s lots of guys that work 12-hour shifts. Lots of women are working 12-hour shifts that we’re not able to really hit with our classes.”

“So I think just having more options for people is just going to make it more accessible for people, whatever their schedule looks like.”

Demmans and her partner took over the gym in 2024 and began looking to expand about a year ago after finding they did not have enough room for plans that included sports-specific training and 24-hour access.

They purchased a lot last year, but changed course after the Atomic Sports building became available this spring.

“It honestly kind of seated into like the perfect fit and something that we were kind of looking for originally,” Demmans said. “It just wasn’t available at the time.”

The project is being completed in two phases.

The front 5,000 square feet will become a 24-hour gym, a hot mat, Pilates and yoga studio, a Supplement World location and six wellness rooms. Work is underway, with completion targeted for mid-fall.

Once that is finished, work is expected to begin on the remaining 5,000-square-foot warehouse, potentially during the winter. Plans call for the CrossFit operation to move into the space alongside a large athletic training area, Olympic lifting platforms and a recovery studio with a sauna and cold plunge.

The gym’s lease at its current location runs until next May, which Demmans said is the latest the move could be pushed.

Behind the expansion, she said, is growing awareness of the role fitness can play in long-term health.

“We’ve just seen just a lot more people aware of what fitness and kind of like a healthy community can do for them, whether that’s mentally or physically,” Demmans said.

She said strength training generates many of the inquiries she receives, from people wanting to learn how to lift or looking for programming. Youth athletes are also seeking conditioning and instruction on how to lift.

The gym’s programs for children and teenagers between six and 16 are among its largest year-round classes and are expected to expand in the new building. Most current members are between 30 and 60, while the gym also offers a class for people 65 and older.

“Any fitness is good fitness,” Demmans said. “Like it doesn’t need to look the same for everybody.”

The project will also bring several local wellness businesses into the building. Demmans said all of the professionals who have signed leases so far are established locally.

She said having trainers and wellness professionals in the same space could allow someone experiencing an issue during a class to be connected directly with another professional in the building.

“Being able to refer them directly to a professional right in the building is gonna be a game changer just in the scheme of the wellness continuum,” she said.

The larger vision is to create a place where people can do more than work out.

“The vision is to create like a healthy hangout spot, have like a healthy hangout spot for kids after school,” she said.

“Just have something for everybody there and just get people moving in different ways, however they want to get moving.”

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kenneth.cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Meadow Lake fitness expansion aims to meet growing demand for more options

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