HULL—Physical, mental and spiritual health braid into a person’s well-being, according to Shanae Vander Waal and Allie Van Kley. They said their new gym in Hull, Ignite Gym & Fitness, will incorporate all three.
The two women are familiar with N’West Iowa’s fitness and mental health worlds. Vander Waal owns The Gainz Club, another gym in Hull with her husband, AJ. Van Kley is a mental health nurse at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center and previously taught fitness classes in Rock Valley from March to October when she began collaborating with Vander Waal to create a new bridge between physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
The Gainz Club will close when Ignite Gym & Fitness opens Jan. 1 at 1230 Main St., the former Verhoef Custom Woodworking location.
“I have a strong passion for health and fitness,” Van Kley said. “I’ve seen how it’s made positive changes in my life just overall in my overall mental and physical health. I want to bring that to the town of Hull, this community. I feel like everybody here deserves to feel great about themselves, and I want to bring that to them. That’s my passion, my drive behind it. So, it makes me emotional talking about it, but I’m so excited to do this.”
Vander Waal and Van Kley said the hardest part about a workout is getting to the gym — no matter how familiar the setting may be. Creating a comfortable and welcoming environment will be a top priority at Ignite to combat this customer hesitation.
One of the ways to create that inclusivity is through classes.
“It’s really intimidating to start going to the gym,” Vander Waal said. “I did at-home workouts for a really long time. It’s scary — if you don’t have an app or something to follow, it’s really scary. And then there’s people in there that look like they know what they’re doing — I mean, they might not, but they look like they do. It can be really scary to go.
“So, that’s why I love these group classes. You don’t have to plan anything. You can literally show up, you can trust the people there are going to give you a really good workout, and you’re going to feel better at the end of it.”
Vander Waal and Van Kley’s spontaneous meeting occurred when Shanae and AJ began looking at moving to a larger space to expand their gym. Van Kley, a longtime member of The Gainz Club, heard about the plan and wanted in on teaching classes.
“When Allie texted, it was literally like that was God’s working, because that’s something that we both were very intimidated to start with, but then to do together is not near as scary,” Shanae said.
While much of Ignite’s equipment will look the same as The Gainz Club, Vander Waal said she is excited about adding a leg press, a StairMaster and her personal favorite — a training turf with a weighted sled.
“No matter what your goals are, we’ll have something for you,” Vander Waal said.
The new gym also will offer five classes open to all ages at all fitness levels:
- Build 45: Focuses on strength training.
- Shred 45: Combines cardio and weight training.
- Sculpt 45: Uses Pilates techniques and more to shape muscles.
- Step 45: Uniquely combines varieties of aerobics training.
- Ignite Bootcamp: Training using circuits with and without equipment.
There will be morning and evening offerings of classes as well as one to two classes Saturdays depending on staff. Vander Waal and Van Kley said they are looking at six to seven staff members.
To further extend that inclusive invite, all first classes at Ignite are free without any up-front commitment.
“A lot of the people that come to group classes are either girls right out of college, or young moms, or middle-aged moms,” Vander Waal said. “In high school, you’re doing sports; it’s really easy to stay in shape. But once you graduate, you’re just lost. Just having 45 minutes, especially as a mom, that 45 minutes that you’re by yourself, you don’t have your kids — you can just focus on yourself.”
Vander Waal is a mother to 1-year-old Rowan and 6-month-old Stevie. Van Kley and her husband, Nate, are parents to 16-year-old Braxton, 14-year-old Bentley and 11-year-old Kadence. The two women said they know what it feels like to be in a gym newcomer’s shoes but said the leap of courage is worth it.
“I went through some rough patches in my life. All I had to turn to was my faith,” Van Kley said. “Feeling good about myself again, it all started with my faith and getting closer to God, and when I felt better about myself, I really started to work on my outside. I feel like those two go so strongly hand-in-hand. So, that’s what I’m hoping we can bring to this community. Like she said, if you’re intimidated to come in, don’t feel that way.”
The slogan, “Ignite your health, ignite your life,” is a representation of holistic health Vander Waal said the gym will work every day to achieve.
A Bible verse the women decided to be the face of the new gym sounds similar:
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” — Psalm 139:14.
“Our bodies are extraordinary,” Van Kley said. “We’re set apart from everybody else. God knows exactly what he’s doing when he created us. And here at Ignite, we believe that everything starts within. That’s why I get emotional. When we feel good about ourselves inside, that’s when the rest will come. We’re hoping that we can take care of that for you and make you feel that way.”
