New gym opens in THOR building
Rachel Capeder does a set of exercises using free-weights under the supervision of personal trainer Grace Witthuhn. According to Witthuhn, personal training agreements begin with a fitness assessment and a fitness consultation. Witthuhn charges $70 for every 60-minute session. Photo by Cirien Saadeh
By Cirien Saadeh | Staff Reporter
If you’re looking for a community to get healthy with, ME & I Fitness is North Minneapolis’ newest effort. The locally-owned gym seeks to “motivate, educate, and inspire people” people to a healthier way of life, while also giving them the chance to put themselves first. The gym’s name plays on those dual goals. The “ME” is pronounced “M.E.” and the “ME & I” stands for “motivate, educate, and inspire.”
Jeffrey Scott, owner of ME & I Fitness and North High School graduate, also owns an emotional intelligence consulting firm. The gym is owned by that firm. Photo by Cirien Saadeh
The gym, which opened the first week of Sept. 2018 in the new THOR Companies building (1256 Penn Ave.), is owned by Jeffrey Scott, a longtime Northsider. Scott calls the gym his “homecoming,” after leaving a 25-year career in the financial sector. He also has over a decade of personal training experience on the side and he still owns an emotional intelligence consulting business.
“The whole idea is we want to motivate people to take control of their lives and make changes that impact their lives, educate them about how to do that, and inspire them to move forward and actually take the action. Ultimately that is the bottom line,” said Scott.
ME & I Fitness focuses on functional fitness. The gym offers both group training and personal training, alongside neuro rehab therapy/sports training, as well as several fitness classes with the hope to grow to somewhere between 25-30 classes a week. According to Scott, Saturday’s Body Pump class is particularly popular and they hope to begin offering “Strong by Zumba” (think workout routines set to music by the producer Timberland, instead of dance) in December. They also have functional training equipment, including kettlebells, medicine balls, and resistance bands, alongside a whole host of cardio equipment, including wifi-enabled treadmills.
ME & I Fitness is home to a large empty area of grassy turf which members can use for a variety of exercises. Machines can be moved around the space as needed. Photo by Cirien Saadeh
The gym is 18+, but for younger athletes doing performance training alongside parent supervision. Locker rooms are unisex, with mirror-less individual showers and bathrooms, and a shared sink and mirror space. Scott currently employs five personal trainers, including himself, and more trainers are welcome to rent space at the gym for a daily rate.
“As a trainer, my focus is functional movement and then improving your overall quality of life. Aesthetic goals follow from that,” said Grace Witthuhn, a trainer who joined the gym around a month ago. According to Wittthuhn she likes the gym because of Scott’s focus on a clean space and its community-oriented mindset. Witthuhn joined the gym alongside a client of hers, Rachel Capeder.
“It’s a really great space. So welcoming. People are really helpful,” said Capeder, who like Witthuhn, travels from St. Paul to workout at the new gym, often at 6am in the morning, if not earlier. “The feeling of accomplishment from doing the workouts, that’s my favorite part of this.”
The gym is open seven days a week. On Monday through Friday, it is open from 6am-9pm. Saturday’s hour are 8am-6pm. On Sunday, they are open from 11am-3pm.
For those interested in signing up, stop by the gym during any of its open hours, register online, or through its app, “ME&I Fitness.” Membership pricing, along with group and personal training pricing, is available on the company’s website. There is also a daily drop-in rate of $10/day and a class drop-in rate of $15.