Published January 2006

Blitz caters to older men
wanting to get fit

Hey! Pay attention! This is for you guys 35 to 65. Listen up. This isn’t your usual yada-yada-yada about New Year’s resolutions and working out in those intimidating young-and-buff gyms to improve your health.

It’s about getting more out of life by being healthy now and arriving at your retirement years in a shape (internally and externally) that lets you enjoy it.

Ask the tough questions.

Do you get down on the floor to play with your grandkids — but can’t get up?

Are you 40, but feel like you’re 60 — or do you want to feel like you’re 40 when you reach 60?

Is your weight up, your muscle tone down, your blood pressure high and your energy level low?

Then it’s time for you to sign up for The Blitz in Marysville, a new cross-training, 20-minute exercise program specifically designed for older men to build muscle, reduce body fat, burn calories, increase flexibility and bone density and improve circulation, while lowering cholesterol and reducing arthritis pain.

What’s not to like about that? (Yes, the program will work for you younger guys, too.)

Opened in September by co-owners Nancy Broberg-Fraser and Victoria Richter, it’s the first Blitz exercise center in Washington state and one of more than 200 of the franchises started since 2002, when Scott Smith of Kansas City, Kansas, created The Blitz concept. Today, it’s the fastest growing men’s fitness movement in the world.

“It’s all about health and family. That’s why we’re here,” Broberg-Fraser said, explaining that she and Richter have seen friends die prematurely and needlessly from exercise-deficient lifestyles.

The Blitz is swiftly gaining popularity with men simply because it works. Well, it works if you do, they’re quick to tell you.

“Just signing up — as many do in January for their New Year’s resolutions — and then not showing up doesn’t change anything,” said Richter. “For those who do keep coming back, the results have been amazing.”

Snohomish County Business Journal/ JOHN WOLCOTT Victoria Richter, co-owner of The Blitz in Marysville, with regulars Andrew Wolfe (seated) and Allen Mackey, who have found health benefits with the 20-minute program.

One of those success stories is Allen Mackey of Marysville, whose wife works at a Curves franchise and urged him to try The Blitz. In four months, he not only lost 15 pounds and inches off his waist but also improved a precarious health condition that includes recovering from prostate cancer.

“Best of all, it wasn’t just the weight loss. I reduced body fat and increased muscle in my body,” said Mackey, who described himself as “not a physical person and not active … I just laid around and ate,” until he became much more aware that he needed better health. “I didn’t want to work out with the body builders in the regular gyms, but this has been fun here, and I feel better.”

For Andrew Wolfe, who owns Harmony Massage in Arlington’s Smokey Point business district and practices martial arts, The Blitz took off weight and waistline inches as well as energizing him.

“I like it because it’s a short workout that fits my restrictive schedule. There’s a low-key, friendly atmosphere, and these guys, all shapes and sizes, have become like family, good friends,” Wolfe said.

The Blitz exercise sessions involve moving through a series of workouts on various equipment, shifting every 30 seconds to the next of 10 stations, then around the circuit a second time, then stretch time. The Blitz features fast (well, maybe not at first) 20-minute workouts, instead of the 30-minute exercise circuits provided by Curves.

Custom-designed equipment, similar to Curves’ machines, substitutes hydraulic resistance systems for weight-based equipment found at typical gyms and health clubs, making them much easier to use.

Did I mention the personal trainers who give you advice and guidance in your workout, track your progress and throw in sensible-eating nutrition tips? And, you get all of the above for $35 a month.

If all of that sounds to your wife like The Blitz is a “Curves for men” approach to good health, it’s because it is. When Smith, who previously owned two Curves studios, looked at national death statistics from heart disease and 14 other leading causes, he discovered men were dying years ahead of women in every category.

That’s a really scary achievement, guys.

When Smith realized that men past their late 20s had no convenient, attractive opportunity comparable to Curves for improving their health, a new business venture was born. The Blitz concept attracted so many idle potato-chip munchers and Bratwurst gulpers that growing demand from this untapped consumer market spurred the franchise program that brought The Blitz to Marysville.

Richter, who previously traveled the country opening new Curves studios, started the Marysville Blitz with sister-in-law Broberg-Fraser. Both experienced personal trainers, the women offer professional advice, health progress monitoring and encouragement to their clients.

Worried about how expensive it might be to buy new clothes after your body shape changes?

“If you don’t do anything about getting healthier, start thinking about the cost of buying larger clothes,” Richter said.

Yes, I joined.

More information is available at The Blitz, 11605 State Ave., Suite 104, Marysville, at www.timetoblitz.com or by calling 360-657-2707.

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