gengo.ca | Generation GO

What do you get when you combine a geologist and an investment fund manager? A neighbourhood cross training community centre, that’s what.  RPM’s owners, Mike Peshko and Marcus Turner, waded into the world of gym life back in April 2006 after being teased with the notion of starting something “active” , stoked by their participation in multiple marathons, bike racing and adventure racing.

“We thought we would go into adventure retail, then some hybrid of retail, coffee shop and gym and it migrated  to what we are today, a neighbourhood alternative to the big gym” mentioned Mike. In RPM, they have combined a unique blend of spinning, gravity and personal training situated just west of High Park’s front entrance in an airy 2 1/2 story lounge-gym. You can perceive the intentional dialing back of the hyper-competitive cyclist instinct by the pastel-colour laden messages on their first stairway landing  “improve”, “energy”, “balance”  and “strength” – the atmosphere feels more zen and less Lance Armstrong.

Marcus adds “‘we recognize that gyms suffer from the interested, eager person who tries the venue out for a month and never comes back again. In our experience, creating fitness routines in a social environment keeps people coming back. Whereas big gyms have high levels of lapsed users that may feel depersonalized attention , we tend to have high degree of loyal, committed members who view us as a much looked forward to part of their social week.”

What is the appeal of spinning? Misery loves company- spinning combines the appeal of a great fitness experience, that provides good cross training and low impact cardio wrapped up in a music-based and social environment. It’s a solid formula. Most of our members are not serious bicyclists, some don’t even own a bike but love the idea of spinning as a fitness experience they enjoy, not far from their front door, two or three times per week. It’s one of the reasons why in summer, we don’t slow down as much as other spinning gyms since we don’t have a high percentage of cyclists who abandon ship and get outside for summer.

What is “gravity” and why combine it in your gym? Gravity is similar to spinning in that it is group-led, low impact cardio training but it provides more core strength, muscle toning across all your muscle groups.  It’s particularly interesting for many of the women in our club who don’t want to bulk up but want to combine cardio, muscle toning and flexibility exercises in their time-stressed lives. We were the first gravity and spinning studio in the region and believe our ability to provide enough space and focus to these two activities allows us to provide our members with a better overall experence.

What types of people are attracted to RPM? There tends to be two types – the type A – perhaps business person or competitive person who wants an intense experience that challenges them and the type B person – who ordinarily might not join a gym, but like the social fitness regimen we have pulled together here. The great thing is both these groups can co-exist as spinning and gravity are both activities that you can go out at your own pace at the same time.

What are three innovative characteristics of RPM? Although we think we have a great concept, it really comes down to the quality of our instructors. Each one of our 20 instructors lead dynamic lives outside of our studio. This builds their own rapport and a following among members.  The fact that we have combined spinning, gravity and personal training in one studio and specialize in those areas separates us from the chain gym experience.  We’d also add that since we both live in Bloor West/High Park, we have a good feel for what makes sense in this neighbourhood. Small touches like offering babysitting in a very family-oriented neighbourhood just makes sense to offer with such a young family clientele.

You mentioned instructors, what makes for a good fitness instructor? We don’t look for a given personality stereotype – the jock, the hard body, the technical. We focus on their passion. Do they have passion in their own lives. Do they get interested when their members start losing pounds or discover the fountain of youth again. With less and less face-to-face social contact in people’s lives, people really want to workout with instructors who can not only lead them, but also connect with them and genuinely care about them.

What’s next for RPM? Short term? Long term? With the high percentage of schools in our area, we’re offering a  “Teacher’s Special” for summer – join for July during the summer break and get August free.  We’ve also just introduced TRX suspension training on the first floor that “makes your body, your machine” using your whole body as resistance. We think it will appeal to those people that want to take it up a notch and mix in intense workouts between spinning and gravity.

The Go Breakdown: RPM

For the hardcore GOer – consider individual functional training sessions with TRX suspension training mixed in with 1-2 spinning and gravity sessions each week

For the weekend warrior GOer - mix in gravity with spinning sessions together when it best suits you, with over 40 class times per week to choose from, and purchase based on our RPM card packages of 50 to 100 points – Spinning being 6 pts. and Gravity being 8 pts.

For the newbie GOer – consider an introductory Gravity session – come early and our instructors will make you feel comfortable and put you through the paces, learning what the equipment does and coaching on posture and movement for optimal training

The Experience 411:

RPM Spinning & Gravity Studio    2109 Bloor St. West    www.RPMstudio.ca 416-761-9717

Features: 20 Startrek Spinning bikes and 8 Gravity system equipment, personal training area, babysitting area, towels & change rooms, retail clothing area

Schedule:  See web schedule

Neighbourhood: High Park, located next door to bike store Wheels of Bloor and across from the Running Room High Park

Owners: Mike Peshko and Marcus Turner

Rates: Drop Ins: $17 Spinning/$23 Gravity or $219/$175/$125 for Gold/Silver/Bronze card package

Founded: April, 2006, voted best fitness club Bloor West by local newspaper