Local fitness business owners get building into shape

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Inside the new Raise the Bar Fitness facility on Business Highway 75, students who plan to compete in track and field work out under the direction of Darin Dunn, owner of Raise the Bar Fitness. The business, along with In The Rhythms Health and Fitness, opened in the previously vacant building just south of the Le Mars Truck Stop this month. [Click to enlarge]

That's the idea behind the two new fitness businesses opening up in a building on Business Highway 75.

In The Rhythmz Health and Fitness and Raise the Bar Fitness began business this month in a building that was formerly home to Bomgaars and later Dollar General, just south of the Le Mars Truck Stop.

Darin Dunn

Between the two businesses, they offer everything from dance-based workout routines to athletic agility exercises and mixed martial arts training for cage fighting.

Darin Dunn, of Le Mars, is the owner of Raise the Bar Fitness.

Training people for strength and agility is a passion of his, Dunn said.

Under the roof of Raise the Bar Fitness are both basic and advanced youth athletic and wrestling training, an 8-foot climbing wall, adult boot camps for strength, endurance and agility training, and mixed martial arts training for youth and adults.

The Le Mars Wrestling Club is partnering with Dunn in the building.

"It's nice to get under one roof," he said.

Dunn, a certified youth athletic trainer, said the idea for the business had been in his head for a while.

"The last couple of summers I'd been providing an outdoors, eight-week program for about 50 kids," Dunn said. "I wanted to do what I did in the summer year-round, but I didn't have an indoor facility."

Before moving into this building, Dunn had also been hosting mixed martial arts training in his garage in a space about one-fifth the size of his new facility.

The mixed martial arts training Dunn offers at Raise the Bar includes wrestling, boxing and jujitsu training. Some also use it as preparation for cage fighting.

"We have four guys from here who are going to fight Dec. 5 at Lewis Bowl," Dunn said. "Some have been in the cage before and others are going to be experiencing their first cage fight."

Suzie Harms, owner of In the Rhythmz Health and Fitness, had been teaching dance-based ZumbaŽ aerobic classes in space rented from the Plymouth County Historical Museum for months.

But with growing interest and class numbers, the Le Mars woman had her eye out for a permanent home for a fitness business.

After checking out the former Bomgaars building, she heard her son's football coach, Dunn, was looking for a space to host a business as well.

They decided to share rent on the building.

Now Harms is teaching 13 classes. Her goal is to reach 24 classes by March 2010.

She's adding new hip hop and kick boxing courses.

"Eventually I'd love to get my personal training certification," Harms said.

Harms said she loves what she does and likes seeing other people get excited, too.

"Even if people aren't involved in fitness, it's on their minds," Harms said. "Generally why they don't stick with it is they're bored or too over-scheduled. But everybody wants to feel better, to look better."

The building she and Dunn moved their businesses into has a new look inside.

Both have put a lot of work into the building, moving and adding interior walls so the businesses could function separately, painting, redoing floors and working on the heating system.

"It took some updating, but I think this is a good fit," Harms said.

Dunn agreed.

"It's really come together," he said.