No one can say they can’t go to the gym because it’s closed when they want to work out. There’s a new flex in town and it never closes.

Welcome to Anytime Fitness, on the southwest corner of Ina Road and Thornydale Road. 

With all the free weights and weight machines any athlete could want, ice baths, saunas, massage chairs and red light therapy, this place is for anyone wanting to improve their fitness level.

“We like to be more than a gym,” Grace Wenger, manager of the facility, said.

Both the trainers and clients know this is serious business here because everyone begins with a body scan, which can give muscle mass, body mass index and bone density. Even employees get a scan once a month. No reason to panic, however, since the room where it all takes place is private.

“A lot of people definitely value (the scanner) and it’s cool to just track your progress,” Wenger said. “It’s also how we keep our trainers accountable.”

The private space doubles as a personal training room.

Every effort is made to make working out accessible. On one side of the gym is what they consider the plate-loaded side, but it is not just for musclemen.

“We have a wide variety, literally all different levels who work out at this location and at our Madera Village location,” Wenger said. “(There are) bumper plates for more of a heavier style of lifting, crossfit style lifting.”

Then, on the other side of the gym are the machines. They call it the pin-drop side. Each of the machines have a chart that says what muscle group is targeted.

“Everything is color coded so yellow is upper body, blue is lower body, green is abductors,” Wenger added. “That’s nice because if you come in and you’re like, ‘I don’t even know what I’m going to do today,’ you have a little bit of a guided plan.”

There is also a QR code on each of the machines that help a client know how to use it.

In the back of the gym is a blue carpeted area called the functional training zone, which is Wenger’s personal favorite area. 

“It attracts a lot of different people because they’re warming up or doing pilates, or we have a few HYROX trainers, they’ll come in here,” she said. “People come back here even just to stretch out.”

There’s even a tire flip, where it requires some amount of strength to use. Basically, it’s half a mega-tire that is meant to be flipped back and forth. It weighs 180 pounds.

Services of staff trainers can be included with a membership. They are available for half-hour and full hour sessions but trainers are not the only perk, depending on the membership level.

“If you have a trainer, that means you get to use our cool plunge for free, you get to go to group training classes for free,” Wenger said.

Because the gym is open 24 hours a day, safety from nefarious people is a concern so the door is always locked. There is an easy way in for members, however.

“It’s all done through an app on your phone,” Wenger said. “It auto-updates every single minute with a QR code,” she said. “It helps because people can’t even share their QR codes because they expire every minute.”

Once in, the door locks eight seconds later.

After a good workout clients might like to ease their sore muscles in the Recovery Zone, beginning with the cold plunge machines. These are tub-like appliances that have some very cold water to sink into. One is at 48-degrees but if that’s too cold there’s another with a water temperature of 55-degrees. 

“Some people are like, ‘I moved to Arizona for a reason, I’m not getting into the cold,’” Wenger said with a laugh. 

There are benefits to the cold water plunge. According to Wenger, it helps with muscle fatigue and endurance but also helps clear a partaker’s gut track.

For a different experience there’s a sauna, which gets up to 140-degrees because “it’s infrared.”

Too pale? There’s a nine-minute, standing tanning bed, red light therapy with a vibra-plate on the floor and finally, hydro-massage chairs and deep-touch chairs. 

The Recovery Zone is an extra charge.

As with most gyms, there are 19 membership levels which are paid for bi-weekly. 

Why this gym? There are plenty to choose from.

“The main thing that sets us apart is … it’s not going to be high traffic,” Wenger said. “All of our members can literally come throughout the day.”

There’s one other thing.

“How many gyms know your name?” she added. They do at Anytime Fitness. 

Center for Cultural Organizing Grand Opening
WHEN:  6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 19
WHERE: 4009 S. 12th Avenue, Tucson, Formerly Louis’ Market
COST: Free Admission
INFO: southwestfolklife.org