F45 Whanganui is finally set to open its doors on Glasgow St after seven months of delays. Photo / Supplied
After a frustrating year full of setbacks, a local gym is finally set to open its doors on Saturday.
Brother and sister duo Lauren and Ryan Hughes originally planned to open F45 Whanganui on Guyton St between March and April.
However, Covid-19 hit and the subsequent lockdown meant their equipment got delayed and stuck at the border.
"It's been a journey for sure," Ryan said.
They have found a new home for the gym at 176a Glasgow St and now have one of the biggest F45 studios in the country.
"It's been absolutely great," Ryan said.
"We are stoked to be in here and it's actually a big improvement from where we were going to be."
The gym is having its grand opening this Saturday, after being open this past week strictly for members.
"Our members have been so great," Lauren said.
"They have been so patient with the Covid delays and have been so excited. Super positive and super friendly."
Their old Whanganui Collegiate friend Abe Erihe, a trainer with the New Zealand Army, is the gym's head trainer.
The gym focuses on 45-minute high-intensity interval group training classes, with a variety of cardio and resistance classes.
"The great thing about what we do is that it doesn't matter if you're just starting on your fitness journey," Ryan said.
"It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned athlete or not, this class covers all bases.
"We find a lot of people are quite shy to come in, but once they come to their first class they are fans."
The gym has bought a body scanner, which gives body fat percentage, muscle mass and more, from Switzerland.
"We are able to provide them with an awesome starting point," Ryan said.
"No reason for them to be disappointed with the scan, it's a great place to start. We can show that your body weight might not be changing, but your body composition is.
"If it's done correctly, we should be within 5 per cent. It's about as accurate you can get it without going to the hospital."
Lauren said members can have meal plans drawn up for free and F45s around the country are currently in their 45-day challenge period.
"I've been doing it myself and the results are very noticeable."
Ryan said the facility isn't a standard gym or even a standard F45, they have looked everywhere at ways to improve the facility.
"We have tried to incorporate the best we can find around the world and implement that."
Anyone who is interested in joining the gym or trying out the classes is welcome to the opening on Saturday.
'It has been challenging but it was important to see it through.'