Main Street Fitness, keeping people in shape

OPEN INVITE — Lorraine Cullins, left, manager of Main Street Fitness, along with fitness trainer Vicki Rowe, invites those who have never been at the gym to check out the services offered.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Sitting between SAGE Financial and Uncle Willy’s in downtown Houlton is a top-notch health facility. Main Street Fitness Gym, which was formerly Lads ‘n Lassies, is more than what can be seen with a glance through its front windows.
    “For those who have never been in before, they don’t realize how big it really is,” said Vicki Rowe, personal trainer for Main Street Fitness.
    Coming through the door, a double room is surrounded with full-length mirrors, with free weights to the right and various workout machines, including a 10-piece circuit that works the entire body, to the left. In the basement are two tanning beds, a sauna, an aqua massaging bed, more full-length mirrors and stability balls.
    “That’s where our classes are held,” said Rowe. “We did Zumba for a long time, but I think I am taking a break from that and starting an interval-style workout class.”
    Upstairs is the cardio equipment from treadmills and cross-trainers to bicycles and ellipticals.
    “It is all the fitness facility you’d want,” Rowe added. “We have cardio equipment to resistance training. We also offer fitness classes and personal training sessions.”
    A new session of fitness classes will begin in February.
    Lorraine Cullins has managed Main Street Fitness for three years, while Rowe has worked as a fitness trainer for a little over two of her three years with the gymnasium.
    Main Street Fitness Gymnasium is unlike many gyms, which are cold, static and smelly. On the contrary, the staff is outgoing, friendly and helpful, and the building itself is well kept.
    “Most people who come here comment on how clean the gym is,” explained Cullins. “They have never been in a cleaner gym. It’s my goal to keep it that way.”
    Main Street Fitness was originally opened in 2002 by Dan and Ann Ross, who ran the business for a year-and-a-half before deciding to move back to where they were originally from.
    In August 2003, Dr. Bruce Harvey and his wife Michele purchased the property, with Joe and Jamie Davenport managing the gym for a year. There were several managers through the years —the Harveys’ daughter, Tisha; Larry Williams and Mariam Zuriak — before it stabilized with Cullins and Rowe.
PROUD OF TROPHY — Main Street Fitness is community minded and each year, they participate in the Houlton Chamber of Commerce Holiday Light contest. This year, the gym took first place in the business category. Lorraine Cullins, manager of Main Street Fitness, displays the trophy.
    “I’m going to stick around,” said Cullins with a laugh.
    Main Street Fitness offers package deals throughout the year to entice community members to try the gym out. They have membership packages of a month, three months, six months to a year, along with tanning packages.
    “The first of February we will be offering a special on membership and tanning,” said Cullins.
    Those specials include one-month gym memberships for $40 or two-months for $75; tanning, buy 10 sessions or more and get two free through the month.
    The Harveys offer another holiday special called “25 Days of Christmas,” which is for a 25-day membership, six month or a year membership, but there is no tanning included.
    Main Street Fitness Gym also runs specials in the springtime and during Midnight Madness.”
    “That’s our biggie,” said Cullins of the popular July event. “That’s one of our better deals.”
    The Midnight Madness special includes three- to six-months or a year membership, with free tanning for the amount of time purchased.
    In the last 10 years, 2,038 people have registered as members of Main Street Fitness Gym.
    “There is a good amount of people who have been here for a long time,” added Rowe. “Over the last four to six months, we’ve commented on how many new people are coming.”
    Main Street Fitness is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to help people meet their needs from losing weight to better overall fitness. If you find working out alone or at home is difficult, the gym is a social network.
    “For some it is social,” Rowe said. “Others are all business.”
    The gym is always updating equipment when necessary, as they just replaced a few treadmills and purchased 125-pound dumbbells. Clientele may also make suggestions on a piece of equipment to purchase, as Cullins noted the Harveys are flexible and try to accommodate the request.
    “We have over 100 people come through these doors every day,” Cullins said motioning to the entrance. “We’d like a lot more people to come. We want to keep going forward.”
    Rowe told the story of a gentleman who visits the gym from away. He let her know that Main Street Fitness may have older equipment than newer gyms, but they provide what is needed for a good workout.
    “Visitors are surprised for a small town what equipment we do have,” said Rowe. “It’s well maintained.”
    Wayne Harris does maintenance on the equipment daily to keep everything running smoothly.
    With changing trends, Rowe notes there is always something new coming out to grab people’s attention to draw them into fitness.
WORKING OUT — Sarah Harbison finds time to workout at Main Street Fitness gym in downtown Houlton.
    “Though cardio is a big part of fitness training,” said Rowe, “another component is strength training. Research is showing the benefits of strength training especially for women. Even though they tend to shy away from that more than guys, once they get into it, they may enjoy it.”
    Gym memberships can be given to those 15 years of age and older, with 15-18 year-olds needing parental consent.
    The Harveys also offer local high school athletes free workout time from 2:30-4:30 p.m. during the duration of their sporting season.
    The Harveys and their staff invite those who have never tried the gym to come in.
    “Come in and check us out,” said Cullins. “It’s a good atmosphere. We offer our help to anyone who doesn’t understand how the equipment works.”
    “It is not as scary as anyone thinks,” added Rowe. “A lot of people are intimidated when they walk in because there are machines everywhere. Once they come in and learn how to use the equipment, it’s empowering and they realize it is not such a scary place.”
    Members and guests are varied in ages and fitness levels and Main Street Fitness is a place to take the first step to a healthier you. They offer nutritional food bars, drinks, showers, a locker for a monthly fee and air conditioning in the summertime.
    “When people come in and talk about the gym, they are positive,” said Cullins.
     “The gym is a great thing for a small town to have,” Rowe added. “We are fortunate to have it.”