Next Level Fitness brings community together

ROCK RAPIDS, I.A. (KELO) — Drive around Sioux Falls, and you’ll find plenty of places to work out.

But finding a place where you feel comfortable exercising can be challenging.

That’s especially true in smaller communities.

A Northwest Iowa mom with a passion for exercise has created the perfect spot for people in her community to come together and get in shape.

As Next Level Fitness celebrates one year in Rock Rapids, owner Kayla Engleman couldn’t be more proud.

“This was something that my husband and I had talked about for years but we just hadn’t taken that initial step and so two Labor days ago, my husband said, Let’s do it. Go get your personal training.” owner and primary instructor Kayla Engleman said.

Next, she found a place to hold classes in Rock Rapids and the community showed up.

“I thought it’s great to have a place where anybody at any age, at any skill level, can come and work out and do your own thing, but yet feel like you’re part of an amazing group,” Class attendee Heidi VandaKop said.

“I’m so thankful that our community offers a fitness program like this. I don’t have to drive to Sioux Falls and there’s something about being surrounded with other women that just makes me really want to push myself and be strong,” Behyenhof said.

“I just love the environment,” VandeKop said.

To make customers more comfortable and reduce anxiety, studios are lit with LED lights around the mirror – just enough so people can see what they’re doing.

“the fact that it’s a dark room, you can’t see anybody and just everyone is so uplifting and you can show up and it can be one of your best days of working out or one of your worst days and no one other than yourself will know,” Krull said.

Working out may be a struggle for some people but sometimes you just need to have a workout or place to work out to start the first step.

“A lot of times people want to work out. They just don’t know what to do. So I thought if I have some of this knowledge and some of this background, then help others with it,” Engleman said.

Englemen says Next Level Fitness wouldn’t be celebrating one year without the community support.

“You’re rocking it,” Behyenhof said.

Next Level Fitness will soon be opening a second location in the town of Larchwood. The studio is expected to be open June 24th.