By Jarred Roberts
Dionna Glover and Kara Cranfille pick up the groceries, pick up the kids, pick up the mess in the living room and and few times a week, pick up weights in a warehouse.
These two moms aren’t the only unexpected things at Warehouse Gym. Despite the dusty environment, the gym has powerlifters, parents, their kids and anyone who wants to get in shape, “It’s very family oriented,” Kara says.
“A lot of women may be turned off by the dirt and sweat,” but Kara admits she was hooked at the first class.
“It’s stress relief that every mom needs.”
They work out several times a week with gym owner Zach McVey leading their sessions, which combine crossfit with Zach’s knowledge of powerlifting and chiropractics.
Dionna still enjoys her spin and dance classes, but those can get repetitive and she enjoys the muscle confusion she gets at the warehouse and has increased her deadlift record.
Zach has always had a passion for training, for enabling others to strengthen themselves. That’s what drove him to open Warehouse Gym in 2006, despite his already busy schedule as a chiropractor.
“The bigger vision is overall health,” Zach says.
As a chiropractor Zach couldn’t completely do everything he wanted, but he enjoyed his time training at 24 Hour Fitness while in college.
The final straw occurred when he witnessed someone exercising while drinking coffee at a more standard gym. So he stepped back and returned to his passion, but why a warehouse style gym?
“It’s easy to see now that crossfit is popular and I saw that trend starting years ago,” Zach says.
It’s about having applicable exercises and staying on your feet. A workout should simulate the motions people normally do such as lifting groceries or yard work, and with less automated machines at the gym people are more in tune with the workout and their body.
Zach blends his training and chiropractic knowledge in more ways than one. He continues his chiropractic work by working out of the gym.
He wants the people he rehabilitates in his chiropractic office to transition to helping themselves at the gym. Though it works both ways to his surprise, as several gym members now also see him for their chiropractic needs.
The gym has developed a few family-like traditions through the years such as friendly competitions and pizza and beer nights every few weeks.
It could be this odd unintended form of recruitment, the Crossfit craze, his location or the easily accessible nature of the Warehouse Gym, but Zach still has one more thing that makes his gym unique.
Every year a powerlifting meet is held in the southern Houston area and five years ago Zach took over. Lifters from the warehouse, all around Texas and even a few from out of state come to compete in squats, benchpresses and deadlifts. This year’s was the largest yet with over 70 competitors ranging from teenagers to more “seasoned” lifters, from moms to a man two weeks away from heart surgery.
For anyone interested in the meet or warehouse gym, it is located at 3830 W. Main St., League City and the phone number is 281-557-2122.
