Franchisee Stories
Operating partners Dana Odegaard and Brent Bergeson are redefining what it means to be a local gym with Relax and Restore suites. These wellness-focused upgrades are driving retention and growth.
For the operating partners behind Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs in Grundy County, Illinois, the future of fitness goes far beyond lifting heavier weights or adding more machines to the floor.
Franchisees Dana Odegaard and Brent Bergeson are expanding the traditional gym model to include Fitness Premier’s Relax and Restore across clubs in Minooka, Coal City and soon, Morris. This gives many members something they didn’t even realize they were missing: intentional recovery.
Relax and Restore at Fitness Premier is a dedicated recovery space designed to help members recharge after workouts and daily stress. These rooms combine calming, easy-to-use recovery therapies — like heat, massage, compression and light therapy — to ease sore muscles, improve circulation and support overall wellness. It’s the perfect place to slow down, reset and let recovery work hand-in-hand with your fitness routine.
“It kind of brings a different dynamic to the gym,” Bergeson said. “You come here to work out, but we also have this other avenue that’s really focused on recovery and restoring your body versus just beating it up.”
Relax and Restore has become a meaningful business driver for Fitness Premier franchisees. By adding a premium wellness layer to the traditional gym model, Odegaard and Bergeson have created a clear upgrade path that supports higher membership adoption, stronger retention and more consistent usage across the week. The recovery suites also give clubs a built-in differentiator in competitive markets, positioning Fitness Premier as more than just a place to work out.
The Relax and Restore suites were designed to be more than a checklist of trendy equipment. Every amenity was selected based on usage, feedback and real-world impact.
Human Touch massage chairs quickly became one of the most popular features across all clubs. Even after transitioning away from hydro massage beds, member response was overwhelmingly positive.
In addition to massage chairs, members have access to saunas, red light therapy, jet compression boots, percussion massage guns and salt chambers — all positioned as part of a complete post-workout routine, not a luxury add-on.
While each Grundy County club offers a consistent set of recovery tools, the Minooka location stands out with additional amenities that give members more options in how they recover.
One of those features is the Frost Locker, which delivers the benefits of cold exposure without the setup or intensity of a traditional cold plunge. It offers a more accessible way to experience cold therapy, especially for members who are curious about recovery trends but want something simple and approachable.
“Cold plunge is a really popular thing right now,” Odegaard said. “But the Frost Locker gives you a lot of the same benefits with way more ease of access.”
For members looking for a more traditional contrast therapy experience, Minooka also offers the Fire & Ice Lounge, which pairs an infrared sauna with a cold plunge in the same space. This setup allows members to move between heat and cold to support circulation, muscle recovery and overall relaxation.
“If you want a more authentic experience, we do have the cold plunge and an infrared sauna together,” Bergeson said. “You can bounce back and forth between the two. It's called our Fire & Ice Lounge.”
Rather than guessing what members might want, Odegaard and Bergeson rely on constant feedback and usage data to guide decisions.
“We’re tracking how much use each thing is getting,” Bergeson said. “Those massage chairs are so highly used that we’re already talking about getting another one in Minooka.”
That approach has translated directly into membership adoption. Since launching Relax and Restore, roughly 50% to 70% of members across their clubs now use the recovery amenities.
“It just shows us that this is a category people really want to have access to,” Odegaard said. “More than half of our new members are joining on the membership that includes these amenities.”
While Fitness Premier’s leadership team gives operators flexibility to test new ideas, collaboration across the system plays a major role in shaping future upgrades.
“We’re always talking with other clubs that have had Relax for quite some time,” Bergeson said. “Asking them what’s working, what people like and what trends they’re seeing.”
That collaboration extends beyond recovery, allowing operators to share insights on new technology and emerging member preferences, with successful ideas often spreading organically throughout the network.
One of the biggest surprises for the team has been how many members were unfamiliar with recovery tools before Relax and Restore launched.
“We assume everybody knows about these things, but we're constantly getting members in every day that don't know about these recovery tools and things that can absolutely change their life and change their workouts and the way that they see results in the gym,” Odegaard said.
By educating members through staff training, in-club materials and trial periods, the team has reframed the gym as a place not just to push harder, but to feel better leaving than when you arrived.
“Everyone looks at the gym as hard work,” Bergeson said. “Now we can say, yes, you come in and work hard, but let’s take care of your body too. That longevity aspect changes how people experience the gym.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit: https://ownafitnesspremier.com/.
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