Jane’s Gym, located at 4850 Goodman Road in Olive Branch, opened in 2009. Paige Anderson and her partner, Summer Hungate, took over ownership during the pandemic.
Jane’s Gym is exclusively for women.
There are multiple reasons for this approach, said Anderson. Chief among them is building a sense of community.
“Women tend to thrive in a communal-type place,” Anderson said. “Some people think the opposite, that it’d be a lot of drama. But it’s actually 100% not true. Women love each other. They start going to classes together, and they do things together outside of the gym.”
Anderson said women feel more comfortable being themselves without men around. The gym-as-pickup-scene aspect is eliminated, and there’s no creepy videotaping. Anderson noted, too, that Muslim women do not have to dress so modestly at Jane’s Gym.
Jane’s Gym occupies two floors and two buildings, which allows them to offer an array of services and classes. Among them is child care. They also have a cycling and barre studio, a yoga studio, and a weightlifting area. There are Spin classes, DanceFIT, and something called Level 2 Hot Power Flow Yoga.
And then there is Pound.
Pound is the “rockout workout,” where participants use weighted drum sticks called “Ripstix” while doing full-body, choreographed simulated drumming.
It follows in the Jane’s Gym scheme of things that Pound was founded by two women. The women were recreational drummers who discovered that drumming without a stool was a workout. They launched Pound in Los Angeles in 2011.
Anderson hooked into Pound about six years ago. She was a Zumba instructor and liked anything with a beat and that was fun. Those criteria were checked off by Pound.
“I really loved it and it was fun,” she said. “People don’t know what to expect when they come to a Pound class. It’s a serious, lower-body workout. Your heart is pumping. It’s cardio and lower body. It’s a good workout.”
Participants start in a low squat, striking the sticks on the floor, then they work into lunges. The workout moves on to a pulsing of the legs to the beat, then to a seat position that works the core.
Pound is in 100 countries. Instructors must be trained and certified. After that, a monthly fee is required for use of Pound’s choreography.
Anderson said that the songs used span all genres, with an emphasis on remixes. She’s led classes to AC/DC and Rage Against the Machine (a favorite).
The workouts are 45 minutes and can be modified to fitness levels. Having rhythm is not a requirement.
“[Rhythm] can be somewhat of a learned trait,” Anderson said. “So, if you come in with zero rhythm, the more you come to class, the better that’s going to be.”
The Ripstix are bright green, and when the black light in on, the class can be quite the show, according to Anderson.
She said that she can’t recall students accidentally hitting each other with the sticks, though she has hit herself while leading the class.
“The sticks are made to last, but they do break from time to time just from wear and tear,” she said. “So, if you break one in class, we take pictures. It’s like a badge of honor. Even though it costs us money, we’re excited for you.”
You are invited to join us as we honor the Memphis Business Journal’s 42nd Small Business Awards finalists. Come join us as we celebrate small business and the impact that it makes in our community.
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 1, 2021) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated July 1, 2022). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.