New Jersey’s Ronald and Anna Lubischer are bonded in health. As former athletes and lifelong health lovers, the 2 have been launched by a mutual buddy in 2010, and have been married 4 years later. Then, having already owned his first fitness center, Ronnie would take his partnership with Anna to the subsequent stage after they determined to group up professionally and get critical about launching a number of areas. Now, with a busy household life, and a ardour for creating the proper place to pump iron, this duo is disrupting the sterile, franchise fitness center mannequin.
As followers of old-school, dungeon model gyms, Ronnie and Anna are being modern with their amenities, whereas staying true to the thought of the hardcore exercise. M&F sat down with the pair, who function a number of areas of their Burn-N-Blast fitness center idea, to seek out out extra.
“We encourage hardcore coaching however demand ‘no nonsense’ respect for our fitness center and members,” says Ronnie. “When you bend a bar from urgent a heavy weight, we take that bar and retire it to a particular rack that has all of the bent bars that our members have earned through the years by means of spectacular lifts!”
There’s little question that Ronnie understands the mindset of an all-in exercise since he performed semi-professional soccer earlier than competing as an NPC bodybuilder, within the heavyweight division. “Nonetheless, “When you’re dropping your weights and screaming and yelling for no good purpose, we’ll politely let you know that this isn’t how we do it right here,” he provides. “You’ll be able to deliver your personal chalk and use it anytime so long as you clear up after your self. You’ll be able to load the leg press with twenty-four 45s, however your reps higher be immaculate… and it’s understood that you simply all the time rerack your weights.”
He provides: “Our motto is ‘The place old style ideas meet new faculty know-how,’ and we stand by that to at the present time. Our gyms are a throwback to the outdated hardcore basement model gyms of the previous the place everyone seems to be accepted, as long as they respect the best way of the iron and their fellow fitness center members.”
Burn-N-Blast: A Combo of Outdated-College and New Tech
There’s little question that there’s a plethora of purchasers on the lookout for an alternative choice to among the fashionable, nameless trying gyms, that usually supply model however little in the best way of substance. Ronnie and Anna are having fun with big membership numbers from all expertise ranges—from newbies to superior lifters to skilled athletes. Thankfully, they’re greater than certified to take each particular person by means of their journey to greatness. Anna was a nationally-ranked determine skater and coached ice skating for greater than 15 years. She’s additionally a profitable bodybuilder, incomes second-place on the New Jersey State Championship simply six months following a C-Part after giving delivery to their first youngster.
By design, every Burn-N-Blast location is exclusive, with a person checklist of kit, however one factor that all of them have in widespread is that they’re proudly unbiased.
“We’re completely unbiased, household owned and operated, with zero outdoors traders,” says Ronnie. Many gymgoers might not be conscious that franchise gyms are sometimes managed by big conglomerates that don’t all the time select their tools based mostly on a love of understanding. All too typically, offers are executed to guarantee that fitness center areas all function the identical tools due to profitable distribution agreements and an emphasis on maximizing earnings as an alternative of maximizing muscle-mass.
“Fairly actually, myself and Anna personal every thing right down to the drywall of our areas, and this offers us the liberty to run our gyms precisely how we see match,” provides Ronnie. “And this offers our members with a direct hyperlink to possession, to expedite any and all questions, recommendations, considerations, and many others. This additionally permits us to equip our gyms in any means attainable with out {the handcuffs} of a company flooring plan, or a set ‘purchase checklist.’”
Ronnie and Anna Lubischer Plan Their Gyms Proper Right down to the Period
“There are specific fitness center chains which are required to hold a predetermined stock of kit,” says Ronnie. “In our case, we will combine and match not simply manufacturers however eras of kit too. Every of our areas is a novel mixture of the very best of some new, cutting-edge manufacturers reminiscent of Prime, Watson, Arsenal, and Atlantis blended with up-and-coming mom-and-pop designers like Uncooked Motive Works, Cross Axes Tech, and GymBros. Then, there’s old-school items which are out of manufacturing, like the unique Nautilus, BodyMasters, Flex, and Paramount items simply to call just a few. Our objective is to construct greater and badder ‘storage model’ gyms.”
For Burn-N-Blast gyms, every thing stems from a love of bodybuilding. “Selfishly, for myself and Anna, we plan with the precise specs of what we would like for our personal completely executed exercises, however then we invite all of our associates to return and prepare with us too,” explains Ronnie of the event course of. “As an tools collector and aficionado, I really like to simply let different individuals take pleasure in instruments they both don’t have entry to, or by no means even knew about. We provide an atmosphere that doesn’t actually exist within the present fitness center panorama anymore and our membership pays tribute to that.”
The underside line, as Ronnie explains, is each individual of each talent stage is welcome at Burn-N-Blast, as his day by day glimpse of his attendance proves. “As an example, lately at our Lengthy Department location I used to be coaching a rising sophomore ice hockey participant from the Citadel whereas a newly minted IFBB professional was smashing legs, together with two NFL beginning offensive linemen who have been getting in a exercise pre-beach, as we’re a beachfront location. Then, one among my older ‘fitness center rat’ kind members got here as much as me and thanked me for the 2 new curated items that I’d added—a uncommon and very functionable Cybex Eagle Kneeling Lateral Elevate and a Life Health Signature Sequence Seated Uni-Lateral Biceps Curl.”
The Hardcore Gymnasium Empire Strikes Again
“Everybody who involves [Burn-N-Blast] loves to coach however we have now a better cross-section of purchasers that you simply’ll expertise at a ‘harder-core’ environment fitness center,” explains Ronnie. “That’s why you’ll see households coaching collectively at our areas. We’ve one household that comes nearly day-after-day collectively. We additionally see three brothers who all are law enforcement officials or fireman regionally, their sons who’re school athletes, their daughters who’re native highschool athletes, and their wives who use the cardio machines. All of them come and prepare as one unit nearly each day even with totally different ranges of health and objectives. That’s actually cool, that’s actually one thing we’re happy with, and that’s what makes [Burn-N-Blast] distinctive.”
The Lubischers personal two, 24-hour gyms (in Lengthy Department and West Lengthy Department, New Jersey) in addition to a high-end non-public private coaching studio in West Lengthy Department. Proper now, they’re actively scouting for a 3rd, 24-hour location. So, as a defender and innovator of the hardcore fitness center empire, what a part of Ronnie’s assortment is he most happy with? “Wow that’s a tricky query,” he says. “Virtually every bit of kit at each location is particular to me for various causes. As an example, in our non-public studio we have now three authentic PowerTecnic items. We’ve the Tremendous Excessive Stepper, The SuperCAT Squat, and an authentic Energy Runner. To at the present time, for athletes, you may’t get a lot better.
“All of my Randy Coyle authentic items are close to and expensive to me as properly, as we boast a SwingSquat. We’re additionally one among lower than 50 gyms within the nation with a plate loaded entrance squat machine known as the Saxon Squat, in addition to a custom-made plate loaded multi-grip bent over leverage row that was hand delivered to us. We even have a prototype gifted to us known as the GlutePress. After which there’s the Flex Hamtractor, or tall body Pit Shark. I might go on, however that’s why I really say we don’t buy tools like most different fitness center house owners. We curate our Burn-N-Blast fitness center flooring for max outcomes.”
With half of all fitness center members anticipated to give up inside their first six months of membership, discovering the appropriate atmosphere is important for staying motivated and sticking with a sustainable exercise regime. Thankfully, with their Burn-N-Blast areas, the Lubischer’s are taking the time to share their lifelong ardour with those that need to develop into the very best variations of themselves. “Our members know we’re right here to assist, and I’m more than pleased to let individuals make their very own errors,” explains Ronnie, who together with Anna, created their very own barcode-activated educational movies for every Burn-N-Blast machine. “However, in the event that they’re doing one thing that may endanger themselves or different members, it’s my job to step in and cease it, however these are teachable moments the place hopefully they take our recommendation and develop mentally and bodily for a few years to return.”
