Local couple see their dream come true with new fitness club
By Rose Sgarlato
STANHOPE — Crunch Fitness, the popular health club opened its fourth New Jersey location last week in Stanhope.
Franchise owners Tim and Sara De Lorenzo are looking forward to introducing Sussex County to the Crunch brand and believe there is something for everyone here.
“Crunch is an exciting and cutting-edge brand. I am thrilled to bring such a quality fitness facility to local residents,” said Tim De Lorenzo. “Working out should be accessible and affordable to everyone. This is exactly what this new club will provide, and we can’t wait to help people achieve their health and fitness goals.”
With 15,000 square feet and over 70 pieces of state-of-the-art cardio equipment and circuit training systems, Crunch is quite impressive.
On some of the machines, members can use their smart phones to scan for instructions. There are video workouts on treadmills like the Hana Run and the free motion incline trainer is equipped with a tablet provided by Ifit Life. And all cardio machines have iPod docks for listening to music or watching the numerous elevated televisions.
A 3,000 square foot exercise room will host a variety of classes. Personal training is available, and there are tanning machines and a Hydro Massage bed.
Crunch originated in New York City in 1989 and is known for its atmosphere and unique group fitness classes. The gym was a trendsetter in Manhattan, with its creative classes causing other places to copy it. But Crunch remained on top because of its price points and entertaining environment. Today it has 60 gyms worldwide with over 150,000 members.
Bosu Boot Camp, Tread & Shed and Absolution are a few of the trademarked Crunch classes offered in Stanhope. Most of them are 30 minutes designed to provide for cross-training so members can maximize their fitness goals by mixing and matching during their workouts.
Tim DeLorenzo is president of a manufacturing company that employs 65 people. In addition to his business management skills, he got into fitness training at 18. He is a certified personal trainer and recently worked at the Fit Experience in Sparta. A series of injuries throughout the years from physical training caused him to expand his focus.
“Fitness has become a passion of mine — how the human body works and how it relates to exercise. I wanted to combine my business skills with training,” he said. “I always wanted to open a gym and thought a franchise is the right way to go, so I stared exploring options.”
DeLorenzo and his wife Sara ,who previously managed a health club, believe the Crunch mentality fits in with what they like to do. Crunch has a no judgments philosophy and friendly atmosphere.
The Crunch model is built on volume – a yearly commitment is not required. A base membership starts at $9.95 a month with full access to the entire gym. For the Peak membership at $19.95, members get classes, tanning, hydro massage and guest privileges. And a family membership is also available.
The DeLorenzo’s started this quest to open a gym at the end of 2011. Seeing it come to fruition is a relief, and they are happy to report that Crunch in Stanhope had a successful opening day.
“It was so busy! There was a steady flow all day which was really great to see.”
Crunch, 110 State Route 183 South, Stanhope. Tel.973-691-6900 www.CrunchStanhope.com.