Zoo Fitness Ardee a new all-round way to improve your life ...
IT’S only three months open, but already Zoo Fitness in Ardee, Co. Louth, is firmly establishing itself as a mid Louth favourite.
The lack of a gym in the town was evident, and owner Jonathan Carroll is now enjoying helping others to achieve the goals he set for himself to improve his fitness and lifestyle.
“From a young age I was always involved in sports one way or the other, be it GAA, soccer, karate and athletics. At the time it was for pure enjoyment, nothing to do with keeping fit. When I reached the age of 17, my interest in these sports started to decline causing me to put on weight, having no energy and becoming the main factor which caused severe back pain,” explains Jonathan.
“I decided to join a gym, I’d keep myself to myself and just jump on the treadmill and run for my entire stay in the gym.”
But he says, after a couple of months, he finally built up the courage to venture into the weights area, even though he felt intimidated at first (now knowing there was no need to be intimidated), not really knowing what to do, how to lift weights or how to use the pin loaded machines.
“Once I started training correctly, I started to enjoy it more and more. I was proud of my achievement and how far I had come,” he said.
“Through my own achievements I decided I wanted to help others with their fitness goals, whatever they may be. I decided to seek a qualification that would allow me to help others and possibly start a career in something that I was passionate about. I decided to carry out a course in the National Sports College where I obtained qualifications in Personal training, Gym Instructor, Group Instructor & kettle bell instructor.”
After obtaining these qualifications. Jonathan looked at his options, whether to seek work in a gym or work as a Personal Trainer.
“It was then I looked at the market in my local area and decided that in order to serve a wider community, I would open a gym in Ardee, where there was no gym,” he says.
“This way I would be able to accommodate at larger number of people in the area. And with the help and support of my wife Louise, all my family I set about opening Zoo Fitness.”
Commercial units are limited in Ardee, but he eventually found one and started putting plans in place to open a gym.
“I sourced new gym equipment that was within my budget. And with the help of Mary & Tony in Louth Leader Partnership I obtained a part funding for the equipment. Without the help of Louth Leader the gym would be not have been open as quickly as it has.”
Indeed Liam Reilly, chairman of Louth Local Community Development Committee added his support to the new venture.
‘Louth Local Community Development Committee is delighted to support Zoo Fitness with Grant Aid through the LEADER programme. This project is funded under the theme enterprise development which supports rural enterprises in Co. Louth.’
The gym opened on 18th November 2018 and so far, has been very popular with all age groups from Ardee and surrounding areas. And in the last three months, Jonathan has been on a Musgrave healthy food panel, where they discuss healthy food options and give their opinions on how to improve healthy eating. So, joining Zoo Fitness is an all-round way to improve your life! Call today on 087 9184618 or 041 6858405.