Walmart shows off new fitness facility
Retailer values associates’ well-being
BENTONVILLE — The first amenity at the new Walmart Home Office opens today.
The Walton Family Whole Health and Fitness Center at 1400 S.E. Fifth St. in Bentonville offers a variety of classes, workout spaces and services for Walmart and Sam’s Club associates and their families.
Megan Henley, director of whole health and fitness at Walmart, said the new space will replace the Walton Family Life Fitness Center, which closed in December.
“It gave us this great foundation of taking care of our people at Walmart for the past 40 years,” said Henley about the former fitness center. “This is just the next generation of being able to do that.”
The 360,000-square-foot facility has expansive workout and wellness options, which range from traditional treadmills and weight rooms to tennis and basketball courts. Wellness areas include a yoga and sound bath studio, as well as cryotherapy options in the “rest and restore” area.
Henley said Walmart kept a lot of associate feedback in mind when building the space, making sure to honor requests when able. These included a dedicated lap pool, squash courts and continuing child care through the Youth Activity Center.
Children 13 and older are able to use the fitness amenities with parent supervision, but children 6 months to 12 years old use the youth center, which has activities to encourage learning about fitness and whole health approaches.
Whole health is a perspective that prioritizes physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Instead of focusing on one aspect, it integrates all of them. “Pause, reflect, choose” is a whole health philosophy Henley said the center is teaching to encourage mindfulness and being present.
“It’s kind of a mindful, meditative practice that we’re encouraging,” she said. “Not only in the way we talk about it and teach people about whole health, but you’ll see it really designed into the building.”
Henley said some of her favorite spaces in the center are the ones designed for reflective moments. These spots often have lots of natural light, greenery and views of the campus.
The center takes a similar approach, both architecturally and philosophically, to the Heartland Whole Health Institute, founded by Alice Walton in 2019 in Bentonville.
“We are delighted to see the state-of-the-art center open and expand access to valuable, behavior-changing whole health programs in our region,” said Augusta Branham, a spokeswoman for the institute. “This is a leading example of how companies can make a meaningful difference in employee health and well-being, and thousands of Walmart associates and families will benefit greatly from having this center on campus.”
The Walton Family Holdings Trust invested $225 million into the whole health and fitness center, according to previous reporting by the Northwest Arkansas-Democrat Gazette.
This building is the first amenity on the 350-acre new Home Office in the heart of Bentonville. Construction on the headquarters is being done in phases but expected to be completed in 2025.
Henley said there are currently 13,000 individuals enrolled at the Whole Health Fitness Center, but she expects to see more as the center opens.
Membership costs are deducted from associates’ paychecks on a biweekly basis. Individual memberships are $12 a paycheck and family memberships are $21 a paycheck. Family memberships cover a spouse or domestic partner and dependents in the same household younger than 26.