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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-states. In addition to this development from Peosta, Iowa, we will share other news in Tuesday’s edition.
PEOSTA, Iowa — A women’s fitness center is warming up for its grand opening in Peosta.
Sweat Inspire Sisterhood, located at 7477 Thunder Valley Drive, is set to open March 1 near Darkbird Taphouse and Jumble Coffee. The fitness center will offer a variety of workout classes for women with a focus on strength training and community building.
“I wanted to create something that was by and for women,” said owner Erika Hermsen. “It’s a fitness center, but I hope it can be more than that. I want it to be a place for events, workshops or just to meet new people.”
Hermsen launched Sweat Inspire Sisterhood online in 2016 as a virtual workout community. She said she started the business to create a space for adult women to focus on fitness in a healthy, empowering environment.
The online community grew over the years, Hermsen said, prompting her to work toward opening a brick-and-mortar location. A Farley native, she said it made sense to build that location close to her hometown.
“I always knew I wanted to open something back home,” said Hermsen, who currently lives near Kansas City, Mo. “That’s always been the dream.”
The fitness center will offer classes six days a week, Hermsen said, with the exception of Sunday. There, instructors will lead classes on high intensity interval training, dance classes, hot yoga and more.
Women can sign up as members for unlimited access or purchase class passes to take a certain number of drop-in lessons. In-person members also will have access to Sweat Inspire Sisterhood’s ongoing online offerings.
All classes will focus on improving strength and overall well-being, Hermsen said.
“Our motto has always been ‘strong, not skinny,’” she said. “Growing up in the ’90s and seeing all the photos of super, super skinny girls in magazines, I know that’s easy to internalize. … But we really want to focus on getting strong and staying healthy, not just losing a bunch of weight.”
Sweat Inspire Sisterhood will host an open house for its Peosta location from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, and from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 24 and 25. Tours will be available at those times, as well as discounted “founders” membership pricing.
Further updates on the center can be found online at sweatinspiresisterhood.com or by following the Sweat Inspire Sisterhood Facebook page.