Do you know Holly Pettlon? Maybe you know her as Holly “Fitness” Pettlon — when she graduated from Luther College, she walked away with a degree in, yes, health and wellness!
After working at the Newton YMCA, spearheading step challenges and nutrition spelling bees in Colorado, and then working at an educational school district (the equivalent of an AEA in Iowa) in Washington State, Pettlon decided it was time to come back to Grinnell. Once back, she joined a crew of dedicated fitness professionals. Together, the team loves leading classes, giving workout advice, and providing personal training services.
“I thought to myself ‘I need to get back into the fitness world,’” recounts Petton. Now, she supervises the Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center (PWA), a 24/7 fitness facility in downtown Grinnell. This fitness center isn’t your typical workout space — no, this space allows you to join in on fun group classes, from spinning to yoga, rowing and more.
“What’s also unique about our fitness center is that we have a month to month membership. We understand everyone’s in a different part of their fitness journey, and maybe over the summertime, you’d rather be outside,” says Pettlon. “But when you come back, we’ll be here.”
Most of their classes are held multiple times a week, during different times of the day. Sometimes, PWA can’t help but provide a special twist to their offerings. “Once a year we have DJ Cox come, hit the lights, and play music during an hour spin ride. It’s kind of like a party on a bike, but with very high heart rates,” laughs Pettlon.
Recently, the staff added its Iron 30 class over the lunch hour, which focuses on strength training and pushing with higher weights and lower reps twice a week. “For women especially, science is showing how important it is to do strength training,” explains Pettlon. This means squats, lunges, and other compound exercises that target those large muscle groups.
For those who want to plug in their headphones, focus on their lifts or cardio, and ignore the world, PWA is also for you. The PWA boasts a number of treadmills, rowing machines, and various weightlifting machines — they even have a boxing punching bag and TRX bands.
Plus, they recently unveiled a new Smith machine — if you are a beginner to weights, it can be the perfect introduction to many exercises, from hip thrusts and chest press to shoulder incline press to squats.
“Everybody has loved that piece of equipment so far,” says Pettlon. The Smith machine is a fixed variation of using a typical barbell at a squat rack. Like a barbell, you can load the Smith machine’s barbell with weights on each side, and because of its fixed nature, the result is a guided, steady bar path.
“Because it’s on rails, it’s safer because all you have to do is flick the bar over and it will click into place,” explains Pettlon. This means the bar won’t automatically fall down as perhaps holding free weights or a barbell might — perfect for those who want to do heavier lifting without a spotter.
As previously mentioned, the PWA offers personal training services for those who wish for extra accountability, help with form, or guided workout routines. “We even had someone inquire about their father, who is 100 years old,” says Pettlon. “So sometimes it’s helping people get more tools in their toolbox or help shake it up.”
Monthly memberships at the PWA begin at $44 for individuals, $66 for couples, and $88 for families — but if you’re interested in classes, that can be covered under the day pass option of $15. Call the PWA at 641-236-2999 or stop in at 824 Commercial St to secure a membership! For those who need financial assistance, inquire about their sliding fee scale. Fitness can be affordable, and most of all, flexible.
Chamber Ambassadors from left to right:
- Ashley Sorensen — Volunteer Iowa
- Dan McCue — McCue & Associates LLC - American Family Insurance
- Kyra Pruszinfki — Grinnell Area Arts Council
- Trent Arment — MCG - Mahaska Communication Group
- Monica St. Angelo — Grinnell Area Arts Council
- Nicolle Donnelly — Poweshiek Insurance Agency
- Holly Pettlon — Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center - Postels Community Health Park
- Bri Gaunt — Community 1st Credit Union
- Desi Strayer — German Plumbing Heating and Cooling
- Sarah Smith — Grinnell College with Grinnell College Community Connections
- Libby Eggert — Grinnell College with Grinnell College Community Connections
- Blake Pearson — Converge Chiropractic PLLC
- Donnette Ellis — Grinnell College with Grinnell College Community Connections
- Ryan Beckman — Beckman Gallery & Gifts
- Jennifer McAlexander — JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security
- Fran Conn
- Nikki Armstead — Grinnell Chamber
- Yesenia Mozo — Grinnell Chamber
- Evan Petig — The Grinnellian
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