New Jersey’s Ronald and Anna Lubischer are bonded in health. As former athletes and lifelong health fanatics, the 2 have been launched by a mutual good friend in 2010, and have been married 4 years later. Then, having already owned his first gymnasium, Ronnie would take his partnership with Anna to the subsequent degree once they determined to crew up professionally and get critical about launching a number of areas. Now, with a busy household life, and a ardour for creating the proper place to pump iron, this duo is disrupting the sterile, franchise gymnasium mannequin.
As followers of old-school, dungeon fashion gyms, Ronnie and Anna are being progressive with their amenities, whereas staying true to the concept of the hardcore exercise. M&F sat down with the pair, who function a number of areas of their Burn-N-Blast gymnasium idea, to search out out extra.
“We encourage hardcore coaching however demand ‘no nonsense’ respect for our gymnasium and members,” says Ronnie. “Should you bend a bar from urgent a heavy weight, we take that bar and retire it to a particular rack that has all of the bent bars that our members have earned over time by way of spectacular lifts!”
There’s little doubt that Ronnie understands the mindset of an all-in exercise since he performed semi-professional soccer earlier than competing as an NPC bodybuilder, within the heavyweight division. “Nevertheless, “Should you’re dropping your weights and screaming and yelling for no good motive, we’ll politely inform you that this isn’t how we do it right here,” he provides. “You may deliver your personal chalk and use it anytime so long as you clear up after your self. You may load the leg press with twenty-four 45s, however your reps higher be immaculate… and it’s understood that you simply at all times rerack your weights.”
He provides: “Our motto is ‘The place old-fashioned rules meet new faculty expertise,’ and we stand by that to this present day. Our gyms are a throwback to the outdated hardcore basement fashion gyms of the previous the place everyone seems to be accepted, as long as they respect the way in which of the iron and their fellow gymnasium members.”
Burn-N-Blast: A Combo of Outdated-Faculty and New Tech
There’s little doubt that there’s a plethora of purchasers searching for a substitute for among the trendy, nameless wanting gyms, that always supply fashion however little in the way in which of substance. Ronnie and Anna are having fun with enormous membership numbers from all expertise ranges—from newbies to superior lifters to skilled athletes. Luckily, they’re greater than certified to take each particular person by way of their journey to greatness. Anna was a nationally-ranked determine skater and coached ice skating for greater than 15 years. She’s additionally a profitable bodybuilder, incomes second-place on the New Jersey State Championship simply six months following a C-Part after giving beginning to their first baby.
By design, every Burn-N-Blast location is exclusive, with a person checklist of kit, however one factor that all of them have in widespread is that they’re proudly impartial.
“We’re completely impartial, household owned and operated, with zero exterior buyers,” says Ronnie. Many gymgoers might not be conscious that franchise gyms are sometimes managed by enormous conglomerates that don’t at all times select their tools based mostly on a love of understanding. All too typically, offers are carried out to make it possible for gymnasium areas all function the identical tools due to profitable distribution agreements and an emphasis on maximizing earnings as a substitute of maximizing muscle-mass.
“Fairly actually, myself and Anna personal every part right down to the drywall of our areas, and this provides us the liberty to run our gyms precisely how we see match,” provides Ronnie. “And this offers our members with a direct hyperlink to possession, to expedite any and all questions, recommendations, issues, and many others. This additionally permits us to equip our gyms in any approach potential with out {the handcuffs} of a company ground plan, or a set ‘purchase checklist.’”
Ronnie and Anna Lubischer Plan Their Gyms Proper All the way down to the Period
“There are specific gymnasium chains which can be required to hold a predetermined stock of kit,” says Ronnie. “In our case, we will combine and match not simply manufacturers however eras of kit too. Every of our areas is a novel mixture of the most effective of some new, cutting-edge manufacturers similar to Prime, Watson, Arsenal, and Atlantis blended with up-and-coming mom-and-pop designers like Uncooked Motive Works, Cross Axes Tech, and GymBros. Then, there’s old-school items which can be out of manufacturing, like the unique Nautilus, BodyMasters, Flex, and Paramount items simply to call a number of. Our aim is to construct larger and badder ‘storage fashion’ gyms.”
For Burn-N-Blast gyms, every part stems from a love of bodybuilding. “Selfishly, for myself and Anna, we plan with the precise specs of what we wish for our personal completely executed exercises, however then we invite all of our mates to come back and prepare with us too,” explains Ronnie of the event course of. “As an tools collector and aficionado, I like to simply let different individuals take pleasure in instruments they both don’t have entry to, or by no means even knew about. We provide an atmosphere that doesn’t actually exist within the present gymnasium panorama anymore and our membership pays tribute to that.”
The underside line, as Ronnie explains, is each individual of each talent degree is welcome at Burn-N-Blast, as his each day glimpse of his attendance proves. “As an illustration, not too long ago at our Lengthy Department location I used to be coaching a rising sophomore ice hockey participant from the Citadel whereas a newly minted IFBB professional was smashing legs, together with two NFL beginning offensive linemen who have been getting in a exercise pre-beach, as we’re a beachfront location. Then, one in every of my older ‘gymnasium rat’ sort members got here as much as me and thanked me for the 2 new curated items that I’d added—a uncommon and intensely functionable Cybex Eagle Kneeling Lateral Elevate and a Life Health Signature Sequence Seated Uni-Lateral Biceps Curl.”
The Hardcore Fitness center Empire Strikes Again
“Everybody who involves [Burn-N-Blast] loves to coach however now we have a larger cross-section of purchasers that you simply’ll expertise at a ‘harder-core’ ambiance gymnasium,” explains Ronnie. “That’s why you’ll see households coaching collectively at our areas. We’ve got one household that comes virtually on daily basis collectively. We additionally see three brothers who all are cops or fireman domestically, their sons who’re faculty athletes, their daughters who’re native highschool athletes, and their wives who use the cardio machines. All of them come and prepare as one unit virtually each day even with completely different ranges of health and targets. That’s actually cool, that’s actually one thing we’re happy with, and that’s what makes [Burn-N-Blast] distinctive.”
The Lubischers personal two, 24-hour gyms (in Lengthy Department and West Lengthy Department, New Jersey) in addition to a high-end personal private coaching studio in West Lengthy Department. Proper now, they’re actively scouting for a 3rd, 24-hour location. So, as a defender and innovator of the hardcore gymnasium empire, what a part of Ronnie’s assortment is he most happy with? “Wow that’s a troublesome query,” he says. “Virtually each piece of kit at each location is particular to me for various causes. As an illustration, in our personal studio now we have three authentic PowerTecnic items. We’ve got the Tremendous Excessive Stepper, The SuperCAT Squat, and an authentic Energy Runner. To this present day, for athletes, you may’t get a lot better.
“All of my Randy Coyle authentic items are close to and pricey to me as properly, as we boast a SwingSquat. We’re additionally one in every of lower than 50 gyms within the nation with a plate loaded entrance squat machine referred to as the Saxon Squat, in addition to a custom-made plate loaded multi-grip bent over leverage row that was hand delivered to us. We even have a prototype gifted to us referred to as the GlutePress. After which there’s the Flex Hamtractor, or tall body Pit Shark. I may go on, however that’s why I actually say we don’t buy tools like most different gymnasium house owners. We curate our Burn-N-Blast gymnasium flooring for optimum outcomes.”
With half of all gymnasium members anticipated to give up inside their first six months of membership, discovering the suitable atmosphere is crucial for staying motivated and sticking with a sustainable exercise regime. Luckily, with their Burn-N-Blast areas, the Lubischer’s are taking the time to share their lifelong ardour with those that need to turn out to be the most effective variations of themselves. “Our members know we’re right here to assist, and I’m more than pleased to let individuals make their very own errors,” explains Ronnie, who together with Anna, created their very own barcode-activated tutorial movies for every Burn-N-Blast machine. “However, in the event that they’re doing one thing that may endanger themselves or different members, it’s my job to step in and cease it, however these are teachable moments the place hopefully they take our recommendation and develop mentally and bodily for a few years to come back.”
