Cannon Strength isn’t just a gym. Yeah, right. Every gym in existence claims this…

Let me tell you a story from one of our members. We will call him J.

One day, during J’s workout I stopped and asked him “J, why do you workout at Cannon?”

He responded “this place is awesome!”

I said “sure, but you could workout anywhere. Why here?”

He thought for a minute and finally said “because the people here are capable”.

I’ve reflected on that conversation on and off for the last  couple of years. It really stuck with me. Our members are capable. It seems that people who have it figured out aren’t obsessed with fitness (although it may seem like it to the common folk). They just use fitness as a tool for self improvement. Outside of the gym they are crushing it. Firefighters, sales reps, pilots, engineers, teachers, retirees, doctors, husbands, fathers, wives, mothers. Start adding these titles together and you end up with absolutely incredible people.

A retiree that’s lifting weights three days a week and then flying out to Argentina for a fly fishing trip?

A teacher that turns up every morning to crush weights?

A pilot/engineer Bruce Banner wanna be that is the nicest guy you’d ever meet and happens to deadlift 500lbs?


Our members come in with a wide range of training experience: from professional athletes, to men and women in their 70s with no prior strength training experience. Yeah, I know, weird mix of people right? The truth is that being dedicated to improving isn’t age or ability specific. The underlying motivation may vary, but the foundation is the same. Refuse mediocrity. So where did this idea come from? We didn’t just wake up one day and decide to open a gym.

Let me take you back to the mid 2010’s. When I was in college, an acquaintance of mine reached out with a proposition: “purchase my failing Snap Fitness from me” (this isn’t what he actually said, but this what he ultimately meant). In hind sight, I don’t know what the hell he was thinking asking a college student to buy his business. Despite my lack of funding, I considered it for a while. I had been working as a personal trainer for the last four years, so it wasn’t a far fetched thought.

The problem (besides for having no money), was that I was already working at a Snap Fitness, and I saw behind the scenes of the 24hr gym business. I wanted nothing to do with it. Low member retention, low member utilization and a soulless manakin of what was supposed to be a gym. This is the 24hr gym business model. Cheap memberships, long contracts and profiting from people not using their memberships. Up to 70% of their “members” never step foot in the gym after signing up. This is the intention and the norm in the 24hr gym business. Center sales and marketing efforts at a time when people are prime to start a fitness routine (think New Years) make it cheap, (besides for the hidden fees), and make them sign a 12 month contract. People didn’t bat an eye at a 12 month contract when it’s 40 bucks a month. Most people think “of course I will still be working out in 12 months” Poof, the member vanishes and never returns.

This 24 hr gym model was born in Minnesota in 2002. Since then, millions of people have tried and failed with these 24hr gyms (of course, some succeed. But that’s the exception to the rule). Low price + low services = failure. But hey, it’s cheap, right?…

I had other plans…

Around this time, I was batting 1000 with my personal training business. People started working with me and didn’t stop.

My conclusion was to open my own gym where the members actually use the product they paid for. What a novel thought. But how? Easy.

First, give every member the tools for success. For free.  Give every new member two free personal training sessions (Real personal training sessions. Not just a tour of the machines, but the kind that people pay hundreds for), and a legit custom program. Also, stack the memberships with flexible service options that are actually helpful.

Second, hire competent fitness pros through a rigorous 3 step hiring process, teach them how to serve people, and retain them. Typically, gyms run off a contract model with their trainers, and 80% of trainers leave the profession within a year of starting. If you have a pulse and a personal training certification from some arbitrarily vetted company, gyms will hire you. As long as you can find and maintain your own clients… It’s a bad deal for most trainers, and the clients end up paying the price.

Third, create a culture that Refuses Mediocrity. By definition, mediocrity represents average. The average American is overweight, stressed and broke. We expect more out of our members. Fitness is a tool to kick ass in life. Sure, losing 50lbs is cool, but who you become along the way is what we’re after. This mentality attracts the right people. We also aren’t afraid to say no. Our team is trained to recommend one of our competitors if we don’t think Cannon is a good fit for you.

If you’re happy with where you are at with your fitness, then why are you still reading all the way down here? If any of this resonates with you, and you’re looking for something different, book a call here, or download our app for a free day pass here


P.S. Why Northfield? Well, my wife is from New Prague. I pulled up a google maps, found Northfield, called someone (I can’t remember, the Chamber maybe?) and asked about available commercial space. We found a sketchy retail space (we used to be in the basement of an old building downtown) and signed a year lease while I was still in college. We hadn’t purchased equipment, we didn’t have a website, we didn’t have any money, but I thought “Hey, at least I will have a place to workout, hopefully other people want to workout with me…”