A new gym at the corner of MoPac and Parmer Lane wants to solve one of the most common gripes in group fitness classes: waiting your turn for the squat rack. Industrious, a fitness franchise that began as a small operation in Seattle, Washington, opened its Northwest Austin location on September 5, giving every member in a class their own dedicated workout station stocked with a bench, barbells, a rowing machine and a treadmill.
The station, called the HALO, is a 13-by-13-foot personal training zone designed so nobody has to share equipment mid-workout, according to Community Impact. Co-owners Luis Herrera and Mallory Herrera opened the studio at 2501 W. Parmer Lane, Ste. 400A, inside the shopping center at the corner of MoPac and Parmer Lane. “Everything you need or that you want for your workout, it's already here for you,” Luis Herrera said.
Industrious offers 50-minute group fitness workouts led by coaches throughout the day, branded as Industrious 50 classes, along with open gym time so members can use a HALO station on their own outside of scheduled sessions. The gym also includes restrooms and showers for members heading straight from a workout to the office. Industrious plans to bring in an InBody scan machine that analyzes muscle mass and body fat percentage using bioelectrical impedance analysis, though the technology carries a recognized margin of error of roughly plus or minus 3% to 5% compared with DEXA scans, according to Zing Coach.
From a Seattle CrossFit Box to a Texas Expansion
The brand's roots trace back to 2011, when founder and CEO Stephen Hitt started Industrious as a single CrossFit affiliate in Lynnwood, Washington, per Industrious. The HALO station now anchoring the Austin studio is a 13-by-13-foot setup.
From Washington, the franchise pushed into suburban Texas markets, opening studios in Frisco, Spring and Mont Belvieu before landing in Northwest Austin.
New Members Can Start for a Dollar
To pull in new members, Industrious is offering the first month of membership for $1 through the rest of September, along with other limited-time promotions available at sign-up. Details about The HALO Games are not provided by the available event listing.
A Crowded Corridor for Fitness Options
The Parmer Lane studio sits inside the Market at Parmer retail center, anchored by an H-E-B grocery store and surrounded by tenants including The Joint Chiropractic and Basil Thai, according to The Joint Chiropractic. That grocery-anchored setting puts Industrious near two major roadways, but it also lands the gym in an increasingly competitive stretch of MoPac. A 40,000-square-foot, 24/7 EōS Fitness is planned for part of the former Fry's Electronics site at 12707 N. MoPac Expressway, as Hoodline previously reported.
Industrious uses a coached, small-station format. The global boutique gym studio market remains a focus of industry analysis, according to GlobeNewswire. U.S. fitness facility memberships are tracked in industry reports, according to the Fitness Franchise Industry Statistics report. Industry benchmarking data includes membership-related metrics, per the Fitness Franchise Industry Statistics report.
Whether that retention edge holds up once the $1 introductory rate expires, and how Industrious fares in the local fitness market, remains to be seen as the Northwest Austin location settles into its new home at MoPac and Parmer Lane.
