When we initially began planning and visualizing Thrive Active, we pictured flat-screen TVs at every station, lighting to accentuate our brand, speakers hanging from every rafter, you name it.

But, if you’ve visited Thrive Active, you now know that’s not what we’re about.

In the beginning, we just assumed that to compete in the fitness realm in Winnipeg, we would need to have all those same things.

The more we discussed, the more we circled back to one simple question. Why? Why do we want all of those features? Do we really need them?

The answer was no.

From that moment on, we knew we wanted to be different—stand out from the crowd. And right away, we knew one of our main initiatives was to create a unique eco-friendly gym.

About the Space

While we care deeply about helping you crush your fitness goals, we also care deeply about this planet we get to call home. Thrive Active is a space to grow stronger, reach goals, have fun, and rise to the challenge of becoming your best self -- and feel good about it!

Instead of using paper towels in the restrooms, we use hand dryers
The gym flooring is made from only recycled rubber
We have motion-sensor high-efficiency lighting
We have 8 ft wide high-efficiency ceiling fans to promote better air circulation
We are a paperless facility (minus the odd notebook in the office)
We use biodegradable cleaning wipes and eco-friendly cleaning products

Not a single piece of equipment in the gym needs a motor or electricity. All of our equipment uses human power—the one fueled by sweat. And, most of our equipment actually serves multiple purposes.

There are two pieces of *very big* equipment we’re really excited about: the man-made hill and stairs.

The Man-Made Hill

From day one, we desperately wanted to put some type of ramp inside our facility. And no, not just any sort of ramp, but a 28-degree incline man-made hill.

ThriveGymMay2020-27 (1).jpg — Benefits of sprinting uphill:

- Improves speed and possible speed output
- Burns more calories than running
- Strengthens core
- Allows for different movement variations like back pedalling, lateral shuffles, speed ladders, ball throws, and bear crawls.

During JT’s career as a professional athlete, he saw the major benefits of uphill sprinting firsthand. Not only is it fun, but it requires you to use your core, glutes, hamstrings, and even a little bit of upper body—making for an intense killer workout.

It makes sense why this method of training is used by so many elite-level athletes across various sports.

Another benefit? You maintain proper running form the entire length of the running surface. When you have to use the proper running form, you use muscle groups that you don’t typically use when running on a flat surface.

The Stairs

Compared to a step-mill, stairs actually give a real stepping experience. You’re able to move at a higher speed and work harder on the stairs than you would otherwise. And, anytime you’re able to improve your body’s output during exercise, results quickly follow.

The stairs also help push you even harder! We’ve noticed that, when grouped together in small groups, our clients tend to increase and surpass the typical effort they’re used to.

Our Equipment vs. Classic Gym Equipment

Our gym is designed with you in mind. From the exterior track to the turf in the middle, each aspect of the gym is designed for you to reach your full potential when you come to class.

Unlike typical gym equipment like step-mills or treadmills, with the equipment we use in our facility, we are seriously reducing our carbon footprint.

Let us explain.

Let’s use a regular treadmill in a commercial gym for comparison.

On average, the standard treadmill consumes approx. 600 to 700 kWh of high-intensity usage. If the average commercial gym has around 15 treadmills/facility, used for about 6 hours/day, that’s a lot of energy.

15 treadmills alone use roughly 6x more energy than the average American home (avg. 2500 sq ft) per month.

And that is just the energy consumed from the treadmills. That doesn’t include lighting, heating, cooling, heart rate monitors, sound, or other workout equipment like ellipticals.

We knew we didn’t want to produce these kinds of numbers. With our decision to go green and cut back on high energy workout equipment, let’s see how much energy we’ve saved.

In January, based off of our 5280 sq. ft. facility, our total energy consumption was 1490 kWh. That’s about 4x less than just 15 treadmills alone in a typical fitness facility.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far but we’re not done yet! We’re always brainstorming and thinking of new ways we can update and improve.

This is only the beginning.

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