The Basement Gym opens in St. Charles

ST. CHARLES – Many people make it their resolution to exercise more and lose weight in the New Year.

The owners of The Basement Gym want to make sure people meet their fitness goals. Husband and wife Michael and Daniela Saracco, along with business partner John Daum, recently opened The Basement Gym at 1450 W. Main St., Suite G, in St. Charles.

Living up to its name, The Basement Gym is located in the basement of the building that also houses their other business – BeneFIT Health and Fitness Consultants, which does personal training and nutritional coaching.

"We decided to keep that separate from this business," Daniela Saracco said. "We want this place to be for our members exclusively. We want them to have the run of the place."

The Basement Gym contains many amenities one might not find in another gym, such as a hair salon and blow dry bar.

"We have a professional that comes in here by appointment and does everything, full service," Daniela Saracco said.

Childcare also is provided. The couple, along with Daum, both know the importance of childcare since they are parents themselves. The 8,000-square-foot gym also has a resident chiropractor, Colton Anderson, who maintains an office at the facility.

"That's another thing we have that's actually unique," Daum said. "He'll bring members out on the floor and go through corrective exercises."

A membership to the gym costs $45 a month or $450 annually. Members do not have to commit to a contract or pay enrollment fees. Service members receive a discount.

There is a separate charge for childcare. Members can work out using a wide variety of equipment, including tires that weigh about 500 pounds each.

"We use them for a number of different movements, specifically for tire flips, which is an incredible, functional movement," Daniela Saracco said. "Systemically, it's just incredible, because you use every single muscle to do that."

Another piece of equipment that is unique to The Basement Gym is a yoke walk.

"Essentially you load it up with as much weight as you're willing to do and you put it on your back just like a squat bar," she said.

Of course, members also have access to more traditional types of equipment such as weight machines and dumbbells. The gym is divided up into different areas of exercise.

"Fitness itself has started to kind of come into different categories, to where there is power lifting, body building and now there's functional strength training," Daum said. "There's all these different aspects. We are one of the first people that have combined everything. There's not one thing that you cannot do here if you are any athlete of any sort."

And they are happy to help you achieve your goals, no matter what your fitness level is.

"We have a world record power lifter that comes here," Daum said. "And we will have somebody on a machine next to him that it's their third time ever in their life working out."

The Basement Gym also sports a dedicated "selfie" mirror for members to use.

"Why not be proud of your progress," Daniela Saracco said.

The gym features low lighting, something which is appealing to physique competitors, she said.

"A lot of our physique competitors appreciate this lighting because it mimics stage lighting," she said. "So we took that into account."

Providing personal service is a source of pride for the owners of The Basement Gym. They have already gotten to know many of their members since opening in October.

"We're lifting next to them," Daum said. "We're spotting them."

They plan to host events throughout the year for their members on various topics.

"We have a lot of great ideas and now we have the space to executive them," Daniela Saracco said.

The Basement Gym is open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Daum said they tried to provide flexibility in their hours.

"You have your very, very dedicated people that wake up in the early morning to come in," he said. "Then you have your after work people. We tried to cover every aspect that we could."

They also plan to expand their reach in the Chicagoland area through opening additional locations.