Business Profile: Anytime Fitness

It takes a bit of motivation just to walk into the gym, but the moment you step into you see a chalkboard meant to get you a little more pumped.

"Get-N-Shape, Stay-N-Shape," one client wrote.

"Build muscle," wrote another.

One visitor's weight loss goal is marked with eraser streaks on the chalkboard. Her goal is now 43 pounds away.

Nobody in the room may be quite as motivated and energetic as Prabha Raja, however. The Towson resident and former physician owns Anytime Fitness, which opened two months ago at 40 York Road. The gym hosts its grand opening

"We are geared toward the health goals," said Raja. "Based on people's goals, we're able to tell what you can do, how we can get those goals going."

A membership at Raja's gym starts at $29.99, though the fitness facility will offer some specials for the grand opening.

The Towson location is one of more than 1,500 worldwide. The chain bills itself as a well-designed, trendy, high-tech alternative to other gyms. A simple key fob provides 24-hour access to any location worldwide (including 16 in Maryland). An iPhone app helps you figure out how long you'll need to spend on the ellipticals to burn off that hamburger. And one of Raja's three personal trainers on staff will help push you to get there.

This holistic and high-tech approach is perfect for what is, for better or worse, a growing market. About one-third of Americans—and 27.1 percent of Marylanders—are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. McClatchy-Tribune reported this week that technology and whole-life training are among the major trends you'll see in the fitness industry in 2012.

But in Towson, Raja said that accessibility is the biggest selling point for a diverse workforce of health care, law enforcement and public employees who don't always work the 9 to 5.

"The nurses and technicians in Towson, the policemen and firefighters, they all come at nighttime, early in the morning," he said. "They don't have to rush to a gym before the gym closes, so it's so easy. They can definitely take care of their health and keep their work going no matter what time it is."