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D1 Training facility opens new location in Rockford area

A fitness center that provides custom training programs to help people achieve their sports and fitness goals is now available to athletes of all ages in the Rockford area.

D1 Training has opened a 4,500-square-foot gym at 1003 West Lane Road in Machesney Park.

“Our classes include the total athlete workout,” said Jim Baluch who, along with his wife, Laura, owns the new facility. “You’re going to get a dynamic warmup. You’re going to do core strength, conditioning and then a cool down period. We also offer sport-specific personal training for football, baseball, hockey and lacrosse.”

The training center offers state-of-the-art weight racks, treadmills, rowing machines and assault bikes.

Individual or group training sessions are available for everyone from adults to student athletes.

“Young athletes can come in here and they can get bigger, stronger and faster,” Laura Baluch said. “I think we’re going to see great strides in the number of professional and Division 1 athletes that come out of this area when they do this type of workout that is based on a Division 1 program.”

More:Comings & goings: Businesses that opened, closed in the Rockford area in 2022

Seventh grader Luke Moberg works out several times a week to keep his 167 pound body in peak form.

Moberg, 13, is a two sport athlete at Stephen Mack Middle School in Rockton. He plans to play football when he enrolls at Hononegah High School in the fall of 2024.

The desire to stay in shape and improve his footwork on the gridiron prompted Moberg to join a fitness class at D1 Training.

Kaleb Collins pushes a sled during a workout on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, at D1 Training in Machesney Park.

“You get sore eventually but it feels good in the moment because you’re getting your body hyped up and you’re just building up,” Moberg said.

But you don’t have to be a young, buff athlete to utilize D1 Training.

Couch potatoes are welcome, too, Jim Baluch said.

“This is a place for wellness and your overall, general health,” he said. “We also have the ability to provide nutrition assistance, so it’s a total concept at D1 Training.”

D1 Training’s Rockford-area location is currently open from 5:30 am to 7:30 pm Monday through Saturday.

More information can be found by accessing https://www.d1training.com/rockford/

D1 Training was founded in 2001 by former University of Tennessee fullback Will Bartholomew after his dream of a professional football career with the Denver Broncos was cut short by a knee injury.

D1 Training began franchising in 2017 and currently has about 60 locations with an additional 120 in development across 26 states.

NFL Hall of Famer quarterback Peyton Manning, who was a teammate of Batholomew’s at the University of Tennessee, owns four D1 training facilities.

The brand was recently ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 and was named a Top 30 Gym in America by Men’s Health Magazine.

Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, [email protected] or @DeCosterKen.

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