Southside workout facility Get Built expands, moves locations

Stephen Smith lifts a bar bell over his head along with his other classmates Monday at Get Built. Staff photo. 

Southside workout facility Get Built started in the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Business Development Center — a local incubator — before moving to Main Street and now the business has expanded again.

“Business is good,” one of the owners, Mike Alley, said Monday as he watched about 10 participants hoisting bar bells over their heads.

Over the weekend, Get Built moved from just off of East Main Street to West Main Street into a building that is twice as big as its former location. 

Despite launching during the recession in 2008 and having rates that are higher than any other gym, local residents keep signing up.

Alley and his business partner David Yann have taken the growth as it comes, Alley said.

“We’ve never been in debt,” he said. “We just paid what we could afford. We bought what we could at the time. As we grew, we added equipment.

Currently Alley has about 80 clients, although that number fluctuates, depending on the season.

In June, he worked with about 100 people and he expects the fall to bring an uptick in participants.

“I think this represents something different,” he said. “A lot of people we attract have been exercising for a while and kind of feel like they are in a rut. I think, for the most part, the people who are on board with us view this as an investment.”

Get Built teaches Crossfit exercise, Alley said.

His businesses pays to license that name, which is indicative of the intensity of workout.

With Get Built, participants get a coach and the benefit of a workout community, Alley also said.

On Monday, in between lifting bar bells over their heads and then going straight into pull ups, participants gave each other high fives and other encouragement.   

David Last, who has been working out at Get Built for about four months, said he likes it because it is something new every session and the exercises are tailored to each person.

After a lunch-time Crossfit session on Monday, mother of two Tara Poole, who has been coming to Get Built for about a year, said she was initially intimidated when watching others do the workout.

“They start you out in a very manageable way,” she said.

For her, the work has paid off. She can fit into some of the clothes she wore before giving birth to her most recent child, who is about a year and a half old.

“I like it because the workouts are intense and I would never push myself this hard on my own.”

Jeb Barrett rests for a moment after his Crossfit workout at Get Built. Owner Mike Alley said it is typical for participants to be worn out and lie down. It is also typical for other classmates to encourage someone who is tired. As Barrett rested, another classmate stopped by to give him a high five Monday. Staff photo.