Time flies when you’re having fun, they say. Mt Si Sports + Fitness owners Lynn Grisham and Ben Cockman certainly think so.

It’s been a rapid seven years since Grisham and Cockman opened their North Bend gym with an eye toward an inviting, family-friendly work-out center.

Now, with a just-completed remodel in place, Mt Si Sports + Fitness is holding an open house, October 11 to 17, inviting newcomers to preview gym programs.

Cockman said the gym offers something for everyone, from exercise-minded folks who just want to walk on a treadmill while watching TV to serious competitors who are in training for the Iron Man triathlon.

New look

The year-seven remodel gives more space for group workouts and adds a dedicated stretching area, helping Cockman’s efforts to help clients take an entire-body approach to health.

“I get people to embrace this ‘whole exercise’ thing,” Cockman said. “It’s not your mother’s way of working out.”

Cockman, a former corporate salesman, joined with Grishman, who has an accounting background, to start the gym. The Valley was the perfect place for the venture, he said.

After 22 years in consumer products, “I was bound and determined to do something that I enjoyed,” Cockman said.

Both he and Grisham were passionate about healthy living, and founded the Boalch Avenue gym. The space changed and transformed over the years, gradually become a brighter, airy venue that ensures customers don’t work out in isolation.

“We’re excited to see the changes,” said customer KC Knudson of North Bend.

She has always belonged to a gym, and does cardio two days a week and attends three classes at Mt Si Sports + Fitness.

Exercise is important to her life.

“You feel better, you sleep better,” she said. “You’re happier. It reduces your stress.”

Knudson said the gym is more about total health than appearances.

“It’s a family environment,” she said. “Everybody knows everybody, and we love to see new people come in.”

Two new glass-panel bay doors have been installed to bring in lots of fresh air and natural light.

“We really like having the doors open,” Cockman said. “Fresh air is a key thing to have in a gym. Fresh air is so much healthier.”

Bathrooms and showers have been refurbished. There is a new, wooden floor in the Group Fitness room and new energy-efficient lighting has been installed throughout the facility.

“The new lighting puts out ten times the lumens we had before, for half the energy,” Cockman said.

Training and classes

Mt Si Sports + Fitness offers many group exercise and small group training classes that focus on results, such as yoga, spin cycling, body conditioning, “Skinny Jeans” step and weight training. Special services include body fat and metabolic rate testing and nutritional seminars.

During the open house, fitness vendors will be on site from Lulu Lemon Yoga Apparel, The Foot Zone and Snoqualmie Coffee Roasting Company.

Drawings for memberships and personal training packages, among other prizes, will be held.

The gym’s joining fee is being waived during the promotion, and visitors can preview class offerings.

“Everybody is welcome to try any of our classes,” Cockman said.

Mt Si Sports + Fitness is open seven days a week, and is located at 1546 Boalch Ave. N.W. between North Bend and Snoqualmie. Learn more at www.mtsisports.com.