How a gym owner survived a year of COVID
Like thousands of other small business owners in Pennsylvania, Marty McLoughlin was forced to close his gym in Fallsington on government orders responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsure of his future, he scrambled to save his business. He explains how he survived and is looking to grow.
JD Mullane, Phil Gianficaro and Craig Veltri, Bucks County Courier Times
If you’re an older man who grunts or groans when rising from a chair, this is for you.
A Levittown gym has gone viral with a 20-second video of an eight-step muscle mobility exercise called “Old Man Challenge.”
The video, posted March 25, is at 1.6 million views and trending on Facebook and elsewhere on social media.
“We’re just riding the lightning,” said Marty McLoughlin, founder and owner of Extreme Fitness on New Falls Road in Falls. “This is the first time any of our videos have gone viral.”
McLoughlin, 55, said he did the video after seeing a similar demo online.
“I wondered if I could do it,” he said.
His wife, Linda, got a phone and called out commands as he followed.
With arms crossed, he squatted, then kneeled, sat back on his heels, then moved one leg and the other in front of him, crossed his legs, rocked forward onto his knees and stood up.
That got him almost 2 million views. He admits he has no idea why.
“We tapped into something special,” he said.
Facebook metrics show 99 percent of viewers are in the U.S., and 80 percent are men ages 45-55.
“In that age bracket, mobility is really a safe game, a good challenge over traditional weightlifting in a gym,” he said. “People may be saying, ‘I’d rather be able to move easily when I’m 60, than bench 225. It’s more practical.’”
McLoughlin said loss of muscle and joint mobility for men over 50 leads to serious injuries in their later years from falling.
One-third of adults over age 50 will die within one year of fracturing a hip.
“That’s why maintaining mobility is so important,” he said.
JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@couriertimes.com.
