SHULLSBURG – It was only last year on Halloween that Peggy Steger and her children, Danielle Steger, Laurel Hartung and Morgan Steger purchased Shullsburg Health and Fitness, bringing about an adventure they never knew they wanted.

They initially were looking for office space for Peggy’s business, Sentinel Home Care, which she has operated out of her home since 2013.

“I needed to get my business off of my dining room table,” Peggy joked. “Our realtor suggested we take a look at this place and it really all made sense.”

The fitness center, located at 142 E. Water Street in Shullsburg, was originally built in 2006. When the Steger family purchased it, most of the items were still original from when it was created.

“The first month felt like a downhill battle because we were replacing so much and the equipment was so expensive. It has calmed down and now we have a lot of members. Everyone is excited about it,” Laurel stated.

When they purchased the business, there were only 10 members still participating. They set a goal to reach at least 60 members.

“We reached our goal by the end of December and then in January we reached 80 members. We were ecstatic,” Laurel added.

They have added a lot of new things: a squat rack, punching bag and sit down elliptical machines and railings everywhere for those who may have some mobility and balance issues; and they also updated items, such as the treadmills and TVs.

“People in the community are happy to have it,” Danielle said.

The fitness center is now open 24/7 with an updated lock system and security cameras, upstairs, downstairs, and outside, helping the local authorities keep an eye on the area.

With the update to the TVs, the fitness center also offers Netflix and Hulu, along with music from Pandora.

“People can keep watching their shows from home. Some can only watch their shows if they come down here so it is a little motivation to come and work out,” Danielle jested.

They offer a Strength and Stretch Lite Series with teacher Jodi Tuescher of Darlington, which everyone seems to enjoy.

“If you don’t know where to start, that is the place to start and get some basic workout knowledge,” Laurel suggested.

They offer beginner and intermediate yoga classes and for those who have no idea about working out, a personal trainer is available to help with all of the right needs.

The women’s and kid’s self defense classes were well attended and many stated they enjoyed them.

“Both me and Peggy are nurses and Laurel on the farm and Morgan working at Cargill and on the farm, we look to other people to help coach. We don’t know much about it and are glad for the help we have received,” Danielle said.

With everyone’s summer schedules all over the place, they will be starting classes back up again in the fall.

They offer month-to-month membership so no one is locked into a certain period of time. Discounts are given to anyone that does a service: nurses, teachers, school staff, firefighters, police officers and there are discounts for veterans. There are single and family payment options. They want to be flexible and  do things that are the best for everyone. They are very kid friendly with a corner area for coloring and playing with blocks along with a kids’ basketball hoop downstairs, to help keep every age active.

“The community has been great. They treat it like it was their own, which that is huge when we can’t be here all the time. We have never had any issues and if there are, we make sure to list our numbers so people can get a hold of us,” Danielle said.

“The day we walked in here, there has been nothing but positive feedback. Fitness is not just for adults, it is for everyone and we have someone from every age group as a member,” Peggy added.

“Everybody has heard about it and it is totally different from before. We have changed a lot. It needed to happen. It had been here for 12 years and many people didn’t know it was here,” Laurel continued.

On Aug. 10, the fitness center will be sponsoring the Gravity Hill 5K to help promote all the wellness businesses in Shullsburg. More details will be available in the Republican Journal.

“It has been a step by step process. We didn’t know what we were getting into,” Danielle included.

Their suggestion box keeps them on their toes but there hasn’t been a conversation where expansion hasn’t been brought up; but that is for a distant future topic.