Dallas Iron Fitness founder Kaitlyn Gannon. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Rose Watson.)
A gym for clinically based patients who have experienced chronic pain, cardiac events or gastric bypass surgery is scheduled to open next month in East Dallas, the founder said.
Dallas Iron Fitness, which will open at the corner of Bryan Street and Haskell Avenue, will provide medical care to patients who don’t qualify for rehabilitation or need post rehab work at the recommendation of a doctor or physical therapist, owner Kaitlyn Gannon said.
“We want to bridge the gap for patients who don’t get seen,” she said. “They go home and do nothing because they don’t know what to do outside a clinical setting, and then they have a heart attack again because they never change their lifestyle.”
The concept is important to Gannon, a competitive swimmer and soccer player who’s needed five knee surgeries. After a knee replacement, she couldn’t afford $300 physical therapy sessions, but with a master’s degree in exercise science from Texas State University, she was able to design her own recovery plan.
“I knew what I could and could not do,” she said. “That designed my entire company — being there for people like me.”
Dallas Iron Fitness will provide a permanent space for six personal trainers, who currently operate in clients’ homes. The 2,345-square-foot building will also provide exercise equipment and space for group exercise classes.
The gym’s medical fitness side may be covered by patients’ insurance, but anyone looking to get healthy can buy a membership, starting at $60 a month.
It will be the city’s first Dallas Iron Fitness location when it opens in February, about a month before Gannon is expecting a baby.
“There’s nothing like being pregnant and building a gym at the same time,” she said. “It’s the easiest time to build a business when they’re still inside your stomach.”
