Improve your life one workout at a time

How often have you gone to an organization or company on a mission to accomplish a goal but turned away because the surroundings weren’t what you expected?

Many different types of establishments can struggle to find the right atmosphere to attract and keep clients, including gyms or physical wellness centers.

John Paul “JP” Ramirez and the staff at his gym, X-ercise Science Personal Training and Fitness, pride themselves on their ability to create an environment that helps trainers assist Illinois Valley residents in getting in shape or staying in shape.

“I think people come because we have the combination of the mindset of helping people and the environment. Both of them have helped with the success we’ve had. We pay attention to detail. It’s also organic in the sense the people we have on staff have been with us for 15 to 20 years. It makes things move fluid and not forced,” Ramirez said.

“Also playing a part is we enjoy what we do and we’re reminded daily of why we’re trainers. It’s part of the reason why we’ve been fortunate up to this point because we have a lot of people like that. We’re in our fourth building now. A lot of it is because of our experience with our clientele. Our members and our trainers have formed a nice environment,” he said. “It’s been great.”

X-ercise Science was formed in 2012 and, after having three locations in the area, the gym is now at 830 Harrison St., Peru. The location holds a staff of approximately 15 and 11 trainers.

Ramirez, who is a 2025 member of the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under Forty award, had to make a tough decision after graduating from Putnam County High School and Eureka College, followed by five years of training and managing at Gold’s Gym in Bloomington.

“I was going back and forth of whether I should open in Bloomington, where I was, or back here, where I’m from,” Ramirez said. “We had equipment stored in Bloomington, and we had clients ready to go. Last minute, we decided to move back to the area.”

Now, with clients using his equipment from an hour’s radius of Peru, he knows he made the right decision to bring his physical training experience (now 19 years) and his passion for fitness back home. Having a trainer to assist people in their fitness journey can make all the difference for some clients.

“Having the one-on-one time with a trainer is beneficial. There is the attention to detail. You can look at a magazine and it will tell you to do three sets of 10,” Ramirez said. “What it doesn’t tell you is how your body is moving that day. Range of motion, strengths and weaknesses, energy levels, for that day are all indicators of what you should be doing. Having a trainer helps you optimize all of those factors.”