A down economy is no time to cut fitness from one’s regimen, say the owners of four new gyms that either opened recently or are slated to open in the next two months in Bend.

Despite economic challenges that come from opening a new business during a recession, each of the gym’s owners is betting new members will flock to their gyms in search of a competitively priced and lower-commitment membership, and a stress-relieving workout.

Matt Barrett picked the worst possible time to start a business, but was still able to obtain financing for the project because it came from a strong business model, he said.

Barrett, who has lived in Bend for 3½ years and is transitioning from a career in high tech for the past 17 years, is opening two new franchises of Chanhassen, Minn.-based Snap Fitness in Bend. There are more than 900 Snap Fitness gyms open around the country, according to Barrett.

The gyms will be stocked with new cardio and weight-lifting equipment, Barrett said.

Like its national competitor, Hastings, Minn.-based Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Both gyms’ members access the facilities with an electronic key card.

An Anytime Fitness opened near the Simpson Avenue and Colorado Avenue roundabout in Bend in November 2006.

Snap Fitness gyms in NorthWest Crossing and Brookswood Meadow Plaza will open in late January and early February, respectively, Barrett said.

Each of the two gyms will be surrounded by high-population neighborhoods and close to 95 percent of its members will live within two miles of the gym, he said.

“I had been living in NorthWest Crossing when I got turned on to the Snap concept and I thought, ‘What a great business model for that neighborhood,’” Barrett said. “The business is low overhead, has key-card access and is not staffed overnight. Once I hit break-even point, my costs are fixed.”

The first Snap Fitness will open Dec. 18 in northeast Bend, said Anne Barrans, co-owner and manager.

Like Barrett, Barrans lived in the neighborhood where she is opening her gym and saw an opportunity.

“Bend is a very athletic community, and people like to get outside, but we need to stay in shape to do all the things we need to do,” Barrans said. “We are getting tons of interest.”

All three Snap Fitness gyms will offer monthly memberships for $39.95. An early promotion will waive a $49 enrollment fee for those who enroll before each of the three gyms opens, according to Barrett.

“People feel really good about that because they are not locked in,” Barrans said of the monthly memberships. They especially like that in the current economy, she said.

Another new gym, Elite Fitness and Education, opened in early fall in southeast Bend at the old location of the Gold’s Gym on Third Street across from the Fred Meyer Shopping Center.

Elite Fitness offers month-to-month memberships for $19.99, plus a $59 enrollment fee, said Matt Brundage, co-owner.

“We are not feeling the effects of the economy,” Brundage said. “You don’t eliminate the positive things in life to deal with adversity. We are very inexpensive.”

The month-to-month memberships also hold the gym’s management accountable for improving the health of its members, he said.

Instead of daily aerobics classes, the gym holds five educational seminars per week. The seminars are geared toward improving health through topics such as proper nutrition and discussing ways to work out specific ailments such as back pain.

“We have to take care of our members or they will leave,” he said.

Since opening in early fall, Elite Fitness has approximately 800 members, Brundage said.

Members also are held accountable, he said.

“We know when someone is working out and when they are not,” Brundage said. “We know when they are eating right and when they are not. We will call people if they haven’t showed up. We will give them a wake-up call if they want us to.”