Many people have trouble making exercise a priority in their lives because their schedules prevent them from going to the gym. A new local fitness center, however, is trying to change that.

In December of last year, Auburn natives Nick DeAngelis and Tony Tardibone decided to turn their passion for fitness into a business by opening X-treme Fitness 24/7, Auburn's only 24-hour gym.

“We had a private gym for around 20 to 30 guys over on Columbus Street,” explained DeAngelis' son, Nick Jr., “and that kind of meshed into this.”

“Everyone liked the convenience of it when we had the private gym, so we decided to open this up,” said personal trainer Michael DeRosa. “The goal is to help draw people into a fitness lifestyle because it's convenient.”

Nick Jr. agreed.

“This gym gives people the opportunity to come in after work, even if they're working a three to eleven shift. Every other gym that you go to closes at about nine or 10 o'clock. We wanted to give people the option to come in at three in the morning if they want to.”

Because the gym is open around the clock, each member gets a key to the building

“They can come and go as they want,” said DeAngelis. “It's like it's their place. That's the type of atmosphere that we're trying to make down here.”

According to Nick Jr., the atmosphere in the gym is very comfortable.

“It's not cliquey,” he said. “Here nobody bothers one another. Everybody says hi and everybody's friendly. There are a lot of people here who are really, really nice. It's sort of like a ‘my gym is your gym, too' concept, and nobody ever really disrespects anything.”

Tardibone agreed. “Everyone takes care of it like it's their own.”

Although the gym's relaxed atmosphere is ideal for fitness experts who want to work out on their own, people who are new to weightlifting should also feel welcome at X-treme Fitness because they can easily get help from the gym's certified personal trainer, Michael DeRosa. Twenty-year-old DeRosa has extensive experience: he has competed in several body-building competitions and placed first in the Rochester Team Bodybuilding Competition. He is available to train gym members for bodybuilding competitions or to simply answer questions and show people how to use the equipment properly.

“If people don't want to set up an appointment and get trained,” he said, “I will teach them the right way to lift so that they're not going to be injured.”

The gym's equipment consists of both cardio and weight machines. The main part of the gym is filled with Nautilus, Cybex and Hammerstrength weight machines as well as conventional free weights, while the cardio room holds elliptical trainers, Stairmasters and treadmills.

“We've been adding to the equipment a little bit at a time,” Nick Jr. said.

While the gym already has everything needed for a good workout, DeAngelis and Tardibone plan to enlarge it so that they can add even more.

“We have another 600 square feet, so we have room to expand,” Tardibone said.

“We're going to get the other part of this building opened up,” DeAngelis said. “It's going to make it a bit bigger. We'll put more cardio equipment in then, which will make it a bit more woman-friendly.”

Tardibone said that he'd also like to offer fitness classes in the future.

“Right now we have about 100 members,” he said, “but as we get more people in, we'll run classes and stuff like that.”

According to Nick Jr., they are also considering some more innovative programs.

“At one point or another we might get sports teams down here and have a strength training coach or a fitness coach bring them through a circuit,” he said.

“Right now we're just getting started, but we're constantly coming up with new ideas.”