If there's one thing the owner of the new Work Out World (known as WOW) club wants people to know, it's that the facility is not a gym.

"We're a health club, not a gym, we're here to keep you alive," Steve Borghi, who lives in Alton and co-owns 30 WOW clubs nationwide, said. "It's about getting people out of bed or off the couch and exercising."

The Laconia facility, located downtown in the former Laconia Mall and now under construction, is the second WOW club in the state. The first opened in Nashua a couple years ago.

Borghi, who has been in the health club industry for 15 years, said several years ago, he and a partner, Tony Beninati, bought the franchise rights for Work Out World, which started as a chain of fitness clubs in New Jersey.

Today, there are 30 clubs nationwide, with a majority of them being located in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Borghi said he got into the business because, as a health club customer, he noticed there were a lot of people going home unsatisfied with their experience.

"I like to say that I cater to the forgotten majority," Borghi said, adding that, by his estimation, approximately 40 percent of his patrons are people who have never worked out before and another 40 percent are those who are getting back into regular fitness routines after years of not exercising.

Borghi said approximately 68 percent of club members are female, and a significant number of both male and female clients are of the baby boomer generation.

Borghi said because women represent the majority, they try to accommodate that population by providing day care during part of the day.

On the lower level of the club, in the former home of the Funky Monkey bar (now located across the street), there will be a women's only area, with much of the same equipment that can be found in the rest of the gym, including treadmills, elliptical machines and resistance/weight machines.

Borghi said he does this to give women the option, as they more than welcome to work out in the main, co-ed club.

"We're not trying to segregate the club," Borghi said.

Suzanne Bryant, general manager of the Laconia facility, said she likes working for Work Out World because of the philosophy of the company.

"I enjoy the atmosphere that Work Out World represents," Bryant said. "We're a friendly group of people with someone there to greet you and experts available to help or answer questions."

The Laconia facility has 2,200 square feet, including a cardio deck with more than 100 machines, a circuit training area, which has resistance and weight machines, each of which focus on different muscle groups, a day care area and class space for group exercise sessions such as Zumba, step, power yoga and even "Brazilian butt lift" classes.

The lower area will also include women's and men's changing areas and a room of spinning and arc machines.

Borghi said one of WOW's most popular classes are the "Sparc" classes, which have participants alternate between spinning bikes and arc machines — which simulate hiking — at direction of a teacher trained on both machines.

All the cardio machines are outfitted with their own plasma screen TVs so people can watch or not watch whatever they want.

Work Out World does not cater to the body builders or those with muscle envy.

Borghi said there the facility does not have any free weights over 85 pounds, and, similar to the policy of a few other fitness chains, there is not grunting, weight slamming or swearing allowed.

Borghi said he himself stays fit by working out 30 minutes three days a week.

At 44, Borghi said he's not looking to win any triathlons, but by doing cardio and some resistance training every week, he feels healthy and able to keep up with his four children, the youngest of which is 6.

He said the price he charges, $19.99 month is affordable to most people and the additional $9.99 a month for family or friends to join is even more so.

"We want to make easy for people to come with family and friends, it makes for a better experience," Borghi said.

Borghi said he chose the location because he thinks the city represents great potential.

"There are lots of families here, lots of people who work and need a conveniently located place to work out before or after work," Borghi said, adding that he expects approximately 700 visitors per day.

Borghi said that by bringing so many people to the club each day, he hopes it will draw more people to other Downtown area businesses.

"It's about the improving the community," Borghi said.

VICTORIA GUAY/CITIZEN PHOTO STEVE BORGHI of Alton, right, goes over the plans for the new Work Out World (also known as WOW) club in Laconia with, from left, Joe Scalia of Scalia Contracting in Meredith and Joe Manning, who works with Scalia. Borghi, who co-owns 30 WOW clubs nationwide said the downtown Laconia location is ideal and will draw hundreds of people per day when the facility opens in late January. * Order a print of this photo