Flash of Inspiration Leads to New Gym

Local woman opens fitness center in city’s 10th Ward

By Stacy Alderman
The Tube City Almanac
April 10, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Fitness trainer Jessica McCauley demonstrates equipment at her new facility, Flash Fitness, located in the city’s 10th Ward. (Stacy Alderman photo for Tube City Almanac)

Since becoming a certified trainer in 2016, Jessica McCauley has worked at multiple gyms throughout the area. Along the way, she met clients who followed her from place to place, even if it was to a temporary gym in her garage. 

Now, those dedicated customers, along with new ones, have the opportunity to see her in action as the owner of her own facility, Flash Fitness, at 524 West 5th Ave. in the city’s 10th Ward.

The facility will host its first public event on May 31st, a spring “VIP dance” where kids can bring their “VIP” to hang out, dance, and enjoy snacks and a photo booth. “There’s are always father-daughter dances,” McCauley says. “But this is an event where kids of any age, whether you’re 5 or 15, can bring a grandparent, aunt, sibling, or mentor to enjoy an evening of fun.”

Tickets are $25 per couple.

McCauley loves all aspects of teaching, training, and participating in workouts with her clients and the community, and says she once turned down a promotion at a previous job because she didn’t want to “sit behind a desk.”

Opened in February of this year, the name came from McCauley’s son, who compared her to the superhero The Flash after watching her tirelessly bring the gym to life. “You’re fast and strong!” he declared.

The do-it-yourself attitude extends to the new business’s website, FlashFitness.net, which McCauley built herself.

The new facility includes equipment and classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Members can use the wide selection of machines and weights, as well as a group room featuring virtual workouts and mood lighting that coordinates with music.

Some of the other programs offered include strength training, P90X, boxing, Piyo (Pilates and yoga), Zumba, weightlifting, digital workouts, mommy and me classes, and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

Flash Fitness also has some unexpected features, including a parking garage, the availability of healthy drinks and snacks, as well as an option for parents who may be short a babysitter.

“I’m hoping to have daycare in place by May,” McCauley says, acknowledging how challenging it can be to find reliable care.

Anyone with mixed feelings towards gyms is welcome to schedule a free consultation, and it’s obvious from the get-go that McCauley is passionate about eliminating the intimidation factor.

“We’re not about intimidation. We want you to want to work out, so this is meant to be fun, not stressful.”

McCauley is all about making Flash Fitness an accessible, welcoming place for patrons of all ages and abilities. There is a monthly membership fee, but members can access the building between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily using a keycard and the gym’s app.

She’s also open to different mindsets about working out, whether people have specific goals to meet or whether they just want to be more active.

“We don’t need to throw numbers at you if you don’t want to go that route. For some people, monitoring weight or measuring every detail of progress tuns them off to exercise.”

For a $15 drop-in fee, anyone can attend a group classes, and discounted memberships are available for kids and seniors. Flash Fitness also accepts Silver Sneakers and Active & Fit program discounts.

Jess goes on to say that even super fit people like herself can “get into their heads” about their bodies and level of fitness, but that learning to take care of yourself and accept yourself is an ongoing process.

This philosophy has also led McCauley to think of Flash Fitness as more than a gym. She hopes to welcome students to the gym where they can learn about healthy snacking, fun exercise, coping mechanisms and self-defense.

“I want this to be a community center of sorts,” she says.

Stacy Alderman is a White Oak-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in Heather Christie's Love Notes, THEMA Literary, inScribe Journal, Minerva Rising, and several others. She is the recipient of the Children of Steel fiction award.

Originally published April 10, 2025.

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