A n Arizona native and former NFL player is on a mission to offer pro-style training to the public with the opening of a new one-stop-shop community gym in Desert Hills.
PHOTOS BY ABRAR KHALID PHOTOGRAPHY
Inferno Gym celebrated its grand opening late last month and is owned by Dontay Moch and his wife Sarah, who have lived in the area for the last decade with their four children.
The former Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals linebacker has been a coach and trainer for the last 15 years and has trained all fitness levels, from professional athletes, including NFL/NBA players, pro-bull riders, horseback riders as well as all ages from youth to adults to seniors.
He coaches strength and conditioning for several different sports, including football, volleyball, baseball, soccer and basketball for all ages, and he’s a coach for the local youth sports leagues. During school breaks, you can find him conducting his own youth camps, because Moch believes children should stay active. “We don’t want rested kids, we want active kids,” the dad of four said.
The offerings at Inferno Gym pull together all of the elements Moch said he needed during his professional athletic career in the NFL under one roof, at affordable pricing and no annual contracts. It starts with a basic gym membership for the use of the equipment, including free weights, functional training machines and resistance bands. From there, you can add on with group fitness classes, one-on-one training, a recovery center with chiropractic care, massages and soft tissue recovery, dry needling, facials and more. Inferno also sells its own FDA-certified supplements and there’s a smoothie shop and prepared meals to-go to support nutrition.
“Everything is about [exercise] science―we do measurements, functional assessments, before you even start to see what needs to be adjusted, as well as internal health including blood flow [to hamstrings] spinal strength etc., Moch told Valley Vibe. “It’s more than a gym, it’s a lab.”
The program is designed to give everyone a challenge no matter their skill level. Heavy weights aren’t for everyone, and that’s where hybrid functional training comes into play as part of a client’s individualized program.
“I bury big bodybuilders with just 2-3 pound weights… weight is just a number, age is just a number,” Moch said. “I have clients with scoliosis, hip replacements, 80-plus-aged clients that have been told they’d never jog again… they’re now doing box jumps, squatting, jumping and lunging.”
Moch’s team of trainers share his same philosophy of offering pro-like treatment to the general public. Former pro-football player Yolandus Pratt, whom Moch met during his time as an investor/trainer at another gym, recently relocated to Phoenix to work with Moch.
As part of the individualized training program, Coach Pratt told Valley Vibe in addition to the one-on-one training sessions, clients will receive a customized program for at-home training, and they are encouraged to attend Inferno’s fitness classes, too.
“No matter what you need, internally and externally, we have everything that’s going to take you there,” Pratt told Valley Vibe. “The focus is on getting muscles that haven’t been worked to start responding, not just the dominant muscles… it’s all a process.”
Personal trainer Cary Hiner has 25 years of experience training aspiring athletes with an emphasis on improved performance and injury prevention, and met Moch through the tight-knit NFL training community.
Hiner also holds specialty training on the Biolever Measurement machine used to measure the body lever lengths and helps tailor training to minimize mechanical stress into the joints while maximizing performance.
A plan is then built to an individual’s own body frame so that it can be trained for movement, longevity and performance.
“A lot of people go in and lift heavy weights… sure, they’re powering up, but may not be activating their foot, knee, ankle and torso,” he told Valley Vibe.
The new gym is located in Tuscani Pointe Plaza adjacent to Peaks and Valleys Restaurant near Carefree Highway and 7th Street. The plaza currently has up to 18,000 additional square feet of space available for lease adjacent to the gym to accommodate a charter or private school, or a home school.
Inferno Gym
711 E. Carefree Hwy.
Phoenix, 85085|
(Tuscani Pointe Plaza)
602-688-0751
www.inferno.fit
Open gym membership $59.99/month
Unlimited group classes $150/month
Drop-ins $25/class
Personal training and small-group training sessions available at additional cost starting at $25/session, depending on trainer.
By Karen Goveia
[email protected]