Darwin gyms: ARC Fitness expands its operations into Darwin with newly opened CBD studio

A Top End fitness club owner has expanded their operations in the city’s CBD – opening a new studio for those who want to get and stay fit. Find out what motivated its owner, a former music teacher, to get into training.

ARC Fitness CBD in Carey Street is open for business. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin.

A health scare and realisation that life’s too precious has resulted in one of the Top End’s fastest growing fitness clubs.

Mother of four, founder and owner of ARC (Adapt. Reset. Conquer) Fitness, Ange Liddicoat has turned a dream into a reality after deciding to give up her career as a music teacher and embark on her dream of living a clean and healthy life.

“I got really quite unwell, and that was a turning point for me on my fitness journey,” Ms Liddicoat said.

“I’d always wanted to be a PT but never followed through.

“I was faced with a situation where I watched like a really good girlfriend of mine lose her life to cancer, and that plus my own ill health were catalysts for where I am today.”

Coming to the realisation that life’s too short and precious to put off your dreams, Ms Liddicoat dived head first into her fitness journey.

“I’d get up early and study, then head to work, and as soon as I was qualified and having taught some fitness classes, I knew immediately I wanted to take it to the next level,” the Kiwi said.

Ange Liddicoat from ARC Fitness at Carey Street opens for their new training sessions in Darwin CBD. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Approaching her new venture with a less is more mindset, Ms Liddicoat set out on achieving ‘small steps’ instead of everything all at once.

Setting up a little studio in her house four years ago with three members, her business grew and grew.

Three members became 10.

Ten became 20, and before she knew it, 50 members were sprawling throughout her yard and driveway.

Acknowledging that this wasn’t sustainable, Ms. Liddicoat took her crew to Palmerston Raiders Leagues Club to train on the oval.

With numbers continuing to swell, Liddicoat concluded it was time to get a studio.

“We found our home at what we now call ARC HQ,” she said.

Inside one of the rooms at the newly opened ARC Fitness CBD studio. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin.

“Once we fitted the place out and got everything in order, we bought the place right next door, which has become Studio B where we hold yoga, pilates and breathwork classes along with our Cafe (Energise Cafe), and free creche.”

With a real foothold now in Palmerston, Ms. Liddicoat and her team decided it was time to branch out into Darwin.

“The opportunity arose and I thought it was a great space and time to get in here [Darwin],” she said.

“Now we’re just ready to sink our teeth into here (ARC CBD) and get the place pumping just like HQ.

“And hopefully you know, there’ll be elements of HQ that we can replicate here.

“We’ve got plans of setting up another cafe and creche here in the future too.”

Unlike the majority of gyms and fitness branches around the place, Ms Liddicoat says that the freedom and ability to put her own workouts and plans together gives the whole operation a much more hands on and community-focused feel.

“Because I have full ownership, I don’t have to tick boxes or hand out generic plans like others,” she said.

“I make sure to keep things fresh, interesting and above anything else, functional,” she said.