“I have always had an active lifestyle and so has my family,” said Felch, a 2011 St. Edmond High School graduate.

So she understands the importance of maximizing performance and recovery.

That’s why Felch opened Next Edge Performance, a health and wellness center that offers a range of services designed to help its members recover faster and feel better.

“We wanted to find something that would help everyone live a better life, whether to relax or maximize athletic performance or recover from injury,” Felch said. “We hit all of those at Next Edge. Just experiencing the different aspects of being an athlete, we wanted to help people live a better life in general.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
The oxygen bar at Next Edge Performance features increased oxygen inhalation , which can boost energy levels, improve emotions, relieve head aches and hangovers and provide a “feel good” effect which reduces stress, according to Felch.

The business opened along Fort Dodge’s booming Corridor of Commerce on May 1. It is located at 2419 Fifth Ave. S., Suite A.

Felch’s father, Justin Faiferlick, is the majority owner of Next Edge. Faiferlick, who also owns Faiferlick Martial Arts and Fitness, is a sixth-degree black belt in taekwondo.

The location of Next Edge is just down the road from Faiferlick Martial Arts and Fitness.

“This is centrally located in Fort Dodge,” Faiferlick said. “It was the right amount of square footage we needed to get everything in. It was a perfect layout for us. It came together well and made it convenient for us to get in and out.”

Throughout Faiferlick’s travels in the military (Iowa Army National Guard) and in martial arts, Faiferlick discovered a variety of techniques to help athletes recover faster and feel healthier. Those techniques have been incorporated at Next Edge.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Kelsey Felch, manager of of Next Edge Performance, stands next to the fitness pod, a machine that is designed to support weight management, fitness, meditation, pain relief, flexibility, better sleep and mindfulness, according to Felch.

“Over the past three years as I’ve traveled across the state and elsewhere, I’ve learned about a lot of different equipment,” said Faiferlick. “I’ve tried all of these services somewhere. What’s unique about us is we have a combination of equipment. When you go places, they might have just one service. We have these all in one.”

Next Edge offers the following services:

• Cryotherapy — Also called cold therapy, this involves subjecting the body to extremely low temperatures. During a 1-3 minute cyrotherapy session, blood vessels in the skin’s surface constrict, which forces blood away from the body’s tissues and toward its core. The body then removes toxins and inflammatory properties the blood. Felch said that helps the body feel less sore, even after an intense workout.

“Cryotherapy helps with inflammation, joint pain, muscle pain, help you recover from injury,” Felch said. “When you come back out of the chamber, your circulation is increased as the blood comes back into your body.”

• Infrared sauna — The infrared sauna differs from a traditional sauna in that it warms the body directly, Felch said. “It’s great for private workouts. It has infrared and red light and heat. We can bring in exercise bikes, a rowing machine. We have a TV in there with preprogrammed videos for workouts or can look up your own. It helps reduce inflammation, joint pain, muscle pain, helps you recover faster. It also helps with skin health.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Kelsey Felch, manager of Next Edge Performance, talks about the benefits of cryotherapy, or cold therapy. It involves subjecting the body to extremely low temperatures for a short period of time. This type of therapy can help people recover faster after workouts, according to Felch.

• Fitness pod — The fitness pod also has infrared light and heat. Felch said it has three different settings. The low heat can be used for a little power nap, medium can be used to relax or workout and our high heat is mainly used to burn calories, work out, as well as focus on weight management. In addition to weight management, the fitness pod supports fitness, meditation, pain relief, flexibility, better sleep and mindfulness.

• Oxygen bar — The oxygen bar offers increased oxygen inhalation. It features 18 different aromas. “You would come in and breathe for about 10 to 15 minutes,” Felch said. “Each aroma has a different effect. Peppermint helps with nausea, orange will increase energy, vanilla can reduce heart rate. We have a cold and sinus one to help clear sinuses. There is an anxiety relief one.”

• Oxygen training — Oxygen training is an advanced exercise that entails breathing higher levels of oxygen during exercise in order to pump oxygen into the cells faster. The training is done with a stationary bike. “Normally we breathe in 20 percent oxygen, this will allow you up to 91 percent,” Felch said. “We can do altitude training. A lot of athletes will use it for training or if you are going to Colorado, you could breathe in that level.”

• Red light therapy — Also called photobiomodulation therapy, this type of therapy can help with inflammation, joint pain, skin health, it can also boost immunity, according to Felch. It involves standing in front of the red and near infrared lights for 10 to 15 minutes.

• Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy — this type of therapy uses pulses of low-level electromagnetic radiation to heal damaged tissues and stimulate the cell’s energy to activate repair mechanisms, Felch said. “That has a lot of different settings and can target a lot of different areas — head aches, muscle pain, cramps, vascular disorders,” Felch said. “It can help if you have sore muscles it can target that area. It can get your body back into it’s natural rhythm.

• Next Edge also offers private high-intensity interval training, yoga and cycling.

Felch, who played golf at Park University in Parkville, Missouri, said the fitness pod has been popular among members.

“They like that it can help with body aches,” Felch said. “They love that it has the massage. We have a member who uses it every day and said he’s felt better than ever. It’s improved his sleep. He feels like he can move more. It also has helped a few different people with head aches. If they use the pod every day they aren’t getting those migraines.”

Faiferlick said the cryotherapy is a cornerstone of the business.

“That’s very popular, along with the infrared sauna,” Faiferlick said. “We have three different pieces of equipment that have infrared heat and light.”

And although many athletes use the services, Faiferlick said anyone can benefit by using them.

“Anyone that’s into fitness and works out want to improve themselves,” Faiferlick said. “It’s a great place to relax and recover. It has great complimentary benefits to people who are active and working out and those who simply want to feel better.

“We take athletes and non athletes. But we have something for each of them that will help them live a better quality life.”

Next Edge Performance is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Membership options include the relax package priced at $99, maximize package priced at $129 and the recover package at $149.

The relax package does not include cryotherapy or the oxygen training system. The maximize package includes all services except cryotherapy. The recover package includes all services.

Next Edge is offering the recover package for $99 until June 1. After that, the package will be priced at $149.

Day passes are $50 until June 1 and then will move to $75.