Lift Heavy. Pet Dogs.
It’s printed on our shirts, written on our walls, featured on our website, and repeated around the gym. It’s funny, it’s memorable, and it usually gets a smile—but at BPM Fitness Centre, “Lift Heavy, Pet Dogs” means a little more than you might think.
At its core, our motto represents a simple philosophy: work hard, play hard.
We believe in challenging yourself, getting stronger, setting goals, and putting in the work required to achieve them. But we also believe fitness should be fun. Your gym should be somewhere you actually enjoy spending time, surrounded by people—and occasionally dogs—you’re happy to see.
That balance has helped shape the culture at BPM for more than a decade.
What Does “Lift Heavy” Mean?
First things first: “Lift Heavy” doesn’t mean everyone needs to walk into the gym and start attempting their one-rep max.
Heavy is relative.
For someone new to strength training, lifting heavy might mean progressing from bodyweight exercises to their first set of goblet squats. But for an experienced athlete, it might mean adding another plate to the barbell. For an older adult, it could mean developing enough strength to make stairs, gardening, travelling, or playing with the grandkids easier.
At BPM, we believe strength is for everyone.
Our Personal Training programs are built around the individual, with workouts designed for your goals, abilities, training experience, and lifestyle. Meanwhile, our group fitness classes provide opportunities to develop strength, conditioning, movement skills, and confidence alongside an encouraging community.
Whether you’re training for your first HYROX race, improving athletic performance, building muscle, staying strong as you age, or simply trying to feel better in everyday life, the idea is the same:
Challenge yourself appropriately and keep progressing.
And Then There’s “Pet Dogs”
This part is a little more literal.
BPM Fitness Centre is a dog-friendly gym.
Dogs have been part of BPM’s personality and community for years, and members and Personal Training clients are welcome to bring their four-legged friends along when appropriate. You’ll regularly see a dog hanging out while their owner trains, greeting people around the gym, or receiving a frankly ridiculous amount of attention from our staff.
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our gym etiquette and dog policy helps keep the space comfortable for everyone. Dogs must remain on leash, stay under their owner’s supervision, and, of course, owners are responsible for cleaning up after them.
Being a dog-friendly fitness centre isn’t just a quirky perk—it represents something bigger about the environment we’ve tried to create.
We want BPM to feel personal.
Serious Training Without the Serious Gym Culture
Gyms can sometimes feel intimidating.
There’s unfamiliar equipment, new exercises, experienced athletes lifting big weights, and plenty of terminology that can make walking into a gym for the first time feel overwhelming.
We wanted BPM to be different.
You can take your training seriously without taking yourself too seriously.
Work hard during a HYROX class and laugh with your training partners afterward. You can chase a new personal best and stop between sets to pet a dog. You can have ambitious fitness goals while still remembering that training is supposed to add something positive to your life.
That’s why our motto “Lift Heavy, Pet Dogs” fits BPM so well.
Work hard. Have fun. Be kind. Lift something heavy. Pet a dog. Repeat.
A Different Kind of Gym Community in Victoria
BPM is a locally owned gym in Victoria, BC, and community has always been an important part of who we are.
We offer two private training studios with approximately 5,500 square feet of combined space for Personal Training, strength training, group fitness, HYROX training, athletic performance, running training, and more. But equipment and square footage only tell part of the story.
The people inside the building create the experience.
We want someone walking into BPM for their first-ever workout to feel just as welcome as an experienced athlete preparing for competition. Our Coaches and Personal Trainers are here to help people learn, improve, challenge themselves, and hopefully have a pretty good time doing it.
And yes, sometimes the unofficial welcoming committee has four legs.
Lift Heavy, Pet Dogs: Fitness Should Make Your Life Better
Ultimately, “Lift Heavy. Pet Dogs.” reflects how we think fitness should fit into your life.
Training can be challenging. There will be hard workouts, missed lifts, sweaty HYROX sessions, early mornings, sore muscles, and days when motivation isn’t particularly high.
But there should also be laughter.
There should be friendships, high-fives, personal bests, new experiences, and a community that makes showing up easier. And if your workout happens to include stopping for 30 seconds to pet a very good dog? We consider that part of the program.
Lift Heavy. Pet Dogs.
Words to live by.
If you’re looking for an up-close glimpse at the culture created at BPM Fitness Centre, check out our Instagram! We regularly feature our members—which includes our puppy pals.
