-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Justin Faiferlick, owner of Faiferlick Martial Arts and Fitness, poses with a six foot trophy he won in a 1993 taekwondo competition and several other medals he’s earned throughout his time in martial arts.

Two businesses owned by Justin Faiferlick share a similar goal — to help people live healthier lifestyles.

The first is Faiferlick Martial Arts, 567 S. 25th St. There, Faiferlick, of Fort Dodge, teaches a variety of martial arts, including taekwondo and Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

“We teach self defense and a large variety of martial arts along with character development to have a positive impact in our community,” Faiferlick said. “Our mission at Faiferlick Martial Arts is to make our students more successful in life through the practice of martial arts.

“We do this by teaching our martial arts as a complete discipline of the mind, body and spirit. In addition to developing physical defense, our team encourages the formation of high personal standards and respect for fellow men and women. Through our practice and teaching, we strive to produce individuals who are positive, respected and contributing members of society.”

Faiferlick, a sixth-degree black belt in taekwondo, opened the martial arts gym in January 2013.

In August 2020, Faiferlick began offering Women Empowered Self Defense classes.

“We teach how to neutralize the most common attacks,” he said. “And beyond the physical techniques, Women Empowered also reinforces awareness principles, risk assessment, and verbal and psychological strategies a woman can use to set safe boundaries with others. At the core of this mindset is the belief that we are worth defending.”

The second business owned by Faiferlick is Next Edge Performance, a health and wellness center that offers a range of services designed to help its members recover faster and feel better.

Faiferlick’s daughter, Kelsey Felch, a 2011 St. Edmond High School graduate, operates Next Edge.

“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.”

The business opened along Fort Dodge’s booming Corridor of Commerce on May 1, 2020. It is located at 2419 Fifth Ave. S., Suite A.

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

“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 Air National Guard) and in martial arts, he discovered a variety of techniques to help athletes recover faster and feel healthier. Those techniques have been incorporated at Next Edge.

“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 in the blood. Felch said that helps the body feel less sore, even after an intense workout.

• Infrared sauna — The infrared sauna differs from a traditional sauna in that it warms the body directly,

• 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 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 wants to improve themselves,” Faiferlick said. “It’s a great place to relax and recover. It has great complementary 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.”

To learn more about Next Edge and its membership options, call 570-8595.