ST. JOHNSVILLE — On a recent rainy Saturday afternoon, with the front door of his St. Johnsville gym open to allow cool air in, Robert C. Failing III surveyed the floor tightly packed with machines, free weights and other fixtures designed for physical fitness.

To the left, a woman with her head down used one of the elliptical machines. To the right, a man lifted weights while his three sons and a daughter giggled and watched.