2019 Highlights to Our 2020 Vision
2019 was an incredible year for Forward Fitness! We are filled with gratitude for everyone who touch our lives and contributed to what makes Forward Fitness so special. Check out some of our greatest moments of 2019!
Coach Suzanne was part of the first World OCR certified in the USA! If that wasn’t cool enough, it was held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs! She had the opportunity to learn from Olympic coaches. From programming to skill work Suzanne came home with lots of knowledge to share. As a passion of Suzanne’s she has loved sharing this knowledge with the Forward Fitness OCR team and in her own training. She even used the knowledge she gained to write her program for the Spartan World Championship and got 13th in her age group!
The OCR team took on their first Spartan Race! We had members compete at the Fort Campbell Sprint and Wrigley Stadion races. The team did amazing, conquering 7-foot walls, rings, monkey bars, rope climbs, and sandbag carries to name a few!
The Forward Fitness team became stronger with the addition of Coach Neil and Lisa. To say that Coach Neil has been a good fit at Forward Fitness would be an incredible understatement! Neil has gone above and beyond as a group fitness coach and in training in semi-private. We look forward to watching him grow as a health and fitness professional.
We finally found our office administrator! After holding out for the perfect fit for over two years, Lisa joined our team! Lisa retired from teaching and working with legislators at the state and federal level to advocate for public educators and public education. She has been a member at Forward Fitness since we opened. We couldn’t be happier to have her as part of our team.
Mike put in lots of hours studying and hands on work and became certified in L.I.F.T. (Loaded Integrated Functional Training). The L.I.F.T. certification is not only a new way of thinking about functional training, but a new way to get the HIGHEST level of functional fitness education. Adding the L.I.F.T. systems to the training at Forward Fitness has yielded incredible results in strength, form, and injury prevention. We are always striving to provide the best and most current programming to our members.
Forward Fitness turned 5! What an amazing 5 years it has been! Many of our members have been with us for 1 year or more, and 12 have been with Suzanne and myself since the beginning. We have so much gratitude for these individuals. They took a chance on a new gym and trusted us with their health and fitness. We were so excited to honor them at our 5-year birthday party and give them their official 5-year Forward Fitness sweater fleece! Thanks again to our original members: Drew Tyler, Stephanie Wideman, Elizabeth Shannon, Julie Ridge, Lisa Kickbusch, Kelly Brunie, Jenelle Sander, Angela Leahmann, Margie Saulka, Alan Reininger, and of course Chip Bryant!
We honored our 2019 Member of the Year! As it was in 2018, this year was a slam dunk decision. Nicole Albin exemplified without a doubt what Forward Fitness is all about! We worked closely with Nicole all year in the New Year, New You challenge, #100WorkoutChallenge, Drop-2-Sizes Challenge, Holiday Hold ‘Em, and on the OCR team. Nicole not only shined in all of these events and groups, but was a prime example of being a leader and teammate.
Forward Fitness was voted the Mid-County Chamber (MCC) Business of the year! What an incredible honor for us to win the MCC Business of the Year in 2019! Since opening up 5 years ago and quickly joining the amazing Maplewood Chamber of Commerce, now the MCC, we made an obligation to be active in the community. Ribbon cuttings, 5k runs (Ryan Hummert & Mosaic), working with students at MRH, running the MCC beer tent at Taste of Maplewood are just some of the highlights.
As you can see 2019 was great, and we are carrying that momentum into 2020! We are looking forward to putting in the work and time to continue to grow and carry out our mission to empower those ready to take the next step in their fitness journey. We already have some great things lined up for 2020!
Mike and Neil are going to Chicago in February to become certified in Functional Range Conditioning (FRC).We are VERY excited about this! Not only will this help us to continue to provide cutting edge programming to our members, but it will eventually lead to a class based on these principles. (See below!)
We will be adding a mobility class! With all the knowledge that will be gained from the FRC certification we will be able to create a class based on science that focuses on mobility. This will be a low impact class and will help to counter the sitting we do all day. We haven’t picked a start date or time yet, but don’t worry, we’ll let you know as soon as we do!
Mike is going to Olympic Village to become certified as a World OCR coach! This will only help to take our OCR team to the next level!
The Forward Fitness OCR team is taking on a Spartan trifecta!In 2019 we took on the Sprint, the shortest race. This year we are taking on the Sprint (3-4 miles), Super (6 miles), and Beast (12-14miles)! We are excited to put in the work and see our efforts pay off!
2020 is going to be our biggest year yet and searching for a bigger space is on our to-do list. We are looking for a space that will have twice the training space, multiple bathrooms, a great welcome area, and easy access. Don’t worry we will absolutely be staying in Maplewood and will be extremely picky ensuring the best for our current and future members.