2020 Hightlights
Yes 2020 was a crazy year, but we can still celebrate the bright spots!
- Forward Fam support during the Stay at Home Order- Our Forward Fam stepped up and showed us so much love and support. We can’t thank you all enough. We were able to keep our coaches on staff and our doors open. Our Forward Fam made the transition to FIT Camps via Facebook live stream and personal training programs via Bridge Tracker. They supported and encouraged one another in our VIP Facebook group. A special shout out to Anne W. who without hesitation was our first member to renewed her membership as the Stay at Home Order was beginning. We’ve also had like Mary B, Bryan J, Liz B, Paul B, Michelle H, Lisa L, Tina B, Jinnia D, Travis B, Elizabeth B, Aany T and so many others who renewed their memberships during this time. We know regulations have changed and appreciate you adhering to all the guidelines and not gripping. Thank you for trusting and supporting us. Our hearts are filled with so much gratitude when we think about all of YOU!
- Quarantine Games- The Stay at Home Order, the change to everyone’s schedule, and stress load could be a perfect storm to put fitness on the back burner. We decided to create a challenge to give that little extra incentive to stay active and look for the good. The goal was to get to 6– points. You could earn 10 points each for a daily gratitude, a workout, and getting 10,000 steps in a day. Jenelle S was the big winner earning 1950 points! Nicole A, Kate R, Denise G, Ed A, Linda N, Kim G, Lisa K, Cati D, Tori B, Denise J, Aaron S, Mike K, Linda V, Ann J, Bryan J, Kate L, Roxanne P, Tina B, Aubrey M, Terri F, Emily J, Tanya O, Elizabeth H, and Angela L all reached 600!
- Live stream and Outdoor Workouts- We got to take our FIT Camps to new places! Not being able to work out inside the gym didn’t stop us from providing classes and personalize training programs. We closed the gym after evening sessions on St. Patrick’s Day and the next morning we were up and running with FIT Camps via live stream. We’ve continued with one live stream per day. We have members who do these remote workouts solely and members who use these as options when they can’t make it to the gym. It’s been a great addition to make fitness easier on those late work nights or when you hit the snooze one too many times. We also we able to add a weekly outdoor workout! A special shout out to Coach Mike who reached out and wrote new programs tailored to what each person had at home for all of our semi-private members. This was a huge task using a new program and he made it happen!
- Forward Fitness Games- The Forward Fitness Games have become a staple each year. We do them in the winter and summer. It is a great way for members to step outside their comfort zone and challenge themselves. With having a mix of remote and in person members we adjusted the events so everyone could join in. We had members fill up laundry detergent jugs to weigh 5lbs so she could do the iron cross challenge. We had others surprise themselves by doing a push up and jumping rope!
- Nextdoor 2020 Neighborhood Favorite- What a bright spot in a more challenging year! We are so honored to receive this recognition, especially since it is voted on by the neighborhood.
- True Grit Triathlon- Very few races happened this year, but Swim Bike Run O’Fallon was able to put on a socially distant extremely small triathlon. Racers kayaked ½ mile, biked 15 miles, ran 5K. A handful of Forward Fam member, Todd B, Liz H, Tina B, Mike K, and Cati D took on this challenge. Cati even placed 2ndin the ladies division!
- OCR Trail ½ Marathon- The OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) team was preparing to take on a Spartan Trifecta. That’s one Sprint (5K + 20 obstacles), Super (10K + 25 obstacles), and Beast (1/2 marathon + 30 obstacles). With COVID all the races were cancelled. We continue to train and decided a trail ½ marathon would be our big race of the year. Obviously with social distancing and still being important we decided to create our own route and have a special race for only the OCR members. On October 31stthe OCR team set off and conquered 13.1 miles in Cuivre River State Park.
- 100 Workout Challenge- On July 1stmembers embarked on the journey to get 100 workouts by the end of 2020. This challenge is all about consistency. We had a record number of 22 people rock the challenge this year. Shout out to Jenelle S, Aaron S, Julie N, Aubrey M, Roxanne P, Denise G, Kate R, Lauren M, Mary B, Nicole A, Ed A, Kelly H, Nick K, Vanessa W, Kim G, Matt O, Linda N, Denise J, Lisa K, Cati D, Mike K, and Suzanne K.
- Member of the Year- The stress of 2020 had the potential to derail many from their health and fitness routine. Not this person, she joined in on the live stream workouts and took her walking to a whole other level. She encourage and supported others and kept moving forward. Congratulations to Denise Golden our 2020 Member of the Year! Read more about why we chose Denise!
- 5 Year Members- You hear us talk about consistency all the time. These members have been part of our Forward Fam for 5 years! They have committed to their health and fitness and have accomplished so much over the past 5 years. Congrats to Cathy S, Jessica N, Kim H, Joseph P, Ed A, Nicole A, Vince M, Aubrey M, and Clare R!
Cheers to the year ahead and making it the best one yet!