I was recently asked how our gym business has changed since our first year.
Back when we first started coaching people here in Steinbach, it was in the basement of our house. Robin and I had coached CrossFit and barbell training in Saskatchewan while we lived there for 10 years. We both grew up in Steinbach though, and our extended families are here so the move back to be with family was important. I had a gym set up in the basement so we had our dads come in a couple times each week to lift some weights. Word got out and it wasn’t long before a few more people asked to be coached in the small setting. It was actually a similar story to how we grew our gym in Regina, starting in the basement, word of mouth “advertising” and more and more people showing up to get fit.
We found that we were busy managing about 40 people working out each week and decided that we needed to change to an outside location. We found our spot in the same building and at the back of Print Studio One. It was a rough warehouse/sheet metal place that needed some serious cleaning and we renovated what we could. But there it was, an open space with lots of potential.
Our members are always our best advertising. People doing the work and making the changes in their lives. Their families, friends, and coworkers see it and become curious. Our gym has always been about the work that needs to get done to have a healthy and fit body. A fit body can actually do things and has the potential to do the necessary and unpredictable physical demands of life. That ability still doesn’t come in a pill. And many people learn that it can actually be fun to give the body a bit of a challenge to overcome. Some days that challenge is to just keep showing up.
One of our coaches was wisely heard to say sometimes the heaviest weight we move can be the gym door.
That was also a change, Robin and I needed to bring other coaches on. We have an amazing team of caring and capable coaches that help make fitness a reality for our members. They model a commitment to a healthy lifestyle despite facing all the same obstacles and temptations as everyone else. They have expanded the reach and impact of our happy little gym way beyond what only Robin and I could have done.
Covid 19 did a number on our gym, our membership and our community. This won’t be a political post and much can be said in hindsight, however despite having to close our doors 3 times within the space of a year and having significant restrictions when we were allowed to open we are still here. Our gym has never been just about access to equipment, it is more like getting mentored how to be fit no matter what. We actually emptied the gym and loaned or rented out our equipment and we coached people online in their homes or in parks. The building looked pretty sad as just a shell of itself.
We are in a different building now but on the same lot. The print shop needed to expand and the best option worked out that we moved to a bit bigger and more open space, which meant nobody had to walk through a spin class to use the washroom anymore!
Equipment is in but still work to be done!
We also take a more customized approach to our members’ fitness goals. Almost half of them are doing a focused strength and conditioning program designed around their goals and abilities. For those doing our general strength and conditioning program, our coaches still make modifications and adjustments to make sure that everyone who comes through the door can make fitness happen that day.
We try really hard to give our members a chance to score a win each day they come in and train. That’s part of what makes us the happy gym. It will always take effort, and the choice to make that effort, and in that we can make ourselves a little better than before. Some days that win is just showing up even though we might not “feel” like it because it really matters what you can consistently do over a lengthy period of time. And we have found for some of our members that we have a place which they have stuck with for longer than any other gym membership before. It feels really good to hear that.
We celebrated Stone Brook Strength’s 10th year this summer, and this was initially a reflection on what has changed in our gym since it started. As I write I notice that while externals may be the obvious change, there are some things that have not. The real strength of Stone Brook Strength is in the people that meet within its walls (and sometimes outside those walls!). It is both coaches and members who learned that making personal fitness a priority in life is a worthy trade for the freedom it gives back.
The phrase “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future” is a well-known proverb that means the people you spend time with shape who you become. The idea is that the people you surround yourself with greatly influence your thoughts and behaviors. If your goal is to have a fit, healthy and energetic life then consider the peers you can have at the gym. I know a great place for you!