Well. Here we are. I’m writing and you’re reading what will be my last blog as a FITT-Rx trainer. A position I’ve held for six years, from before the studio even opened in May 2012. Basically since that day I waddled into Elijah’s 5+ months pregnant, to meet with Jen Knuth and Jill Giorno, neither of whom I’d met before. Jen, as it turned out, was about 8.5 months pregnant but it will be no surprise to anyone that I looked far more pregnant than she did. Jill, of course was Jill – bubbly and friendly and incredibly welcoming; she made you want to be her best friend. I went home from that meeting and called my husband right away, and told him, “That’s it! I found my place!” I had been teaching and training at the Elmhurst Y already for a year, but I knew right away FITT would be different. And I’m no clairvoyant, but boy was I right!
In the early days of FITT we were primarily a TRX studio. In fact, before the first official class even took place, we demo-ed just what a TRX class was all about; as part of the “demonstration” we had a plank contest in the straps, and it was the first indication of just how psycho some of us trainers were: the two pregnant girls – Jen and I – were determined to win the plank contest. We did, but guess where that got Jen? Into labor, and Kael was born the next day. And the TRX has remained a staple of our studio (I mean, it brought about the birth of Jen’s child, how could we do away with it??) but we have become so much more since then. From literally breaking down a wall to enlarge our space, to bringing in child care (when we started, we had no child care – can you imagine??), to opening up the dungeon for spin bikes, and even installing a shower (even if it’s all for show – have you seen us??), this studio has grown so much, in so many ways. (We didn’t even have kettlebells when we started. I don’t even KNOW that studio anymore.) And lest you think I’m not going to mention the most important element in that growth, here I go: it’s YOU. The clients. The people that bring us back every day, who inspire us and impress us and fill our hearts with pride and joy. (Sounds cheesy, but it’s true.). And truly, what could be more indicative of how much this studio impacts each and every one of us, than the example of the many clients who are now trainers. Amy, Antonette, Bridget, Jeff, Andrew, Mindi, Tamara – all of these trainers started with the FITT family as clients, and now they are superstar trainers. And how about the many people that started working out here after taking a long, long hiatus from working out? Stephanie P., Sarah J., Lisa G., Adam K., for example. You guys amaze me. Watching your progress has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. You went from total newbies, barely making it through a 30 minute workout to killing the toughest workouts we have to offer. There’s something in the water at FITT that breeds an unquenchable love of fitness and physical and mental challenges. It’s weird, for sure, but it’s awesome.
People are always talking about the “FITT family,” and it is no exaggeration to call us that. These are my people, the ones I see every day, the ones with whom I sweat, suffer, swear, laugh, and even sometimes cry. I know that Minneapolis is an active town, but I also have no illusions that I will find a place just like FITT-Rx. No way will I find a group as dedicated, as hard-working, as fun, as smart (or as smart-ass) as FITT people. No way will I find the variety of classes in one place that we find here. (And nowhere in the WORLD will I find a dance instructor like Kristin Rozmus, that’s for d*mn sure.) And for no one else would I get up at 3am to sweat on the local news (God that was an early, cold, dark day in February), or do crazy fitness feats/performances the likes of which Megan Sandilands comes up with.
So to my FITT-Rx family – to our fearless leader Jen, who has put up with my craziness and my sweatiness (not necessarily at the same time) and allowed me to be ME as I teach my classes, and to have full creative license to teach just about every format there is (as long as it’s to the beat, of course); to my fellow trainers that busted their butts in my classes and then made me bust mine in theirs (even if they made fun of me for sitting on a bench one time to catch my breath, AHEM, Amy), and to all the inspirational, hard-working, tireless, sometimes angry clients, I love you all, and I’m not even mad at you for all of the times you swore at me or threatened to punch me. (Actually that goes for you too, Jen.) I thank you for six of the best, most fulfilling years of my life. I will miss this studio and each and every one of you. And I hope, if nothing else, that every time you do burpees or high knees, you will think of me.
–Carrie Brasser