The Johnson Family

Debbie: I originally heard about the opening of FITT-RX from Jill Giorno and decided to check it out because I needed a change in my workouts. I was very nervous to start because I have never been a fan of the group workout class atmosphere, but only running was starting to bother my hips. I originally started with the TRX class because it was something new and different that I have never tried before. I branched out to try the evening boot camp classes and discovered that I do really enjoy the variety and challenge that comes with each type of FITT-RX class that is offered.

Alyssa: I was away at my freshman year of college when my mom called to tell me about the new workouts she was trying, and how she really thought it would help me with softball. During the summer going into my sophomore year of college, I started doing the TRX and boot camp classes, along with personal training to help me with softball. Being able to change up my workout regimen during my summer and winter breaks helped to keep my body feeling fresh and strong whenever I returned to school for softball season.

Amanda (currently lives out of state): I started going to FITT-RX just after I graduated from college. Since I had just finished my college softball career, I loved the way FITT-RX felt like many of my team workouts I had done over the past few years. After a couple of years of training at FITT-RX, I decided to give Crossfit a try. I love the challenge of Crossfit and the excitement of finally getting a movement or hitting a personal record and seeing all my hard work pay off.

Darrell: Like most husbands, I was dragged to FITT-RX by my wife. I wanted a change in my workouts and FITT-RX provided me with a new direction to approach my workouts. FITT-RX motivated me to continue to attend classes because of the positive atmosphere, comradery and challenging workouts.

Alyssa: Being a 24 year old, most kids would find it weird to workout with their parents, but I truly enjoy being able to workout with mine at FITT-RX. I love seeing how much my parents have progressed and improved. Being able to see their determination to stay fit and healthy keeps me motivated to continue to lead a healthy lifestyle as I get older. If you ever see us at a workout, we try to keep it lighthearted, and you can generally find my mom and I making fun of my dad (lucky for us, he doesn’t get too mad).

Debbie: As a mom of 3 kids who were all involved in sports, I wanted to lead by example and show them the importance of working out and staying in shape. I love that as my kids have grown up, they have all learned to love working out and kicking my butt in the process. Although, it is fun when my son comes to FITT-RX on breaks and I get to kick his butt.

When that alarm goes off at 5:00 in the morning for the 5:30 boot camps, it definitely helps to have someone else to force you out of bed. We are always sending each other different workouts that we did at FITT-RX or on our own to either brag about how sore we are or try to one up the other persons workout. Amanda frequently calls us to talk about her CrossFit workouts just to make us feel inferior.

We all truly love working out with each other (even if Darrell avoids being near us). We love the competitiveness that comes along with working out together, and how it pushes each of us to work even harder. Trust me when Amanda and Alyssa say “You will never workout harder than when you are trying to beat out your sibling”.

Debbie: My favorite class at FITT-RX has always been the TRX classes, but recently I haven’t been able to go to those because of my work schedule. Right now, I am really enjoying Megan’s Monday night Hybrid because she always comes up with different exercises to really make sure I am sore the next day.

Alyssa: I am a BIG fan of Antonette’s Advanced boot camp classes because of the competitive (but also positive) atmosphere and how they never seize to push me to new limits. Every week she comes up with some new way to torture us; and even though we all complain, we secretly love it.

Darrell: I always find that Lindsey’s Hard Core Plus on Monday mornings is a great way to kick start my week.

As a family, we love going to the 7:00am Saturday morning boot camp class. Sometimes it’s a little rough after a Friday night, but always worth our time. The family nap time on the couch afterwards is also a must.

Debbie: A pretty memorable moment was when Zach came home for winter break and was dragged (not exaggerated) to a workout with Alyssa and me. Zach decided he wasn’t going to let his mom and older sister show him up; but in the process of trying to keep up with the two of us, he puked, not once, but twice. He has yet to return to a workout with his mom and sister.

Another memorable moment was at the Valentine’s Day couple’s night when one of the other FITT-RX members didn’t realize that Darrell was my husband, and found it very strange that Alyssa and I had asked to take a picture with him. Maybe this is because he never works out next to us during a class.

Alyssa: I have noticed a lot of physical changes over the years I have been coming to FITT-RX but the biggest change I have seen is in my mentality and the way I see myself. During my years in both high school and college, I struggled with my body image. Being an athlete meant that I was not small and skinny like many of the girls my age. Instead, I had strong legs and a built upper body. As much as I knew that the muscles I saw in the mirror allowed me to do incredible things like hit home runs and throw a girl out from right field; I still felt out of place in my own body and ashamed that I didn’t look the way other girls did. In the last 2 years since I have been done playing college softball, I have been around the strong, fit and amazing women at FITT-RX. I have watched as so many of you pushed yourselves to be better and stronger. You have all shown me that it is not just okay to be a strong female, it is incredible and beautiful.

Debbie: My physical changes are pretty simple: I never had any upper body strength because my main source of exercise was running. The summer after I first started coming to FITT-RX is when I really noticed a difference in my arms. I had seen a picture of me paddle boarding in Florida and I had to do a double take because I actually thought it was one of my daughters.

Darrell: The biggest difference I have noticed since I began working out at FITT-RX is in my core strength and overall stamina during workouts. I have recently began running again, and the workouts at FITT-RX have allowed me to run for longer and feel stronger throughout the whole run.

We have yet to do this, but now that you have mentioned it, I think this is the only fair way to determine chores. Any bets on who would win the push-up or plank contest in our house?