More Than Fitness, It’s ‘Lifestyle’ Training
(Photo: Courtesy of “The Challenge”)
By Bob Kecskemety
On July 31, there will be a yard sale in the parking lot at Rosie’s Bar and Grill on Wilton Drive. All money from the yard sale will benefit “The Challenge”, a community-based fitness program presented by Fit4Life.
Founded in June 2009, Fit4Life is a gym and spa management company which services eight apartment and condo complexes for their residents in the Fort Lauderdale area and has a have full-service gym of their own in Miami which is open to the public.
The concept for Fit4Life came about over a year ago when Julian Cavasos was visiting a friend and he saw an amazing gym in the complex where the friend lives and asked who managed it. When he was told no one, Cavasos, who has a background in business management, started putting together a business model and brought in John Congdom, a personal trainer and nutritionist as a business partner. Together, they took over management responsibilities of their first property in November 2009. Today they completely manage and staff the facilities at properties including Sapphire, Las Olas Beach Club, 440 Building, The Grove and Satori with their three employees and twelve contractors.
For the residents of the condos and apartments, Fit4Life’s curriculum includes 1-on-1 training as well as group training, cardio kick-boxing, yoga and nutrition classes. In facilities which include spas, Fit4Life’s services include massages, body wraps and facials.
“We’re a full service health-conscious company that comes into apartments and condos,” said Julian Cavasos. “We not only help them work out, we also show them how to eat right and shop right.” The Fit4Life nutrition training includes taking their participants to the grocery store to go through the store’s shelves and show them how to interpret nutritional labels of the food packages and to pick the freshest produce.
Cavasos says that “The Challenge” became a natural off-shoot of Fit4Life. “I was having coffee with some friends and we were talking about how people join a gym and they are all gung-ho about it at first. Then all of a sudden, the enthusiasm fizzles, they loose interest and they stop going. I felt that if these people had someone who they were accountable to, somebody that would entice them and a team they could work with, they would continue to work out.” After coffee, Cavasos came up with the idea of “The Challenge” and started putting together a program which encourages people to get “fit in four months”.
“The Challenge” consists of five teams, each with ten people including a team leader. Each team also has a personal trainer. The teams compete on which team shows the most progress during the four months of the program.
“This is a way for people to come together and have somebody who will guide them with their nutrition and work out,” said Cavasos. “They are not just getting fit, they are finding out that good health is a lifestyle which is going to continue once ‘The Challenge’ is over.” Cavasos stated that one person has already lost 22 pounds, others have lost between eight and fifteen. One team has lost a total of almost 60 pounds and other people have quit smoking.
For additional motivation, the teams also compete to raise money for charity as part of their fitness goals. The charities “The Challenge” is supporting are: Children’s Diagnostic Center, Stonewall Library, and Share a Pet.
“The Challenge” holds weekly Fitness Boot Camp classes for all the groups on Saturdays starting at 10:30 a.m. behind the Stonewall Library which includes fitness routines such as kick-boxing, body sculpting and spinning classes. Individual groups also get together to participate in other activities such as kayaking.
“The Challenge” is sponsored in part by Celsius Energy Drink and Rosie’s Bar and Grill. Rosie’s also has a special “The Challenge Menu” included in their regular menu which includes a calorie count for those food items and a portion of the sales from that section of the menu benefits “The Challenge” and their non-profit organizations.
After “The Challenge” session ends, another will start in November and Cavasos is already looking for interested people. “The Challenge” is open to any one who wants to declare a fitness goal and would like access to a trainer and a nutritionist. Plus, explained Cavasos, they will have the power of a group supporting them. For a person who already has a personal trainer, they are encouraged to continue with their trainer also.
Because of the success of “The Challenge” in Fort Lauderdale, Fit4Life is planning on bringing the program to Miami.
Fit4Life itself has brought on another person to look into franchising the business. “We’ve been very well received,” said Cavasos. “We’re not even trying to find new business at this time until we catch up with the building the services of the businesses we already have. We’ve grown too fast.”
For more information on “The Challenge” and Fit4Life, contact Julian Cavasos at juliangetsemail@aol.com.
