2024 Year In Review

A Look Back at 2024: A Year of Growth and Gratitude

As we reflect on 2024, Meredith and I are filled with gratitude. This year has been one of significant growth, both personally and professionally. We extend a heartfelt thank you to our incredible members for their unwavering support and understanding as we made our way  through our 13th year at RFS.

At the end of 2023 and then early in 2024, Coach Breezy and Coach Mere welcomed new additions to their families!!  With Coach Breezy becoming a proud parent for a second time with Anderson Douglas Leins and Coach/Co-Owner Mere the proud mama of baby girl Isabella Rae Donohue. We deeply appreciate your patience and flexibility as we navigated staffing adjustments during this time, and provided them with the support and grace they’ve provided to all of us over the years.  Allowing them to soak in those super early days of parenthood is truly a special gift all of our members gave to them, and reaffirmed the core commitment to family and human connection that we value so much.

With the support of our members through this time with Breezy and Mere away, as well as your patience through the stressful time that is hurricane season, we managed to accomplish a great deal this year as a strong community!  We celebrated the successes of several members that competed in various competitions throughout the year, hit countless PRs and made new friends.

As far as the RFS team, our major focus this year was on the future and growth of the gym in several key areas:

• Team Development: We prioritized team building and professional development this year, and as a result several of our coaches and trainers furthered their education by achieving new certifications and advancing their coaching credentials!

Coach Esteban: Level 2 CrossFit Coaching Certification

Coach Sarah: Level 1 and Level 2 CrossFit Coaching Certification

Coach Becky:  Level 1 CrossFit Coaching Certification

Coach Breezy: Hyrox Coaching Certification

• Programming Development and Additions: 

Ray came on as Head Coach with Coach Mere to manage the CrossFit Programming and assist with coach development. His programming and direction has resulted in some strong members, and over 35 PRs in one of our recent squat cycles!!  Coach Mere developed an accessory program to compliment the main class workout and fulfill specific elements of well-rounded fitness that members may be missing out on.

We quietly affiliated with Hyrox early last year, joining what is a very rapidly growing global fitness movement!  We slowly tested the integration of this programming during our midday Mon/Wed/Fri HIIT class and it’s been, well, a hit!! (I’m sorry, I had to).   This partnership has opened doors for our members to a new type of high intensity training that is very complimentary to our CrossFit foundation.

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• Team Additions:  We are so excited to have welcomed Coach Becky back to RFS this past summer!!  And we are also overjoyed to have added Rachel Koepsel to the team late this year to assist with our Marketing and Community Communication efforts at RFS!!  It has become clear that there is a need for us to streamline and improve our communication efforts with our members because of SO many different events and happenings at RFS.  Rachel has already become an integral part of our plans to do exactly that.

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• Facility Upgrades: We installed exterior and interior lighting upgrades, improved our air conditioning system, improved our bathrooms, and built a new bridge for our running course.  We would be remiss if we did not mention and thank Alex Ortega, a long time member that has taken on the role of Facilities Manager to help us keep up with the maintenance and repairs at RFS.  Alex has helped us keep up with a long list of work that comes along with a space that requires constant upkeep.  In 2025 we will be working to address issues such as improvements to the parking lot and garage doors.

And finally, late this year we switched from ZenPlanner and SugarWOD to a new software system, Push Press!!  More on that with our glimpse into 2025….

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Looking Ahead to 2025: Building Community

Our primary focus in 2025 is continuing to build and strengthen our incredible RFS community. The transition to Push Press is a big part of this plan.  Though the software comes with a learning curve,  as is the case with anything new, we aim to utilize this platform to foster deeper connections between members, create engaging challenges, and provide a more personalized and supportive experience at RFS!  As you may know, Meredith and I try our best to be very thorough with anything we present and integrate into the gym, so we appreciate your patience as we take the time to learn the ins and outs of the software in order to best present it to you in the coming year!!

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What Push Press Offers, ALL IN ONE PLACE:

• Effortless Class Scheduling: Easily book classes and view your schedule with the user-friendly Push Press app.
• Personalized Tracking: Track your workouts and attendance, monitor your progress, and set personalized fitness goals.
• Enhanced Communication: Receive important updates, announcements, and training tips ALL in one place, directly through the Push Press app
• Community Building: Connect with other members, share your fitness journey, and participate in community challenges ALL in one place as well, through the Push Press app.

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Community Competition in 2025:

The 2025 CrossFit Open - We already have plans in the works to make our open season this year very fun and very different. We will be creating a new, engaging experience for everyone! 

We are thrilled to see several of our members taking on the challenge and competing in their first Hyrox competition in Miami this April. We wish them the best of luck as they push their limits and embrace this exciting opportunity!!

Programming and Education for Members in 2025:

We will be announcing several “accessory” options to all of you throughout this year to compliment your daily class fitness, including seminars and health packages.  Our goal is to provide you with every tool and opportunity to better your mental and physical health in 2025.

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So in other words, there’s a lot to look forward to in the upcoming year!!  We are excited and honored to continue serving you on your fitness journey. Thank you for being a part of the Real Fitness Sarasota family!!

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