Oh 2020... The year COVID-19 changed everything.

Here we are, December 2020. Back a year ago no one could have imaged the events of this year. Let’s be honest, did you see this coming?

In March, things started off ‘normal’ enough. through my company MAXFIT 360 I was working as an independent contractor to coach. Track and Field season had started and I was starting the being of what looked like a promising coaching season working with two levels of teams. The girls were excited; the coaches were excited. However, we had big plans that came to a sudden halt about two weeks in. At the time I was told, we have to close the school for a bit as a parent of a student was confirmed to have COVID-19. The timing wasn’t the end of the world as the ladies were going to spring break soon.

Silly me, I thought we would pick back up in just a few weeks.

Two days later more things went south. I got notice from my full time job where I worked as the Director of Fitness and Health; overseeing two gyms, a team of personal trainers, a small group program and a medical fitness partnership with Englewood Hospital AND the Instagram page, that we needed to close for two weeks. I packed up a bunch of work from my office to take home.

During the first week things were insane. I launched several live classes on Instagram. Started to create content for members to do exercises and activity outside the facility and so much more. After about a week it became clear that we would not re-open the beginning of April. That is when I then moved to getting the personal training staff trained and ready to do online (virtual training) with their clients. It was a whirlwind of work and processes to get everything behind the scenes working. And of course because I am me, I also emailed all the clients letting them know of their options. It was a busy time. The effort paid off and I was recognized by the JCCA for the innovation of the virtual training model I had created and launched and it was sent to all the JCC’s in North America.

While all of this was going on, I was not able to spend as much time focusing on MAXFIT 360. Not the way it needed. If you knew of my business prior to March 2020, you would say I specialized in sports. Running, Basketball, Sports Conditioning, etc. And you would be right. However, sports were banned due to COVID-19. I effectively had no business to run…

I did finish and launch my own fitness app. But I wasn’t attracting new clients, I wasn’t growing new classes. I had not shifted my personal brand to survive COVID-19. So much energy went into making sure my staff and the members of the facility were taken care of. Then I got new that I needed to furlough a lot of staff. In addition, I would be expected to take a huge pay cut while still keeping things together for the staff remaining, my clients, the members and the social media page.

It became a lot to balance. I wasn’t sleeping well. I wasn’t eating well. To be honest I didn’t feel well. I found my self tied to a computer 98% of the day, working from 5am to 10pm to make things happen. My personal workouts became almost nonexistent. Too much stress with little reward. The push to re-open around parameters I didn’t believe in weighed on me. Who I am am no longer aligned with where I worked. I am a small person when I gain weigh it is noticeable, even if it’s only 5-10lbs, but I had gone down the rabbit whole. For a brief period of time it was hard to pull myself together. Something needed to change.

Long story short, I needed to do what was best for me and my health. In June, I ended my employment with that facility. And decided to fully and whole heartedly run MAXFIT 360. I wanted to run a business the way it should be, not the way my last company wanted. I wanted to do right by my clients, teach classes and keep people safe. I also missed my own health. And the stress was not doing me any favors.

To be honest, I had always planned to run MAXFIT 360 as my primary focus, but then I didn’t. I enjoyed working with the team of staff and the members. Working for someone else, though tough, has a lot of perks such as medical insurance and the risk of failing isn’t as dramatic. I had my office, my 16+ work hour days, I had my goals and checklist and I was good my job. Really good at it. We were kicking butt. And as good as I was at my job, there is still a real fear about applying all that skill to my own business.

But here I am. It’s December. I have been self-employed since June. I have still not gotten back to sports coaching, but I have included in socially distant personal training, online classes and fitness challenges. My clients haven given me lots of positive feedback. Business is slowly growing and I am okay. Really, I am okay. Some days are better than others. But each day I wake up excited to train my clients, teach my classes and innovate. I am working on my own social media platforms. I don’t quite have everything the way I would like, but it is moving along. All businesses take a while to grow and I am fortunate that I have awesome clients that support my business. I truly do what I do out of love and passion.

This pandemic is going no where fast. I have my health, my stress levels are completely different, I am sleeping better, getting in my runs, eating better and being the inspiration I know I can be to those that are also struggling. MAXFIT 360 is both my life saver and dream come true. It is scary at times, and sometime I wonder if I am nuts for staying in the industry. But I could never truly leave fitness, health and wellness even if I fall down sometimes.

All of this to say, it is easy to judge someone on the outside, but so much could be happening on the inside. Let’s be kind to ourselves, lets be kind to others. Let’s get through this pandemic together.