Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy and Joe Pivonka.
Cathy and Joe, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My health and wellness journey didn’t actually kick in until I was in my mid 40’s. As a wife and mother of two beautiful girls, I realized I wasn’t in the best shape or setting the best example for my family. I originally started out in a Jazzercise class and it wasn’t long before I went for training/certification to become an instructor, along with my AFAA Group Fitness Certification. As the years progressed, I fell in love with leading strength training classes, Zumba®, and Pound®. While working with many people through our park district program, and teaching at many different locations, I was asked and encouraged to open a studio that would offer all of these classes in one place.
My husband Joe and I are co-owners and he was extremely supportive and encouraging as well. In June of 2015, we opened the doors to Energize Fitness. We currently have 13, amazing instructors, offer 25 classes a week and also provide after-hours specialties every month for a wide variety of interests from line dance and a crochet class to glow parties and restorative yoga by candlelight. A year ago, I realized the need to offer more to clients to round out the exercise and saw a need for nutrition and lifestyle coaching. I am currently a student of the Functional Medicine Health Coach Academy, graduating in February and have already started working with small groups as well as individuals to offer to coach for living the best life possible.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Due to living in a small town, we have been both thrilled and blessed to have a smooth road with opening Energize Fitness. While there are also challenges and bumps in the road with any business, we have only encountered the typical issues that would face any new business such as the ebb and flow of clients with the seasons. We are very fortunate to say that most of our clients are faithfully enrolled year round.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Mission Statement:
Energizing our community through positive relationships, challenging physical activity, nutritional insight, and mind-body awareness.
About Us:
The exciting news about Energize Fitness is that we don’t require any membership fees or contracts. We operate by offering short sessions with an affordable registration fee or the option of a drop in fee. Instead of boring or intimidating machines, we have trained instructors to provide group motivation, support and encouragement along with feedback for proper form and safety to reach desired goals. We specialize in Group Fitness classes.
We believe in empowering our participants to want to stay the course through lifestyle changes. Energize Fitness believes in functional fitness that will keep you in good shape for daily activities today and in all the years to come. If you check out our class schedule, you will find an extremely wide variety of classes to choose from for all different fitness levels. We encourage participants to find what they enjoy and cross train with variety in order to achieve the best results, avoid boredom and reduce the risk of injury. We take extreme pride in our community involvement and support charity events at both the local and national levels.
What sets us apart from other fitness studios is our genuine interest and connections with our fitness family. Our instructors know every participant by name and take a personal interest in them as individuals, not just paying customers. The amazing thing about our studio is the connection between participants. We constantly observe the friendly and positive interaction between clients. They are always welcoming to new people that come through the doors for the first time and are encouraging of one another at all times.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, we were both outgoing and active individuals that loved connecting with others. That definitely has carried over into our business adventure!!
Contact Info:
- Address: Energize Fitness
1470 S. Peace Rd. #101
Sycamore, Il 60178 - Website: www.energizefitness.net
- Phone: 815-895-MOVE(6683)
- Email: cathy@energizefitness.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/energizefitness
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/energizefitnesssycamore
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
