This February we're beyond excited to present to Saskatoon, Puppy Yoga!  This is our first ever time offering this event which we've aptly called Mutts & Mats: Yoga for a New Hope. What could be more enjoyable than a relaxing Yoga class, surrounded by adorable 3-month old puppies? While this class is currently sold out, the initial response has been so overwhelming, we plan to provide this class again in the very near future.

If you've ever been to our gym you've likely met our Gym Dog named Dak.  Having Dak around, and the reception he's gotten from all of our member, we've realized what an admiration you all have for dogs.  We've also realized just how many of you out there all have a furry family member of your own. We figured it was only fitting to combine something as lovable as dogs with something so many of you are so passionate about as Yoga.  And hey, if yoga can be made more popular with the addition of cats or goats, then puppy yoga might just be the best thing ever invented.

Our friends at New Hope Dog Rescue in Saskatoon will be bringing their newest litter of German Shepherd cross puppies to explore and play around the Fitness Focus yoga studio while all the participants find their zen. All proceeds raised by Mutts & Mats will be going to New Hope Dog Rescue, which provides financial aid for emergency surgeries, housing, food and other expenses associated with the process of finding dogs a forever home. 

 Hey Saskatoon, have you already lost your New Years ambition to get to the gym?  It's really easy to get excited about starting that training program when you're just starting a new gym membership, or rejuvenating the one you have been ignoring since the summer.  Here are a few tips that can help you keep on track, permanently:

1.   Have a plan!  If you can plan ahead, your ability to stay the course will be that much better and you'll be able to avoid external stresses and time constraints.

2.   Be disciplined! Make sure you do everything from eating, planning, training and resting with consistency. Once you find your groove, anything that deviates from the routine will be your motivation to get back on track.

3.   Stay positive!  All the negative influences over a few days seem to accumulate and cause your drive to workout to completely crumble.  Leave it all behind you. Dwelling on the negative things in life, even on the way to the gym, will make you feel like turning around and going straight home. After that, you'll wind up feeling guilty that you missed your workout, and the negativity continues.

4.   Define your goal!  To simply go to the gym is not a goal. Too often you might find yourself going through the motions and not facing the challenge each day.  Choose where you want to be and what you want to achieve. Otherwise you'll never realize that you've succeeded

Do you ever notice how some years just fly by? So quickly in fact that you would swear that, despite the cold weather, it was still only August or September.  Well that was 2017 in a Nutshell for us; honestly where did it go?  We want to take a moment to share a few highlight of what we got up to over the past year.

Back to the beginning, we'll set the scene for you. January 2017 started with rising and falling temperatures, which as we know in Saskatoon, causes water mains to rupture. As you likely know, Fitness Focus is located in an older neighborhood, and along with that comes an old infrastructure.  Our busiest time of the year, and we get stuck with no running water. After almost five days fighting well below zero temperatures, the city was able to repair the main and we were back in business.    

In March we added some new equipment to the weight room. Some much needed functional training equipment really brought things together.  A dead lift platform was brought in in the power lifting area; the hard, elevated surface has been put to good use, so much that we've considered adding a second platform.  In addition to the platform we added some new bumper plates which allow for easier loading and smoother lifts.

Another goody in the strength department was a Sissy Squat Bench.  Don't let the name fool you; the Sissy Squat movement is as challenging as exercises get. If you have yet to try it or want a demonstration, you can ask any of the Personal Trainers; they're always happy to share their knowledge.

We pride ourselves on our Personal Training department, as a leading gym in Saskatoon with Personal Training it's important that the Training Team is always expanding, growing and doing new things.  We welcomed Denise Kominetsky and Curtis Korchinski to the Personal Training Team.  They are both nationally certified, extremely knowledgeable, respectful and positive additions to the team.

Also happening in the Personal Training department was a pilot project aptly called the One Year Life Changing Transformation. Over a dozen nominees were narrowed down to five, after which the five remaining were interviewed by Two Trainers, Fitness Focus Managers, Herc's Nutrition Owner, and Owner of The District Kitchen & Bar to determine who was most deserving of this life changing opportunity.

The goal of this project was to offer one person the opportunity to lose a substantial amount of weight and learn how to change their lifestyle and management their health and body weight on their own thereafter.  Our Candidate has so far made great progress, we hope she can reach her goals,learn more about herself and fitness, and inspire people around her to do the same.

What do we have planned for 2018?  Just as we treat our health and fitness, we're planning for nothing but progress in the coming year.  We have some new plans Group Fitness and the Childcare Room, and we're looking forward to running a new member survey to find out from you, exactly how we've been doing and what you want to see moving into the future.

Thank you all for your support over the past year.

Fitness Focus, we make it our mission to empower everyone in the gym to challenge themselves everyday.  A dedicated gym routine, no matter how casual or how intense can affect so many other aspects of our lives. So many reasons keep us coming back day in-day out; some people are trying to get in better shape for health reasons and some people need to burn off extra energy.  Lots of people are even training for a competitive event like a marathon or sanctioned fight, and a lot of the time we walk past them in the weight room without even knowing it. 

Here is a group of members from Fitness Focus that we usually do notice when they are training for their event.  We notice that their clothes might be fitting a bit loose, or their faces have leaned out from 2 weeks ago when we last saw them, or maybe the jug of water they've been toting around with them.  The body builders and physique competitors; we may not fully understand them, but like any other competitive athlete we know they are giving 100% to do what they love to do. We want to take a moment to recognize the members that represented Fitness Focus on May 23rd at the 2015 Saskatchewan Amateur Body Building Association Provincial Championship (SABBA 2015). Their dedication to training and diet for the past 16 weeks is a prime example of what challenging yourself everyday can accomplish.

 ROHAN BARNETT Men's Physique

 NANCY MONTEITH Physique Short

 PETER NGUYEN Body Building

 AMY SHOUT Bikini

 EVAN SHOUT Body Building

 DEB COUTTS Bikini

 JESS FRIESEN (Personal Trainer) Figure Short

 SHERRI HUNCHAK Women's Figure Tall

 JOHN GOERTZEN Body Building

 GARRETT SMETHURST Body Building

 ANDERSON NUTTAL Men's Physique

If you have photos from any sport you do that you're proud of, please share them on our Facebook Page tag us on your INSTAGRAM (@fitnessfocussaskatoon) or email them to info@fitnessfocus.ca.