Member Stories: How FFC Gold Coast Has Helped Me Sustain a Healthy Lifestyle

“Unkraut wie wir vergeht nicht.” “Weeds like us don’t perish.” That was my mother’s motto all her life. It was the motto that sustained us when, shortly after my seventh birthday, she, my brother and I were captured by the Soviet…

Member Stories: An Inside Look Into the Fitness Routine of a Training Olympic Athlete

  In May of 2009 I had received word from my parents that my mom had gone in for a check-up due to recurring headaches, and that the MRI showed a couple of lesions on her brain. After a hard, five-month long fight (during which she maintained…
How FFC Helped Me Win My First Bodybuilding Competition

How FFC Helped Me Win My First Bodybuilding Competition

I first came to the US in 2009. Having grown up in New Zealand, I was not used to the portion sizes of various fast food options in America. Despite my effort to maintain my weight, poor diet and the lack of an exercise routine slowly took a…
Member Stories: How I Went From Spin Bike to Road Bike at FFC

Member Stories: How I Went From Spin Bike to Road Bike at FFC

My journey started 10 years ago, in 2007. In the early 2000’s, I was your typical 40-year old guy. Happily married, great social life, working too hard, overweight, and eating and drinking all wrong. I thought working out equaled going to…
How exercise helped me with my autoimmune disorders

Member Stories: How Exercise Helped With My Autoimmune Disorders

For most of my life, I’ve struggled with developing healthy habits. Whether it was exercising enough or eating right, it never came easy for me. Despite several setbacks, I finally got it together and lost 50 lbs! My success, however, was…
Member Stories: Here's What Happened When I Tried MYZONE

Member Stories: Here’s What Happened When I Tried MYZONE

Before MYZONE, and as a fitness fanatic, I always ask myself a few questions after each time I exercise: Was that good workout? How many calories did I burn? Was that better than last time? Typically, the answer to this was based…

How FFC Helped Me Lose Weight & Recover From A Herniated Disc

Before my back surgery in June 2016 for a herniated disc, I weighed in at 200 pounds. On my 5’4” frame, the extra weight was destroying my health. The year before, I had sustained not one, but two herniated discs in my lower back. Although…
How the Move2Win fitness challenge helped me change my perspective on exercise

Member Stories: How the Move2Win Fitness Challenge Changed My Perspective on Exercise

I saw the signs plastered all over FFC East Lakeview: “Move2Win, Join Now!” Even trainers were wearing blue shirts with “Move2Win” on them. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but eventually I learned it was a fitness challenge…
How FFC Union Station helped me get fit and become a beast by 40

Member Stories: How FFC Union Station Helped Me Get Fit and Become a Beast by 40

I’ve been a member of FFC Union Station for six years with varying levels of fitness success, but got soft over the past two years. I made all the excuses: travel for work, no free time for the gym, back surgery recipient… did I really need…
How I made a lifestyle change and lost over 65 pounds

Member Stories: How I Made a Lifestyle Change And Lost 65 Pounds

In June 2015, I had the realization that I was at my highest weight. I had been in denial that I was gaining weight for a few years prior to that; the weight had just inched its way on over time. This weight gain was greatly due to secretly…
Member Stories: How TriMonster Helped Me Finish My First Triathlon at 70

Member Stories: How TriMonster Helped Me Finish My First Triathlon at 70

This past year, I decided it was time to get serious about endurance – specifically in swimming. I spent a lot of time researching and clicked through many web pages reading up on FFC’s TriMonster Endurance program. “If not now, when?”…
Member Stories: How I Stayed Active With An Injury

Member Stories: How I Stayed Active With An Injury

Getting an injury is never a fun situation. Especially when you’ve been focused all winter and all you want to do is show off your hard work! Regardless of where you’re at in your fitness journey, it can happen to anyone. I recently sustained…

Member Stories: How FFC South Loop Helped Me Get To The American Hockey League

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a professional hockey referee? Skating for the entire duration of games, keeping up with the players and even getting into the middle of fights, these athletes need to be in the best shape possible.…
How FFC helped me with my fitness transformation

Member Stories: How FFC Helped Me With My Fitness Transformation

My weight has gone up and down for the past 20 years. I would lose weight and be somewhat fit, but over time, I would gain it all back (and then some). I must have repeated this cycle three times over the past 15 years. I knew it was time for…
Member stories: avoiding surgery through nutrition and exercise

Member Stories: Avoiding Surgery Through Nutrition And Exercise

My family and I joined FFC as Charter Members last summer. I couldn’t wait for the Park Ridge facility to open. I had been going to another gym; however, I knew that FFC was going to fulfill all my needs. Little did I know, though, that it…
How FFC helped me get back into a fitness routine

Member Stories: How FFC Lincoln Park Got Me Back into a Fitness Routine

Adulting is hard. No one can prepare you for the challenges the real world brings. And I’m not just ranting about the fact that my actions may now have heavily-weighing consequences if made in haste, or that I have long-term retirement savings…
How FFC helped me with my weight loss journey

How FFC Helped Me With My Weight Loss Journey

I have wrestled with my weight for most of my life. I've been on every diet program. I mean every program. I joined Weight Watchers when it was just Weight Watcher (Jenny Craig). I’ve tried Slim Fast… and something called the Beverly Hills…
How FFC helped me make a doctor-recommended lifestyle change

How FFC Helped Me Make a Doctor-Recommended Lifestyle Change

On June 6, 2016, I joined the FFC West Loop gym. At that time, I was very bulky and I had no motivation to work out or go to the gym daily. I needed a lifestyle change. When I began my membership, I was provided a trainer from the FFC front…
Member Stories: What Happened When I Made My Health a Priority

Member Stories: What Happened When I Made My Health a Priority

Recently, after the New Year, I had a realization that it was time to do something about my weight. I had tried before but I was always so busy with school and work that it made it almost impossible to get into a routine. I needed to make health…
Member Stories: How Exercise Helped Me Overcome My Fibromyalgia

Member Stories: How Exercise Helped Me Overcome My Fibromyalgia

On November 25, 2013, my life was forever changed—I had gastric bypass surgery. My husband and I made this life changing decision based on the incredible pain I had been in for the two years prior due to fibromyalgia. Back In early 1995,…