We all know that PDXstrength exists to provide fun and friendly functional movement in an open and accepting environment. We obviously have never had to face such a difficult obstacle such as COVID and navigating through these unchartered territories has been scary, frustrating, and at times demoralizing. We did our best to buck up, zoom the shit out of classes and keep our community tight and strong. Each member has been designated a coach and we even had teams participating in light hearted challenges to keep us going. Then we got the “ok” to open our doors back up and start back with classes at the gym. To be honest, this was something I really wasn’t comfortable with and I didn’t want to jump the gun. Instead of indoor classes, we started back slowly with outdoor classes using minimal equipment, with creative programming and spirited coaching to keep the spark alive. Now we are supplementing small indoor classes, requiring masks and not programming cardio indoors so we aren’t huffing and puffing. We have had wait lists for these classes and we are doing our best to add more… but we are honestly at a stand still right now. The fitness industry is obviously struggling… and PDXstrength has been hit hard. The future is so uncertain and I’ve been battling burnout, but our amazing coaches have been the reason PDXstrength has not sunk yet. Every single coach stepped up to the challenge and has gone ABOVE AND BEYOND any expectations. I’m so grateful and thankful… I can’t even put it in words how they have surpassed my wildest expectations. It’s because of their determination and grit, that I have not given up on PDXstrength. I’ve come to realize that is might be something we have to battle for many months, and I’m ready to come back out of hiding and saddle up.
I also have all of YOU to thank! Those that have stuck with us, those that have had our backs, those of you that are still keeping our PDXstrength spirit alive!
COVID would have sucked 1 million times more if we didn’t all show up for one another on the zooms. Our community flourished, and that’s on you. You responded to our follow up emails with nothing but love. You provided valuable feedback so that we could make our offerings fit our members needs.
Together, we proved that PDXstrength doesn’t need a physical space to provide excellent functional workouts and the connection we need to get through these tough times.
If you have any free time please consider rating us on Google or Yelp…. tell your friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers to try out a class. We are not done yet… and hope to see you outside, inside or on zoom soon!