FitMe Wellness

Three out of five. We’ll take that.

There are five finalists for **Best Personal Trainer** in this year’s What Rocks Community’s Choice Awards, and somehow THREE of them work right here at FitMe Wellness.

**Tracy Cusick. Rachel Dixon. Zach Burdick.**

That’s a pretty remarkable showing for one small, locally owned gym, and we couldn’t be prouder to see all three of them on the final ballot.

And while you’re there, **FitMe Wellness is also a finalist for Best Fitness Center.**

Final voting is open through August 21, and you can vote once each day.

Vote for your FitMe favorites here:
https://rrstar.gannettcontests.com/2026-What-Rocks-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=554705

Thanks, Rockford. We appreciate every vote.

Happy National Relaxation Day! Today, we encourages you to slow down and unwind. Take time to focus on taking care of yourself and take a moment to relax.

Whether that's reading a book, going for a leisurely stroll or taking your dog to the park, relaxing and taking time off is important for our mental and physical well-being.

What is your favorite relaxation activity?

We made the finals!

The final round of voting for the 2026 What Rocks Community’s Choice Awards is officially open, and we’re pretty proud of the FitMe representation on the ballot.
⭐ **Rachel Dixon** — Finalist for Personal Trainer
⭐ **Tracy Cusick** — Finalist for Personal Trainer
⭐ **Zach Burdick** — Finalist for Personal Trainer
⭐ **FitMe Wellness** — Finalist for **Best Fitness Center**

Having Tracy, Rachel and Zach all make the final round says a lot about the people who make FitMe what it is every day. And having FitMe there alongside them makes this one especially meaningful.

Now we need your votes!

You can vote once each day during the final voting period, so please take a minute to support Tracy, Rachel, Zach and FitMe Wellness.

**VOTE HERE:**
https://rrstar.gannettcontests.com/2026-What-Rocks-Communitys-Choice-Awards/gallery?group=554705

Thank you, Rockford. Fifteen years in, we’re incredibly grateful to still be doing this together. ❤️

No this does not mean exercise needs to be painful in order to achieve results! But we do know that, in order to grow, we must challenge ourselves above and beyond our every day capacity. That could be walking a minute longer, lifting a heavier weight, trying a new skill even. Growth, whether it's muscle or mind, will ONLY happen if you step outside of your comfort zone.

Have you been doing the same routine for a few months, or maybe longer? Then we encourage you to spice it up!

🎇Try the dance class
🎇Go up a few repetitions in your set
🎇Try changing your tempo of your lifts

There are SO many ways to add variety to challenge yourself a little differently.

Need ideas? Our trainers are happy to help give you some options but we'd love to hear from you too! Comment below on one way you could move out of your comfort zone at the gym this month!

There are plenty of reasons to think twice before grazing from breakfast until bedtime. Here's another.

In a recent six-month study, adults between the ages of 50 and 79 who limited their eating to an 8–9 hour daily window lost essentially the same amount of weight as those who simply cut calories. The difference? They maintained better cognitive function, performing better on tests of planning and problem solving.

It was a small pilot study, so this doesn't prove that avoiding late-night snacking protects your brain. But it does add to growing evidence that **when** we eat may matter for our health, not just **what** we eat.

The overnight fast may be doing more for your health than simply preparing you for breakfast.

Over the past fifteen years, we've had the privilege of watching a lot of lives unfold.

Hillary first joined FitMe a few years after we opened our doors, eventually becoming a familiar face behind our front desk in 2016 while teaching and looking to pick up a few extra hours.

She later accepted another teaching position in Wisconsin and left us for a couple of years. Eventually she returned to Rockford and to FitMe.

A few years later, she shared that she was becoming frustrated with teaching. Around that same time, my wife Marifran was looking for an assistant in Trusts & Estates at Associated Bank. The two of them met, hit it off immediately, and Hillary traded working for one Georgis to the other.

Since then she's married Davis, built a new career, and is now preparing to welcome their first child.

Life has a way of doing that.

When we first meet our members, it's usually because they're looking to improve their health. Then, almost without realizing it, years pass. Careers change. People move away and come back. Relationships begin. Weddings happen. Families grow.

One day you look around and realize you've had a front-row seat to an awful lot of life.

Congratulations to Hillary and Davis. We're so excited for everything that lies ahead and grateful that FitMe has been one small part of your family's story. 💕👶

More than 50% of older Americans (age 50 and older) are effected by osteoporosis or osteopenia. This "silent" condition makes bones brittle and can cause you a break from a minor fall or even a simple cough. These fractures—especially in the hip or spine—lead to chronic pain, height loss, permanent disability, and a drastically reduced quality of life.
So what are some key steps you can do to help prevent bone loss and improve the health of you bones?

Step 1-GET STRONGER! This doesn't just require picking up dumbbells. You must progressively overload (ie: make the exercise more challenging over time) as muscles are highly adaptable and need to be stressed beyond their daily capabilities in order to continue to grow.

Step 2-EAT TO BUILD! This is a tough one as most gym goers are trying to lose weight. We are not suggesting you eat like a high school linebacker but muscle does require enough calories to get stronger and grow! If you are unsure if you are consuming enough, reach out to one of our trainers and they can offer tips to help discover what you may want to change.

Step 3-GET KEY NUTRIENTS! Calcium (1,000-1,200 mg/day), Vitamin D (600-800IU/day) and Magnesium (310-420mg) are three main nutrients that help support bone health. Check with your health care provider for amounts more specific to your needs.

Step 4-BE CONSISTENT! Like anything that you're looking to change, be patient and be consistent. This doesn't mean you need to lift daily (even 1 workout/week) can elicit change for some. But pick a path and behaviors you can stick to. Bones take a long time to adapt and change. A 1-2% gain per year is a big win!

Gym family? Biological family? Why not both!

Thank you sarahsmiles0714 for visiting us and getting a workout in with your mom during your Rockford vacay! We love seeing you when you’re back in town!!

Researchers at University College London analyzed data from more than 4,400 adults over age 50 in England to examine the relationship between cultural engagement and physiological aging.

Those who most frequently attended concerts, plays, museums, art galleries, and movies had a physiological age roughly two to three years younger than those who rarely participated, even after researchers accounted for income, education, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, and other health factors.

The study does not prove that a night at the theater or an afternoon at a museum slows the aging process. It does suggest that staying curious, socially connected, and engaged with the world may play a meaningful role in how well we age.

We tend to think about health in terms of exercise, nutrition, blood pressure, cholesterol, muscle mass, and body weight. All of those things matter. But a healthy life also needs places to go, people to see, and things that still capture our interest.

Maybe aging well has as much to do with staying curious as it does staying healthy.

I listened to a Freakonomics podcast this morning with Dr. Zeke Emanuel discussing his new book, *Eat Your Ice Cream.* The title grabs your attention, but it wasn't the ice cream that stayed with me.

It was the reminder that food is about more than nutrition. Some of our best memories revolve around it. Family dinners. Holiday traditions. Vacations. Celebrations. The neighborhood restaurant you've been meaning to try. A slice of birthday cake. Ice cream on a summer evening.

Somewhere along the way, wellness became increasingly transactional. Every calorie had to justify itself. Every meal was either "good" or "bad." Every indulgence came with a little guilt attached.

I don't think that's a particularly healthy way to live.

At FitMe, we've always believed health should give you more freedom, not less. The freedom to travel, explore, play with your grandchildren someday, stay active, and yes, enjoy a great meal with the people you care about.

None of that diminishes the importance of exercise or eating well. Quite the opposite. We encourage both because they make more of life's experiences possible—not because we believe life should revolve around counting calories or chasing perfection.

Food nourishes us. It also brings us together. A healthy life should leave room for both.