By Eleanor Sevigny
Published May 13, 2021 in The Burg
When Anytime Fitness closed Katrina Brown and Jenna Fox had three choices: try to find a job they equally loved, go back to jobs they didn’t love, or open a gym. Together they opened The Strength Collective in July of 2018.
The Strength Collective is located at 1964 N Henderson Street in Galesburg. They are open 24/7 for their members. Staff is available Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. They offer discounts on their monthly memberships to first responders, military/veterans, teachers, BNSF employees, and city and state employees. They also have a student and senior rate for those who qualify.
The Strength Collective offers a full service gym with cardio equipment, a functional training area, a large weight room, tanning bed, restrooms, and showers. They also offer “semi-private, one-on-one, and small group training with our certified personal trainer Fox. For group training, we offer Barbell Strong - a barbell strength training group, Stay at Home Strong - a dumbbell strength training group, Warrior Strong Kickboxing, and we offer All Ages Strong as a complimentary group to our members who are 55-plus. All of our groups can be done in-person or virtually. We want to be a community-focused gym that brings people together and lifts people up.” Brown explained.
Their Warrior Strong Kickboxing classes have been popular since they opened.
“I think it's trendy but it's also a fantastic workout while being fun. Who doesn't want to punch and kick things from time to time?” Brown explained.
The Strength Collective’s Four Week Challenges are popular as well.
“People like that it's only a four week commitment. They also like that our point system isn't based around weight loss, body fat percentages, or inches. And let's face it, they like winning cash and gift certificates.” Brown explained.
The Strength Collective had another four week challenge start up May 3rd.
While their kickboxing classes and 4 week challenges are well known, there is a service they offer that not everyone is aware. Fox is certified in personal training, nutrition, online coaching, prenatal and postnatal health, and women’s self-defense.
“We offer so many different consults and coaching options with her, none of which involve coming to the gym in-person or even having to live in the area.” Brown explained.
Like many other businesses the pandemic has affected The Strength Collective.
“Being closed down for 12 weeks was incredibly difficult. Not just on us, but on our members as well. Our members were so generous and we can never repay them for their help throughout that time. The majority of them were willing to keep paying their memberships in order to ensure that we could still open our doors once the lockdown was lifted.
Jenna had us adapt incredibly quickly. We offered virtual one-on-one training with our personal training clients, virtual group training classes, free workouts posted on our Facebook page daily. We even had a challenge that spanned out to several non-members incorporating gift certificates to the winners from our fellow small businesses.
We haven't had to make too many day-to-day adjustments. We did have to cut a couple of classes out of our schedule as sanitizing in between wasn't the easiest. And we have Royal Cleaning come and sanitize the gym once a month as a preventative measure.” explained Brown.
Overall The Strength Collective would like to tell the Galesburg community, “Thank you for letting us be a part of this tight knit community. You guys have truly embraced us and what we stand for. If you've been wanting to take charge of your health and fitness, stop down for a tour and a complimentary fitness consult!
Thank you to our fellow small businesses for your continued support through these still tough times. Keep your heads up, we're going to get through this together.
Thank you to our members. From the bottom of our hearts, we couldn't do any of this without you! We love you. Stay strong fit fam and remember: We Grow Strong By Lifting Others.”