Congratulations on Your 100-lb Weight Loss Goal!!!

We are so happy to feature one of our members from the Downers Grove location on our blog and also on our Success Stories page. Her name is Maria Bertucci-Runge, and she has had an incredible nutrition and fitness journey to reach a healthy weight, and WOW does she look amazing! The W3 corporate staff as well as the managers of all W3 locations want to congratulate Maria on sticking with it and accomplishing her goal! Nothing feels better than achieving what you most desire, and we are so proud that she was able to do this at one of our facilities. We are all about RESULTS, and seeing our members get the RESULTS they want brings our mission to life. Way to go, Maria! Your motivation to begin and your determination to keep going through those plateaus are an inspiration to all of us to keep trying for what we truly want.~ Thanks~

To read her story and see her transformation pictures, click here.

Again, congratulations. W3 is proud of you and wishes you the best of luck in any future health and fitness endeavors!

~W3 Corporate

$99 SPECIAL!!! ENDS FRIDAY!

LADIES!!! Women’s Workout & Wellness is excited to announce a special, 4-day sale!!! All W3 locations are running a special THIS WEEK ONLY. $99 for ONE FULL YEAR! No gimmicks- just $99 paid in full and a one-year membership to W3 is YOURS. All W3 locations, sale ending this Friday, Aug 10th. Hurry in- this special WILL NEVER BE OFFERED AGAIN! If you have any questions, please call the club nearest you. See you soon!

~W3

Women’s Workout & Wellness Prospect Heights

An unfortunate circumstance has come upon W3 that we feel needs to be brought to the attention of all and addressed before any negative opinions or thoughts are formed. We have recently made the decision to close the Prospect Heights Women’s Workout & Wellness location. Please understand that this is not a decision we wanted to make, but we were truly left with no choice. We did everything we could to keep the club running, but in the end, our efforts that we put into all of our clubs just did not hold strongly to this location.

The area of the Prospect Heights location has changed throughout the years, leaving the market a lot different now than it was when we first built clubs in this area. The downturn of the economy has affected all of us as consumers and as businesses. The economy has not fared well with the landlord’s ability to fill the many vacant spots in this shopping center. Also, if you drive north on Rand Rd., you will see similar situations in many of the shopping centers. All of the vacancy in our shopping center has negatively affected our walk-in traffic. Due to the inability to renegotiate a fair lease in favor of both W3 and the landlord, we were left with no choice but to close this location now that the lease is up.

We know the extreme inconvenience it is when your routine health club is closed. We know that we have very committed members at this location, and we are sincerely sorry that their W3 experience has to end. We tried the same tactics, special sales and programs at this location that we did at other locations. They worked at the others, but for some reason, they just did not take to the demographics of Prospect Heights. We hope the members are able to transfer to another location, but if not, we wish them the best in their future fitness endeavors.

We also want to thank Megan and her staff. Megan did an amazing job at this location. We have fought for two years to try to keep the club running successfully, and Megan has made a positive difference in every aspect. She has built a staff that is very hardworking and loved by the members. We want them, too, to transfer to another location to continue working if the travel is possible for them.

We want to make clear that in no way is the closing of this location a reflection of any other W3 location. It is simply the fact that our marketing and sales efforts that have worked in all other clubs just did not work here, and we believe this is due to the many factors stated above. W3 is planning on expanding throughout the Chicagoland area and is in the process of remodeling various locations.

We regret to inform all viewers of this unwanted circumstance, and we are sorry this is happening. Thank you to our members, all employees, and the manager for making the club atmosphere so positive.

Inspirational Email from a Member

Opening up my email on Monday, June 4th, I saw I had an email from Jenny, the manager at the Monroe St. location. The email was titled “FW: Beginning Marathon Today!!!!!” I opened it and saw it was a heart-felt email from a member at the Monroe St. and Lawrence location. As you’ll see, she was so excited to start her training for the Diabetes 5K, a goal she wrote on Monroe’s bulletin board back in January. Well, she has accomplished her goal and feels better than ever! I personally wanted to share this email (after receiving full permission for the email and pictures) because it truly touched me that our members are not only seeing results but also realizing that our trainers and staff at W3 truly care about our members’ goals to make them future success stories. I told her that her email embodies the message that W3 tries to convey to each member and prospect every day, and I felt compelled to share it. Please take the time to read the email below (and reply); maybe you’ll feel inspired, too.
Thanks again, Butterfly, for allowing us to use your story. Your dedication is an inspiration!

Thank you for being there this morning, Judy.  I can’t tell you how
much W3 has significantly change–improved my life.  Today is the
first day of training for the American Diabetes 5K Marathon (October
7, 2012).  If they still have the board up at Monroe, you’ll see way
at the bottom I snuck my goal “to run for diabetes”.  I needed to hear
your voice and/or Jenny’s voice today.  Needed.  I was so nervous this
morning.  It’s a reality!

I lost 37lbs, went from a size 18 to a size 10 in jeans and 12 in
regular clothes.  My medication has decreased and for the first time
in life, I can run.  Thanks to Janice (Lawrence location) I can run.

Thanks for letting me share how much fitness and health has become
daily dialogue with me and my children.  As I said, my brother, who is
deaf and a year younger than I saw me after 6 months and was inspired
to run track.  We went to the grocers and went over labels (sodium
intake) and discussed healthier foods (Jenny and Janice and you are
just. . .I won’t start crying again, but I mean this when I say it
from the bottom of my heart–God Bless You.

Jenny, you prepped me for functional training–the best thing anybody
can do to learn about themselves (physically, mentally, etc.) !!!!  I
truly, truly miss you and I remain grateful for your advice.  Janice
Desiderio (personal/functional trainer is absolutely amazing!!!!).
I’m running.  I’m running!!!  I know she’ll say its all me, but nope.
She gives us all her undivided attention and constantly encourages.

I have been at the Lawrence location religiously, but will be coming
to the Monroe due to my job.

The photos attached are preparing for a dinner, in front of my
artwork, something else and my sister.  I have 13 more pounds to go,
but today, finally, I put the scale away.  My focus has shifted more
to strength training.  Okay. I know I’m babbling.  I’m not as bad as I
was this morning, thanks Julie and Judy for listening.

I don’t care if you all are tired of me saying thank you, but thank
you, thank you, thank you.
—
Sincerely,

Butterfly Harris

And her reply back to my email:

Good afternoon Jamie:

Thank you so very much for your kind words.  You have my permission to print my letter and use which ever photos I sent you deem suitable.

If I may make one request. . .   W3 at both the Monroe and Lawrence locations were significant to my positive results. Jenny Hagen, Manager, Monroe location and Janice Desiderio, Personal and Functional trainer, Lawrence location. I had my functional training with Janice.

The thing that’s so great about W3 is how great these women collaborate and promote each other and each others location; I love that.  When I talk about W3, I speak of both.  I’m a result of a collaboration. They’re as different as siblings within a “family” and being a part of W3 family has and continues to be one of the best investments of my life.

I’m sure you receive countless letters of gratitude from members; thank you for your feedback from mine.  I have to tell you, when I walk through those doors–at both locations, the staff of trainers, instructors and front desks always make me “feel welcome to achieve”. I (like I’m sure many of your members have their impacting W3 person) will probably remember Jenny and Janice for the rest of my life. I look forward to becoming a long time member like so many.

Continued success.

___________________________

Continued success indeed! Thanks again. Only at… the W3.

Jamie

Happy 30th Anniversary W3!!!

Women’s Workout World, now Women’s Workout and Wellness, has been in business for 30 years! What an amazing 30 years it has been. A special thanks goes out to our long-time members who have been with us for the past 10, 20 and even 30 years! You have trusted us with your fitness goals and have been with us during grand openings, remodels, fitness trends, new classes, new instructors, numerous  promotions, special boot camps, breast cancer walks, American Heart Association walks, and now you’re here to see our newest, results-driven program- functional training. Your dedication has proven to us that W3 is succeeding in reaching women across Chicagoland in making YOU fit, healthy and happy. And of course, thank you to all of our newer members who are adjusting to our programs and putting their faith in W3 to motivate and help them achieve all of their goals. We, at corporate and at each W3 location, sincerely hope that we have made a positive impact on your health and life each and every time you walk into a W3, take a class, hop on a treadmill, or get your butt kicked in a group functional training! We are continuously educating our staff and trainers to be the best in providing you with the best workouts and information as possible.

Taking a look back, we have come a long way in fitness. It’s actually kind of funny… we used to think standing there with vibrating bands would help us shed pounds and going over a roller would roll the fat right off of our bodies! (Seriously- check out the pictures!) We used to lift 3lb weights because we didn’t want to “bulk up!” We did hours of never-ending cardio. Basic aerobics. Jane Fonda workouts. Jazzercise. The era of “skinny-fat people.” The past few years, we’ve seen new programs come in to play: Zumba, Turbokick, high intensity interval training, a push toward strength training and of course, our own W3-exclusive formats! (We didn’t always have our core-defining workouts of Kickin’ Core Ball and Body Sync…but HardBody has been with W3 for awhile longer!)

 And now we are on to the greatest thing we could possibly be doing in the fitness world. (And I guess we can call this the era of the toned, fit woman!) We are training our body the way it should always have been trained- functionally- to be functionally fit and perform everyday tasks without any problems, without an ache or a pain. It’s awesome! And we are pushing toward making everyday lifestyle changes and taking a proactive role in our health and in our lives. Of course, we could not accomplish any of our company’s goals without our amazing staff (especially managers!), motivating trainers, empowering instructors and dedicated members- new and old. Thank YOU!

We are so excited for the future and for the next 30 years of W3 as we continue to strive to be the best at what we do- the best group exercise programs, the best personal and group training programs, the best provider of results in Chicago! Cheers to the next 30 years and many more after that!

Only at…

The W3

Kickin’ Core Ball 19

Have YOU Tried Kickin’ Core Ball?

Going from club to club, we are noticing how much our members LOVE the new round of Kickin’ Core Ball! It is the 19th round of this W3-exclusive format, and we are so proud of our fitness director, Adrianne, and the personal training staff and group exercises instructors from various W3 clubs who have collectively helped in creating this new round. We mix the best, most upbeat music to match the various fat-blasting, core-defining moves in this workout!

Have you tried Kickin’ Core before? With each new round of KCB, you will hear new, different music. The order of the different sections varies, but the sections themselves are basically kept the same. The moves throughout the distinct sections keep the same basic concept, either to work specific muscle groups or to offer a quick burst of cardio, but the moves also vary to continue to keep your muscles guessing! If you’re new to Kickin’ Core Ball, you can expect a total body workout.

*This workout utilizes a stability ball, and you can check out a preview of KCB on our View a Class page.

Check out this class, and as always, have a great workout!
W3 Corporate

Do You Like W3’s New Makeover?

We’re Not Your Average Chicago Women’s Gym!

Welcome to Women’s Workout & Wellness’ blog and brand new website! We decided to change the website to give W3 a whole new look- one focused on results! We hope all members and prospective members really get a feel for who we are and what we want to do for our members. We want our site and corporate name change to reflect the changes that we have made in our company that come directly from the latest studies in the fitness world.

The fitness industry is always evolving. Recently, major studies have proven that what we thought worked in the past does not actually produce the best results, and the old techniques can be drastically improved with new techniques. So, the first program we started implementing in our fitness centers throughout Chicago is functional training. We now have functional training in six of our eight Chicago gym locations, and it will soon be in all eight. Our members have worked incredibly hard and have gotten the most amazing results we have ever seen in all of our programs at W3.

We provide functional training in the form of group training to make personal training affordable by sharing the cost of a trainer with a group. Being in a group is motivational and fun. Functional training incorporates metabolic, strength, and core exercises and uses primal movements to make you functionally fit. You work muscles you never even knew you had!

W3 takes pride in always being up-to-date on the latest fitness studies to make sure we give our members the best programs available that will also help them achieve the best results. We have completely transformed ourselves into a results-driven company incorporating new programs like functional training and also nutrition. We know how important nutrition is in an overall fitness and wellness program, and we understand that for many of our members, nutrition has always been a struggle. We start them on great fitness programs, but sometimes they plateau because they need that other element- nutrition. So, we decided to do something about it!

We paired up with a company called dotFIT, a “cutting edge online fitness and weight loss program” to provide our members with personalized nutrition programs, nutritional coaching, tips, information, etc. These programs are all based on their height, weight, goals, goal date, activity level, etc. to provide them with target caloric intake and burn. This program also provides members with nutritious pre and post workout food options that are proven to aid in weight loss.

2011 was the year of implementing a lot of new programs that focus on results. It was a time to be the first movers in functional training programs and nutrition combined to offer an overall wellness package. It is for this reason that we have changed the name from Women’s Workout World to Women’s Workout & Wellness. We will continue to implement results-driven programs in the first quarter of 2012 because we want to continue to reflect this new focus on wellness for our members.

We hope you continue to check our blog to find out about new updates, new studies in the fitness industry, fitness challenges and tips! Feel free to post any questions or comments. We are here to help YOU!

Thanks,

W3 Corporate