Schoen’s fitness passion becomes her ‘job’

by Dennis Dalman

news@thenewsleaders.com

Renee Schoen of Sartell never worked a day in her life.

Whoa now! Schoen is not a lazy slacker. Far from it. She puts in very, very long days at her business, Forever Fit. It’s just that she loves her “job” so much that she doesn’t consider it a job and doesn’t consider it work.

“I’m doing what I love,” she said. “This is my passion, and this is what I am supposed to do – help people.”

Schoen is the owner and sole employee of Forever Fit, her personal training studio located on 3rd Street NE in Waite Park. She opened the business earlier this year after working as a certified personal trainer for Rejuv Medical in Sartell.

She now has two dozen clients who are improving themselves daily with cardiopulmonary workouts, strength training, healthy eating habits, nutritional education and weight loss. Her clients include both women and men.

Her 2,000-square-foot workout studio, she said, is a home away from home where people gather to make workouts “fun.” Schoen enjoys establishing a close one-on-one relationship to every client, focusing on their precise needs and wants. In the studio, a wide variety of activities takes place: pilates, body sculpting, yoga – to name just three. The machines include free weights, cable weights, kettle-bell weights and the “Pilates Reformer,” which is Schoen’s personal favorite machine. A newer offering is “Tabata,” which is a fast, high-intensity cardio workout that can be completed in about four minutes rather than the typically much longer cardio workouts.

Schoen also specializes in small-group training sessions.

“I love helping people, teaching people how to live healthy for the rest of their lives,” she said. “And this is not just a temporary fix. It’s lifelong. Losing weight is one example of that. It’s not effective to lose weight quickly. For long-term health, it’s best to learn how to eat healthy and to learn to live that new lifestyle.”

Schoen has been a fitness trainer for 10 years, but her dedication to fitness and health began about 20 years ago. As soon as she realized the multitude of benefits from living a healthy lifestyle, she was hooked and helping others do the same became her motivating passion.

Schoen gets up very early in the morning, long before sunrise. She’s in her Waite Park studio by 5 a.m. and works with clients until 7:30 p.m. Because she is in such good shape and has plenty of stamina, the long days don’t faze her at all. They do, in fact, energize her, she said, especially because of the exhilarating pleasures of working with and helping her clients.

“I just love my clients,” she said. “I feel so blessed. And I’m so grateful for the people I’ve met through this business.”

Schoen has two daughters: Kayla, 23; and Danielle, 19. Both Sartell High School graduates, Kayla lives in Bemidji and works at a country club. Danielle recently started studies at St. Cloud State University.

“They are in good shape, too,” Schoen said. “I taught them healthy living.”

Schoen is proud of her new website, which just received a “facelift,” as Schoen puts it. She invites people to check it out: www.fitnessforevermn.com.