Meet Janna Friedland Zelinger of Fitness Partners Colorado

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janna Friedland Zelinger.

Janna, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Just when you think your future is figured out, some doors open and change all of your plans. In my final semester of college at CU Boulder, while working at a pharmacy and planning to attend pharmacy school, I had completed all my pre-pharmacy and Integrative Physiology coursework with only a couple credits until graduation, and I stumbled upon an internship in physical therapy. I loved that environment, the professionals and patients alike, and the idea of more natural healing. The internship turned into my first job out of college, and I was excited about this new, dynamic field. I tossed my pharmacy school plans and four more years hitting books to interact with patients that needed my help.

As the exercise specialist of the PT clinic, I worked with a variety of ailments and ages. One particular older patient was more in need of strength training than PT, so her therapist set us up to meet once a week for exercise only. I loved this woman, her interesting life stories, and her wholesome goals, like watching her granddaughter graduate high school. I would stay twice as long as our session just to chat. I decided I wanted to do this as a career with several aging folks like her, providing functional fitness and companionship, all the while enriching my own work experience. I set out for my Personal Trainer certification through American Council on Exercise, and eventually my Senior Fitness and Fitness Nutrition specialties through ACE as well.

I started my LLC, Fitness Partners Colorado, to help the aging community stay vibrant and able, truly living in their later years, rather than just being alive. I travel to their homes so they can stay comfortable in a familiar environment and exercise is an option even for those who no longer drive. I currently see about eight regular clients, many of them multiple times per week, as well as check-in intermittently with others. Each program is tailored to the individual, including the frequency in which we get together. On the side, my business led me to the Parkinson’s community, where I teach boxing classes free of cost to those with Parkinson’s disease through Parkinson Association of the Rockies.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Having an idea for a business is step one, and executing it is step 2-100. I feel that my strong points include my scientific background and exercise expertise, as well as fostering relationships, but being a business owner requires wearing all the hats, whether you know how to fill the role or not! The challenging parts for me have been the advertising/marketing, accounting, legal, administrative, and technical aspects. I enjoyed designing and writing my website, designing my logo and business cards but found paperwork, forms, taxes, and insurance challenging. Marketing still does not come naturally to me, as I find it awkward to boast about my own work, even though I strongly believe anyone and everyone could benefit from it!

Anyone who has achieved any success would probably agree that it didn’t come without some luck, knowing other people who have contributed, and of course, many failures. When I first started in my hunt for new clients, I would prepare presentations for buildings with large older adult populations. The first one I ever scheduled and was really nervous for, not one person showed up. I packed up my posters and equipment and went home crying. When the woman from the building called me to see how it went, she was surprised to learn no one attended. We rescheduled for an afternoon time slot, opposite the morning slot we had aimed for the first time. The second presentation had 5 attendees, 4 of whom signed up that day. Later I would schedule in a different building and speak in front of a crowd of twenty. I’ll never forget the phase of crying Janna that didn’t yet know she would succeed when she would simply try again!

Fitness Partners Colorado – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Fitness Partners Colorado is in-home exercise designed to help older adults stay active and able to live their lives fully. We have one on one sessions that focus on functional strengthening, balance, agility, cardiovascular training, mobility, mental alertness, reflexes, and emotional companionship. Sessions are safe and personalized to each individual. I would love to say that FPC has a whole team of professionals, but I am currently the only trainer at my company because I quickly learned that when you build a relationship with your client, you become irreplaceable, which is also what makes my company so special and unique.

My clients become friends, and we are very invested in each other’s well-being. My goal is not just to provide an hour of exercise in a day to my client, but understanding, an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on at times, an outside perspective or opinion, and even a referral source for other services and needs a client may be seeking to make his or her life easier. I want my clients to walk away from our hour always feeling better than they started the hour. Of course, specializing in the older adult population allows me to focus my continuing education and reading on topics that will benefit all of them. I don’t know any other in-home trainers for the older adult population!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment to date in my career was probably when I watched my client stand up and walk for the first time after a long bout in the hospital and a subsequent rehab facility that told him he would never walk again. I can’t take all the credit, because it was really a combination of an excellent physical therapist, diligent caregivers, a loving daughter, and my client’s own positive attitude alongside my work that got him there, but I got so excited about his progress I wanted to dance right there in his living room. He is an inspiration, as are all of my clients. They all give me such warm feedback that I’ve felt proud through each one of them, both for what they can do, as well as how I’ve helped. My clients are out there living their lives and not sitting around waiting for life to end.

A client who has since passed was on vacation with his family the week before. My current client who is 91 still drives and grocery shops and attends the symphony, analyzing music theory as a hobby. Another current client got bumped by another older gentleman at a dinner party, and not only was her balance good enough to keep from falling, but she caught the man who bumped her. Her husband praised our sessions right in the moment. A client once asked for my advice on a family dynamic issue because I am his “counselor” as he said, and I was honored he valued my input and trusted me in that way. These are the moments that make me feel proud and excited to do my job every day.

 

Pricing:

• *$45/session 3x/week package
• *$50/session 2x/week package
• *$55/session 1x/week package
• *$60/session 1x/month package
• $75 single session

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fitnesspartnersco.com
• Phone: 303-819-6845
• Email: jannafriedland@gmail.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/FitnessPartnersCO/

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.