Marybeth:Steven joined the RIV and after hearing him talk about it I did the free week trial and ended up joining. I had a person trainer a few years ago and enjoyed the idea of someone else planning my workouts for me so when I saw the RIV had multiple classes throughout the day with planned workouts I knew this was a good fit for me.

Steven: I had just started working full time and I realized I couldn’t spend my days sitting at work and sitting at home. I knew I couldn’t go to a regular gym and workout on my own. I wanted to workout in groups with someone designing the workouts and helping with my form. The Riv has proven to be just what I was looking for.

Marybeth: My fitness goals are to just be in the best shape as I can. I’ve always had trouble motivating myself to go to a gym with my work schedule of working night shift. The RIV has helped because it motivates me to go to the gym instead of staying home. If I take a week off, I know Chelsea will have something to say about where I have been. It also helps to have my brother there with me because we can compete for time or reps which makes me work harder.

Steven: I didn’t come in with any specific goal. I initially just wanted to get in shape and blow off some steam from work. Now my goal is to keep pushing myself in workouts with heavier weights and less breaks.

Marybeth: My favorite workout was the in-house-competition in November. Steven asked me to be his partner and we both had never competed before. It ended up being a lot of fun working together and somehow we ended up in 3rd place.

The RIV has helped me improve in many different workouts. Before coming to the RIV I could not do a pushup and definitely couldn’t jump on anything higher than the 12 inch box. Even though I still struggle with pushups I can at least do a few in a row and, as of a few weeks ago, I can do box jumps on the 20 inch box!

Steven: I don’t have one specific favorite workout. However, anything that is cardio intensive and involves lots of running and rowing is something I always look forward to.

Marybeth: My favorite part about the RIV is the other athletes in the classes. I used to avoid partner day on Fridays because I felt like I was always slowing down my partner. After attending a few Fridays, I realized that no one was judging me for going slower than them. My partner just cheered me on or picked up a few reps to help me.

Steven: The atmosphere at the Riv is my favorite part. I enjoy seeing the coaches and members everyday. The members provide some friendly competition that keeps me motivated and the coaches are always cheering me on and suggesting the heavier/harder way. The holiday party is also a favorite part.