Forte Fitness Designed To Address Individual Needs

One-On-One Facility Has Been On North Shore For The Past 16 Years

  • Tuesday, July 7, 2020
  • John Hunt

We all know there are lots of gymnasiums and fitness facilities in the Chattanooga area, all catered to helping individuals become healthy and more fit through smarter eating habits and a legitimate exercise plan.

Some are bigger than others.  Most offer fitness classes of all kinds and most have operating hours that cater to the busy schedules of each person.

Life as we know it changed in March when the coronavirus pandemic hit.  These fitness businesses were shut down and everything came to a screeching halt.

Those businesses have been allowed to reopen in recent weeks, but most with limited access to what they had offered in the past.

Forte Fitness is one of those businesses that caters to individual exercise needs.

Unlike some of the others, Forte Fitness is unique in that they offer one-on-one instruction.  Located at 2 North Shore on Manufacturers Road, they operate six days a week, started at 5:15 a.m. and closing shortly after 8.  They close at 3 on Saturday.

Julian Kaufman is the owner of Forte Fitness.  Starting out on Frazier Avenue in 2004 as Fitness Together, Kaufman and his staff are totally committed to helping people be the healthiest they can possibly be while catering to each physical goal individually.

Kaufman earned his B.A. degree in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University and later added a masters degree from Covenant.  He’s a certified strength and conditioning coach who began his career as a high school football coach 27 years ago.

In addition to his duties with Forte Fitness, Julian is a defensive back coach at Baylor where he is their strength and conditioning coach.  Physical fitness has been a lifestyle for him and it’s become his number-one goal to share the same idea with others.

The facility at Forte Fitness has the latest and most up-to-date equipment on the market that includes free weights and an assortment of cardiovascular machines.  They have three individual “studios” in which to work.

They do more than just educate people on healthier lifestyles and ways to lose a pound or two.

“We educate and care for people.  That’s our responsibility,” Kaufman said Tuesday morning during a break from his busy schedule.

“We want to improve people’s overall health and help them to feel better.  It’s about a better quality of life as we want to help them build a functional body that works well.  It has nothing to do with dress sizes and pounds lost.

“In addition, we help them to develop cardiovascular fitness and a lifestyle of eating healthy.  If we can do that, everything will improve and that’s our goal,” Kaufman smiled.

While Kaufman is the owner, Adam Lozano is the manager and J.J. Jackson the assistant manager. 

Certified personal trainers on staff include Alex Enter, Ryan Hutchinson, Pete Kenny Jr., Bryant Sowers, Chelsea Wininger and Russ Bonham.

They all have their own individual strengths, but the overall goal is the same and that’s to help each client reach their maximum potential.

The business currently works with about 150 clients.  With it being on a one-on-one basis, they all have appointed times when they come for their workouts, so there’s never an overflow of folks in the building.

“This is a safe place and cleaner now than ever before.  We want people to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, but we also develop relationships and that’s what it’s all about.  We started this business 16 years ago and still have some of the same clients from the beginning.

“We offer 45-minute sessions that are completely individualized as they are developed for that particular person.  Nobody gets the same workout.  We want to determine your strengths and weaknesses and set you up for success.  Some people come once or twice a month while others come several days a week.

“We don’t have membership dues and there are no contracts.  If someone determines their needs are different from what we offer, we’ll gladly refund their money.  We have a team of well-qualified trainers who work well together as we’re not competing against each other.  We share clients are we know two heads are better than one.

“Our goal is to help each person reach his or her potential, whatever that may be,” Kaufman concluded.

If you’re interested in getting involved and want the help of a certified professional to help you reach your goals, give these guys a call. 

Their website can be reached at www.forte.fitness or you can call them at 362-5955 to set up an introductory session.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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