canfitpro Education, Scarborough, ON
Founded in 1993 by David Patchell Evans & Maureen Hagan, canfitpro is Canada’s largest certifying body for personal trainers and group fitness instructors. canfitpro delivers accessible, quality education both online and in-person, certifications, conferences, trade shows, and membership services. canfitpro’s 24,000+ members include some of the world’s best fitness professionals, health club operators, industry suppliers, and fitness consumers.
canfitpro is a strong voice and advocate for fitness in Canada, providing content, awareness and advocacy for the fitness industry. Mental health and wellness are also a focus for canfitpro, raising awareness and providing tools, resources and access for Canadians.
canfitpro has showed tremendous resilience throughout the pandemic. Prior to March 2020, the vast majority of canfitpro’s education courses and events were delivered in-person. When the pandemic hit, canfitpro transitioned quickly to deliver educational content, events, and certifications completely online. Within two months all of their courses and events were completely virtual. Because of this and despite health clubs and fitness facilities being closed across Canada, canfitpro has survived and thrived.
The team continues to train and certify fitness professionals across Canada, and they can now do so virtually with their online platforms. With the industry open again, canfitpro is quickly certifying fitness professionals across Canada to help with staff shortages throughout the industry.
“canfitpro is extremely grateful to be acknowledged for its work in the fitness industry with the Business Resilience Lifetime Achievement Award. We are extremely proud of the role we play in providing quality education and building a platform that works towards creating an integrated fitness community. We want to take this opportunity to send a message across the fitness community that the fitness industry is more relevant than ever, and we must continue to come together to find ways to keep Canadians motivated to move more and live well!”
Manahil Sami, Manager Marketing and Communications
www.canfitpro.com
Fitterfirst Fitness Products, Calgary, AB
Since 1985, Fitter International Inc. (Fitterfirst) has been offering customers functional equipment available for clinics, studios, offices and homes. Its mission is to equip individuals with the proper tools to improve stability, agility and mobility (SAM) and guide them to implement small changes and daily habits that can drastically enhance their quality of life.
Fitterfirst’s lively history has not come without its fair share of obstacles. As one could imagine, more than 35 years of service to the health and fitness community means a never-ending ebb and flow of adjusting to the times.
When COVID-19 crashed into the world in 2020, small and large businesses alike were challenged to step outside the box.
Fitterfirst had operated under four pillars, each very separate: injury and prevention, training and athletics, family fitness and active office. With work from home orders in place, homes became offices, schools and gyms. Suddenly, the four pillars that had operated so separately had become much closer together, with active office being the strongest of the Fitterfirst team’s focus.
Active office was built on the philosophy that too many Canadians leave the workday in worse health than when they showed up. The goal was to educate the newly at-home worker on how to participate in an active office from their living room.
During the pandemic, Fitterfirst partnered with like-minded companies to search for and discover new avenues to make the idea of regular movement more fun, achievable, and effective.
