Manic Training Fort Collins

⭐️ Couple Highlight:⭐️ Cindy and Kent Gundlach

🔶 How long have been coming to Manic?

Cindy: I started Manic in 2023 when I was still going back and forth to Chicago. I have been coming more consistently since June of 2025 when we sold our home in Illinois.

Kent: I started on October 3rd on 2025. It didn’t last very long because I had a cardiac event at the gym on Columbus Day. My heart rate went to 260 beats per minute, and the hospital shocked my heart back into rhythm. I spent two days in the intensive care and had a cardiac defibrillator with a pacemaker installed in my left shoulder for my heart. I couldn’t raise my left arm for a month. I returned to Manic in January of this year being badly out of shape.

🔶 What made you decide to join?

Cindy: The reason I started coming to Manic was that Craig insisted. Most people know that he is Kent and my son and when I was here by myself before Kent retired Craig said that if he was going to be responsible for me, I had to come to Manic. He did not want me falling on his watch. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Kent: The reason that I decided to join the gym was to improve my physical fitness to be able to ski better in Steamboat being in better shape.

🔶 How has your experience compared to your expectations?

Cindy: I was very apprehensive for many reasons. I knew that I would be the oldest Manic member. Even before I had multiple knee replacements, I was always awkward and not comfortable trying to do such specific movements. I was so happy with the welcome I received from everyone. All the members and coaches were so encouraging and there was no judgement.

Kent: My experience has been amazing. I didn’t expect that everyone would be so friendly and helpful.

🔶 How is Manic different from other gyms you’ve been to?

Cindy: Manic is miles above anything physical I have done in the past. I was never a fan of organized exercise. I was always uncomfortable thinking that people were critical of my limitations. The best thing about Manic is the people! When I get lost someone is always there to lend a hand to get me back on track. The workouts are always different and interesting. Craig and all the coaches are so good at making sure I am doing things correctly and also providing accommodations for things I cannot do. I really like having the option of watching the workout online before going to the gym.

Kent: I have not been to another gym; I have avoided gyms because when I have viewed them it always has people exercising on a lot of different exercise machines and everyone is watching a TV. It didn’t appear to be very friendly. At Manic you rotate exercises with a partner or a small group, and everyone talks to one another, it’s a neighborhood.

🔶 What has changed the most about you over your time here?

Cindy: Everything has changed since I joined Manic. I have lost 70 pounds. More importantly, I have met so many great people that make Kent and me so happy we moved to Fort Collins for our retirement years. It has been an adjustment for sure but now that Kent and I come together it is a good schedule. We know every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starts with a workout. We laugh all the way home at how many things we screwed up and are still losing weight and feeling fit. Stairs and high cars are no match for me anymore!

Kent: Slowly but sure I’m get a little strong and improving my balance. My heart rate is decreasing with exercising and I’m starting to lose some weight.

🔶 What are your goals?

Cindy: My goals for the future are to continue to stay mobile and build strength so I can keep up with Skylar and Gavin and our two Golden Retrievers.

Kent: To gain endurance with better strength and improved balance.

🔶 Do you have any advice for someone considering trying out at Manic?

Kent: Give this gym a try, it’s a fun place with friendly helpful people that make working out more fun!

Still Mom and Pop here. We still know you and still care, and we’re not going anywhere.

Boutique fitness isn’t dying because of the economy. SoulCycle. Orange Theory. F45. CrossFit lost 2,500 affiliates in two years alone. The brands that built this industry got swallowed by private equity and franchise machines that had no idea what made them work in the first place. You can’t scale soul. The second these brands stopped being run by the people who built them, they stopped being special. The boutique gyms surviving right now aren’t the corporate chains. They’re the mom and pop operations where the owner still shows up. Still knows your name. Still cares if you hit your goal. Boutique fitness isn’t dead. Corporate boutique fitness is.

‼️Our first ever Manic X class starts THIS Sunday at 8:00AM!‼️ Manic X is your ultimate preparation track for your next Functional Fitness competition, including the Denver Hyrox in November. Or, just attend to improve your fitness.

💥 Rule Mastery: Learn the exact movement standards, transition flow, and penalty traps to save precious seconds.

🔥 Physical Conditioning: Build the compromised running endurance and power output needed to crush all 8 functional stations.

Contact Craig if you're interested!

At Manic we are all about getting you ready to go out into the world and bring your very best. Here are a few of our athletes kicking some butt! Chris was dominant at Nationals Rowing competition and Bill is out fighting fires to keep us all safe. This tribe is full of the best people!!!

Society has everyone chasing comfort then wondering why so many people feel numb. We don’t need more rest or self care. We need a fu***ng purpose to get moving. More people are overweight. More people are unhealthy. Mental health is through the floor. That’s not by accident. That’s by design. Movement used to be normal. Now exercise feels like effort. And effort feels optional. Eating real, nutritious food is treated like a “diet” instead of self care. Discipline is now labelled obsessive. Structure is called extreme. Consistency is seen as unhealthy. Comfort gets praised. Commitment gets questioned. Ultra-processed food is normal. Alcohol most nights is normal. Choosing differently somehow isn’t. Cold is avoided. Heat is dangerous. Discomfort is framed as optional instead of necessary. Most weekends now look like this: Eat s**t. Watch s**t. Scroll s**t. Call it “switching off.” We move less. We stay indoors. We numb ourselves with screens and alcohol because sitting with ourselves feels harder. Food arrives instantly. Entertainment never ends. Distraction is constant. Effort has been designed out of life. Then people wonder why they feel flat, anxious, tired, disconnected, and completely unmotivated. That’s not burnout. That’s a life with no resistance, no challenge, and no friction. Society hasn’t made us better. It’s made us softer. And it’s numbed the things we were meant to feel. None of that is by accident, it’s by design. Because unfit, overweight and comfortable people are profitable and it’s you who pays the cost. I know because i’ve been both sides of the coin. I’ve been fat, unfit and unhealthy. I’m now the complete opposite. That didn’t happen overnight. It happened because I refused to allow to myself to keep looking, feeling and acting like that. I refused to settle for average. Are you settling for an average life or chasing an exceptional one?

Member Highlight: Morgan Williams

🔷 How long have you been coming to Manic?

Since December 2021. It’s been one of the greatest blessings in my life these past 5 years. Being a mom can strip you of your hobbies & feeling proud of yourself, and Manic has brought those things back into my life in many ways.

🔷 What made you decide to join?

Pure desperation. The post-partum slump was real, especially after having two babies during COVID & doing home workouts I dreaded. In a strike of fate, I met Pam and Craig at a park while carrying my 3-month-old…they could see the desperation, and I was immediately convinced. Manic has exceeded my expectations in the quality and intensity of the workouts, but also the genuine commitment to each members holistic health and wellbeing. I love it here!

🔷 How is Manic different from other gyms you’ve been to?

I am a bit of a gym snob…so the fact that I’ve been here for almost 5 years speaks for itself! I love the people, the intensity, and the functional fitness.

🔷 What do you like to do outside of Manic Training?

I work one day a week as an oncology nurse, but I would say my favorite hobby outside of working out is studying the Bible, as it’s the greatest story ever told. My friend and I recently wrote a bible study together which was a new endeavor that I really enjoyed. My dream is to go to seminary one day.

🔷 What has changed the most about you over your time here?

I used to work out for myself, but since having kids I seek to be strong and healthy for my kids and family. They’re my greatest motivation. I want to be the grandma hiking 14er’s with her kids and grandkids, and I know the training at Manic can actually get me there.

🔷 What are your goals as you continue to train here?

I love the culture here that pushes you to sign up for things that scare you…or as we like to say Type ll fun :) I want to continue to say Yes to things I’m not really sure I can do, and I’m grateful there are many here seeking to do the same. Hard is not the same thing as bad and I hope to live by that moto. Also, would love to be able to do a pull up

🔷 Do you have any advice for someone considering trying out Manic?

Keep showing up, sign up for something that scares you, and consider Jesus.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZxHd_ujQUA/?igsh=NWFqMDQ3NTR4cDNx

Ask most parents whether their young child should do strength training and they will say no. It feels obviously risky, too young, too small, surely it stunts their growth. But that fear is not backed by the research. The American Academy of Pediatrics reviewed decades of studies and reached a clear conclusion: properly guided resistance training does not stunt growth, damage growth plates, or harm a child’s heart. The real problem is the opposite one. Children’s muscular fitness has been declining for years, and that decline has lasting consequences. And kids do not get stronger the way adults do, their early gains come from the brain, as training teaches their nervous system to recruit more muscle fibers at once, so they get stronger without getting bigger. It also predicts their future: a study following over 21,000 children found that better muscular fitness in childhood was linked to healthier hearts, stronger bones, and lower disease risk years later. Maybe most importantly, among all exercise types, strength training ranked number one for building self-esteem and highest for easing low mood. And this is not heavy lifting. For young children it is bodyweight play, bear crawls, frog jumps, crab walks, hops, learning to control their body through space. The one rule that matters above all: it must be technique-driven, not load-driven, kept light and slow, and supervised by someone who understands training kids. Good coaching is the single most important safety factor. You do not need a gym. Just get your child moving their own bodyweight, and make it a game. Save this and send it to a parent who needs it. REFERENCES: American Academy of Pediatrics. (2008). Strength training by children and adolescents. Pediatrics. Smith et al. (2014). Muscular fitness and cardiometabolic health in children. Sports Medicine. Ahn & Fedewa. (2011). Physical activity and childhood mental health. Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

THIS Sunday, we will be having our annual Donut Mile! This one is always a good time and for a good cause. We also need judges, so if it sounds like something you don’t want to do yourself, you can still be a part of the fun and help support the Food Bank.

📆 When: Father’s Day, June 21
📍Where: Weber Middle School Track
⏰ Start Time: 8:30AM
🏃🏃🏻‍♀️ What: Run 4 laps around the track and eat 1 donut before each lap
🎗️Cause: A fundraiser for the Larimer County Food Bank
🍩 Cost: 4 donuts for each participant, plus $20 donation from everyone in attendance. (100% of proceeds are donated)

Member Highlight: Suzanne Carver

🔷 How long have you been coming to Manic?

I joined Manic in early 2023 after realizing I had lost both the motivation and confidence to work out with intention and care. A series of challenges—including a double hip replacement and severe plantar fasciitis—left me in constant pain and barely able to move. At times, it felt unbearable. After months of near stillness, I knew I had to do something different.

🔷 What made you decide to join?

I committed to three months at Manic, believing that would be enough time to rebuild a foundation and eventually return to working out on my own.

🔷 How has your experience compared to your expectations?

I remember my second visit—I sat in my car and cried. I was overwhelmed by how far I had drifted from what once felt like a strong, resilient body. But deep down, I knew something else too: I just had to keep showing up. That over time, things would change.

🔷 How is Manic different from other gyms you’ve been to?

I had to live the words I often share with others—be kind, be patient, and nurture every part of myself: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. And keep going. I’ve always believed the body is a roadmap for our life, and this experience deepened that belief. The body is always communicating, asking for what we need—both above and below the surface. I had the mobility and flexibility to move through life, but I lacked the strength and resilience to feel truly sovereign.

🔷 What has changed the most about you over your time here?

After those first three months, I kept going. And I continue to be impressed—daily—by the positive, strong culture and community at Manic, as well as how effective and thoughtfully challenging the workouts are. I’ve made dear friends here. Not only do I get an incredible workout, but I also feel elevated by the people around me—people I’ve grown to admire. In every way, it’s different from anywhere I’ve worked out before: fun, challenging, motivating, supportive, and yes—still incredibly fun.

🔷 What are your goals as you continue to train here?

My goals now are to stay consistent in how I care for myself and to set realistic goals that align with my desire to live a full, adventurous life. I want to feel strong in my ability to meet life as it comes—to take command when needed and not feel held back by a lack of strength or courage.

🔷 What has changed?

I feel more sovereign. In a time when so much is outsourced, I take greater responsibility for myself and place less blame on environment, genetics, lawful entities, or circumstance. I cherish the body I have and treat it accordingly.

🔷 Do you have any advice for someone considering trying out Manic?

If I could offer any advice, it would be this: stay consistent. What you do in showing up for yourself physically at Manic will ripple into every other area of your life.

I have a massage and bodywork practice here in Fort Collins. I also teach anatomy, pelvic health, and yoga, with a special focus on the relationship between the pelvis and the psoas.

My current class explores the anatomy and function of the pelvis and psoas, and how they influence posture, movement, sexual function, breathing, digestion, pelvic health, nervous system regulation, and body awareness. The psoas is one of the body’s deepest and most influential muscles, formed early in development. In fact, some embryologists believe it was the first muscle/organ created. Often described as deeply intuitive, the psoas constantly communicates through posture, tension, movement, and what we experience as gut instinct.

If you’d like more information about classes, bodywork, or upcoming offerings, please visit my website at https://www.suzannecarver.com/ and sign up for updates. All proceeds from the class are donated to women’s charities.

Member Highlight: Michael Abramowitz
by Coach Rebecca

🔷 FIRST, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF MANIC.

I am currently a senior at Poudre High School planning to attend Montana State University next fall in Bozeman MT as undecided. I have been an active member in my school's performative arts department since freshman year. Doing a variety of large musicals to smaller emotional plays. Most of my experience is backstage on the tech crew working on the set, props, lights, and audio. I also have costuming experience, involving sewing, cutting and sketching outfits. My on-stage debut was when I recently acted in our winter show of Lost Girl cast as a lost boy-Curly. With a very light fourth quarter schedule I have found myself spending most of my time going out and being with friends and making some last-minute memories. When I am on my own, I enjoy listening to music, shopping across all departments, design researching, traveling, storytelling/making comedy, and looking at real estate listings across the country.

🔷 HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COMING TO MANIC AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO JOIN?

I have been attending classes with Manic since early October 2025. My main reason for joining was realizing I’m not the person who could walk into a gym and work out on my own. Having a set class time gave me the accountability to not skip a day at the gym. Plus, I am very much a morning person and I have found the 5am class to be a great way of starting my day. Additionally, I realized I was at the age where I needed to start taking care of myself in order to have a better life down the road.

🔷 WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AS YOU CONTINUE TO TRAIN HERE? AND, IF YOU HAD GOALS, WHAT WERE THEY AND DID YOU ACHIEVE THEM?

When I first started working out, I had the goal of improving my overall fitness level. I am pleased to say over the past six months I have definitely achieved and gone above that goal. With improvements to my overall arm, leg, and core strength I have also gained better flexibility and much more endurance when my heart rate increases. As I continue my time with Manic, I am now looking to do more weight training in order to increase my lifting, pulling, pushing capacities.

🔷 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING (OR THINGS) THAT YOU LOVE ABOUT MANIC?
Many thoughts come to mind when I think about why I love this gym. Personally, I have found the community to be unlike any other. It is a true honor to be surrounded by such a diverse group of people who put just as much energy into their own goals as they do into the goals of those around them. The motivation spread by peers is what makes those classes more than just a workout. I also love how each class is different, for example workouts can range from individual to partner to group work. Additionally, the equipment, rep scheme, and time keeping vary each day. I enjoy this level of planning because it allows people to just show up and do without having to make it up as they go along. Another small detail that is appreciated is the music played; it keeps the energy going, fades out the sounds of heavy exhaling, and has made my playlist bigger.

🔷 DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE THINKING ABOUT TRYING OUT A CLASS?

To those who have given thought about trying a Manic class I believe the best place to start is the free trials. Having the opportunity to come into the space with low stakes is a great way to better understand the types of work outs that are offered. Additionally, having those few days allows for a wider range of equipment usage and work out set ups because each day is different from the last. As for doing any type of work out, a positive attitude will go a long way, same for setting a good self-pace. I also would urge newcomers to engage with those around them. Each class always has a variety of people who can help coach and adapt a workout making it easier for people to find their own flow.

🔷 FINALLY, WHAT'S A FUN OR INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOU THAT WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW?

I was born in Russia. My biological Mother was too poor to care for a child, so I was put in an orphanage from which my current parents adopted me at the age of two. They brought me back to Fort Collins in 2010 where I have lived ever since.