Profiles

When did you join F&S?

I used to be an F&S member in Stockholm when I was a student, later on also in Paris when I lived there. This was at a time when F&S was quite different from what it is today, but I must say, it wasn’t a very passionate relationship, more just a sports activity as good as any other. And very cheap, oups sorry, I mean price worthy.

What made you choose F&S over another sports club?   
I’ve been doing all kinds of sports, mainly aerobics and dancing. When my children were really small, and the nights usually too short, I took up running, which was actually a way of staying awake. I felt coming back to normal again.

I tried F&S in Luxembourg a few times, but it wasn’t until I became an instructor myself that I really got hooked, both with the training and with the concept itself.

Why did you become an instructor?
The club asked me if I wanted to become an instructor. It was such a nice surprise! Having followed the excellent training at F&S Sweden Academy and really being soaked in the F&S spirit, and now still enjoying each session, I see it as a real gift having got this possibility.

How is to be ‘in the middle’?
Being in the middle of a bunch of smiling people is just great. And if they’re not smiling, I do my best to make them. All methods allowed...

What I try to do is to be “there” as much as possible, and push people not only to do the move, but to do it 110%, feel and think about what they’re doing. You can join a session at Intensive level and not really “do it”, as you can join a Basic session with heart & body, and being completely exhausted afterwards. That’s the challenge for me.

Which sessions do you have?
I started with Medium jympa in 2006, and I still have the pleasure to do this session that I enjoy a lot, it would be really difficult for me to stop that, so much fun with nice people and a bit crazy music.

I also have Strength Barbell since September when we introduced in F&S Luxembourg. For me, and I hope for the participants as well, it’s a nice contrast to the “jympa”.

At Barbell, you’re focused on your own body and work it through, from top to toe, in a quite concentrated way, guided by the instructor. My role is to show, correct sometimes and especially to boost. I love it because the results can be seen immediately, and it’s a real trigger to see how the people who join regularly have developed in 3 months. I also think that Barbell responds well to people’s need today to build up strength and fight bad body postures. And the best of all: it fits all! You can be +60, a teenager, man, woman... the weights are adapted to your own capacities and we don’t complicate things with a lot of coordination in the moves when warming up.

We think sporty, football, athletic, you can forget the chassés…everything that is there fills a purpose. But still fun! It sounds strange, you have to try it.

What motivates you in your role as an F&S instructor?

F&S is a meeting point for all kinds of different people with very different expectations. It’s motivating to see that we manage to create programmes that give everyone what they like.

I also feel I’m part of an organisation who offers alternative workout. We’re the “organic gym” (but still fun!)  in a world of artificial sport business where you’re told everyday to “burn” fat, get slim, get surgery, pay high membership fees to a gym etc. With F&S, it gets so easy to move, and almost every day of the week if you want to here in F&S Luxembourg.

What do you do as the Host Team Leader?

“My duties as Host Team Leader include the recruitment and training of new hosts and the organisation of the Host Team in general. Hosts play an important role in F&S. They are the first to greet our members and thus it is imperative that they leave a good impression. Hosting involves checking membership cards, informing members, helping out during the session help the instructor with the music and lights but above all portraying F&S as it should be: a lot of fun!“

What attracts you most with Friskis&Svettis Luxembourg?

“I think what attracts me most to Friskis is the ease with which you can join in. You don't need fancy sportswear or be able to coordinate complex movements, but just go to have some good time. Though the exercises and sessions in principle follow a similar pattern, I find that each instructor marks them with their own style.”

What made you choose F&S over another sports club?

Before moving to Luxembourg I lived for many years in Stockholm. There I discovered Friskis&Svettis, which in Sweden is much more than a chain of fitness gyms. It is a popular movement that has a big impact on the daily life of, now, more than half a million people. When I heard, a couple of years ago, that Friskis had started up in Luxembourg, I immediately checked the web site and subscribed for one year, without even trying a free session, because from my time in Sweden I knew Friskis as synonym of good quality exercise.

What attracts you the most with F&S?

Like many others I have a very sedentary job and spend around 8–10 hours a day in front of a screen. So, first of all I like the fact that a Friskis session, whatever the intensity and typology, is structured in such a way that allows me to exercise effectively every single part of my body. A Friskis hour is always well spent, while I sometimes had the feeling of wasting my time in other gyms in the city. I value the fact that, whichever the instructor, the quality level is high and the movements proposed are the result of experience and studies in the field of medicine and physiology. Last but not least, I like the contaminating enthusiasm of the instructors and the music chosen, every session puts me in a good mood.

What do you do as a Board member?

I joined the Board last year, but I do not have a fixed function, so I can offer my contribution on the basis of what needs to be done and what I am able to do.

What motivates you in your role as a Board member?

I am very much impressed by the ability, energy and determination of all the people who started Friskis in Luxembourg and made it grow from nothing to an entity that now occupies an important place in the Luxembourgish gym panorama. What motivates me is the enthusiasm of these people, the visible growth of Friskis and the positive feedback by the hundreds of training members.

When did you join F&S?

If I remember right, my first time in F&S was in 2006. I discovered the organisation via an advertisement in Finnish-Luxembourgish society's newsletter, but I had also heard the name when I was living in Finland. First I just participated in the sessions every now and then, but then I wanted to get more involved and put more discipline to my training, so I started to host the sessions in early 2007.

What made you choose F&S over another sports club?

I like the idea of voluntary participation and commitment of both instructors and hosts. When people are not paid but still do the same job, it means that they are really into it and enjoy what they are doing. This is reflected in the sessions as well. Also the Nordic origins of the organisation attracted me at first, but I discovered that there is a very international atmosphere in the sessions and it is even more fun.

From pure sports point of view, F&S has always provided a good variety of sessions, which keeps increasing all the time with new sessions and instructors coming in, so training remains very interesting and motivating.   

How often do you host and what do you do as a host?

Generally we're hosting once per week in the same session, which is determined according to our wishes and availability. We also help the other hosts when needed, and some sessions are hosted on a rota basis.

As a host I assist the current and potential members before the sessions by providing them information about F&S, distributing membership cards and answering any questions they may have. During the session I help the instructor with music and lights. These are just examples as it also depends on the location, session and people - not all the weeks are the same. On my opinion, the most important role of a host is to be there for members.

What motivates you in your role as a host?

I enjoy sports, meeting new people and taking responsibility in organisations. Acting as a host in F&S allows me to combine all of this, which is certainly motivating - and fun! Also, when being more involved, it is easier to put more discipline to training and to work out with people you know.

Niina didn’t know anything about Friskis before 2005. After having had her second daughter she was looking for some activities in Luxembourg.

“I danced salsa, which was great, but I was also looking for something tougher to do. My husband mentioned that a colleague of his was a Friskis instructor and I went to a to a medium session and I felt I flew... It was something I had searched for, for many years, but hadn’t found,” says Niina.

Niina is a Medium instructor since February 2008 and very soon a brand new Dance instructor.

“Medium sessions are great. It gives me many possibilities to create my own program and it’s very flexible in regarding to the choice of music and movements”.

Niina will also start leading Dance sessions in February.

“I really am looking forward to the Dance sessions. Dancing will be a good challenge not only for me but for participants too. Something different, groovy and creative. I hope people will get more courage and express themselves in the Dance session,” she says.

She is motivated in her F&S work by the people in the club, as well as by the participants.

“It is a great feeling to see participants making an effort to exercise and perform. And their smiling faces during the session are fantastic. I find this the most important thing as an instructor. People make great sessions possible!”

Niina finds F&S a good place to exercise and have fun at the same time.

“F&S offers an attractive and efficient combination of music and moves. It is also very professional and takes itself serious, and I think this is what makes F&S’ quality so high.”

“The most essential thing is that F&S is for everybody and makes people feel they can do it! And last but not least, as an instructor I find F&S the best one because it gives lots of room for my personal creativity”.

Niina also finds F&S the most attractive sports club in Luxembourg, as it is for everyone: fit or not sportive at all. “You also feel welcome, it is easy to start and find because of central locations and good information on the web site.”

“A friend of mine told me about Friskis’ five-year celebration session in the park, but I ended up never going there. What I did, though, was to e-mail Friskis in order to become a host. That is how it all started back in 2005,” she said.

“After half a year as a host I was head-hunted to become an instructor. Funnily enough I had never heard about F&S before 2005 and I did not even know the organisation existed in Finland. Since I joined Friskis&Svettis had had a snowball effect on me: From a non-aware participant, to a host, to a very active instructor and Board member! If you would ask my husband he would say that he can not even imagine a life without Friskis anymore.”

“Nothing pays off more than a smile from a participant and really getting them going. I also like to see how people develop learning the movements during the term.”

The schedule – a challenging task

As the Team leader for the instructors, Sanna, is responsible for organising the instructors and, the very challenging task, of putting together the schedule
“I try to take into account everyone's wishes and thoughts – both the instructors and the members – and match them with the availability of the premises.

Sometimes I feel bad when we need to change sessions and the schedule as I know it will affect lots of people, but it is important to remember that there are lots of parameters that should fit together.”

Sanna is attracted by the “come-as-you-are mentality” in Friskis&Svettis and that sessions are accessible to everyone. And fun.
“I did not believe I could become more ‘Friskis-minded’ than I was, but after I did the course to become an instructor, I realised even more what a great concept F&S is.”

“The whole idea is that it is supposed to be fun, and even when I am practicing my new program in the living room at home – once I hear my music, I just smile! The same is true for those days when I do not feel like exercising at all. Once I come into the hall, see the people coming in, put on the music and start the session – I’m filled with energy.”

A lifestyle

Sanna used to be a member of a local sports club where she went to do step aerobics and to work out in the gym. However, she could not keep the motivation to go there.

“I am not a gym person at all as I am quite impatient and get really quickly bored. In my eyes it was never really fun. F&S also has really a meaning behind the work out, which I like. I also think that the gyms here are overpriced for what you really get. Not sure whether paying a high price motivates people to move, but it definitely did not get me moving.”

Sanna said that Friskis is great hobby and that it is more like a lifestyle for her. As an instructor she gets inspired by other instructors, from music, even TV commercials. She gets new ideas for new sessions from everywhere.

“The great thing in Friskis is that although the structure of the sessions is so strict, there are not two similar sessions in the world. Everyone has their own style and way of doing the sessions. The variety is so big.”

Sanna is also one of Friskis&Svettis’ nine Board members.

“Being on board member is a role which is carried out more in the background. The Board consists of very different people, from different backgrounds but we all share the interest for Friskis. I like the fact that people come up with new ideas on how to improve the organisation and how we bounce ideas within the board, all with the aim to provide fantastic work out and events for our members.”

What attracts you the most with F&S?

I’m attracted by Friskis because it is the best sports club in the city. The quality is excellent, it offers a very efficient workout, that is to say that you get so much out of a session of 45 minutes: warm up, cardio, strength, stretching and even relaxation. Unbeatable! At the same time: great music, central locations, value for money - and a relaxed atmosphere where you meet lots of friends. Besides, the club offers a large variety of activities apart from workout: Ki-Yoga, Nordic Walking, Cross-Training etc.

What made you choose F&S over another sports club?

When I first moved to Luxemburg I was a member of a gym for a long time. It was OK, but I thought it was a bit unprofessional for the money I spent there. At lunch it always smelled of ham and cheese since they were cooking next to the gym hall, they always played the same music (for years) and if I was away for a while I lost my expensive membership. I just felt it was not good value for money.

What motivates you in your role as a Board member?

It is easy to get motivated in Friskis; even though - or maybe because of - the fact that your whole pay consists of a smile from another person. Coming to a session when the hosts are nice, the hall is great, the music fantastic and the instructor inspiring; then I think to myself - yes it is definitely worth all these hours of administration.

Friskis Luxembourg is run by a team of great people - the people that you see as instructors and hosts, but also people that you do not see - the Board members. When people come up with great ideas - we try them and they work - that is inspiring.

The future?

My feeling is that we can grow forever in Luxembourg - the basic concept is perfect and then we can add so many other interesting activities around it. This year, we will reach our target of 500 members - which is excellent.

We get a lot of support from the Cercle Sportif of the European Institutions, Ville de Luxembourg, Institute National de Sports and the European Court of Auditors. Our brand is becoming more and more recognised in Luxemburg, and we are at the moment discussing with two large employers in the region about becoming their provider of sports. So the future looks bright and that is definitely inspiring!