5th Row Lifting Company

Feel Good Friday!!!

Thank you to all those who repped our gear on our wear the 5th Row ON the 5th day. And shout out to our badass Thursday 4:30 crew. They absolutely CRUSHED the 600- a favorite workout of ours this quarter:)

LAST WEEK WE POSTED A PHOTO…

Of one of our AWESOME noon groups.

It happened to be an ALL-FEMALE group.

A lady messaged us and said it looked like such a fun group of women that she WANTED TO JOIN!

That same week, we got an email from a gentleman moving to the area from out of state. He was looking for a place where both he and his wife could work out together.

He explained that his wife currently belongs to a gym very similar to ours—except it’s about 95% female. She loves it. He works out on his own at a large commercial gym.

After seeing photos of our members, he told us he’d be interested in joining her in our groups because we appeared to have a healthy mix of both men and women.

Two different people.

Two different situations.

The same thing attracted both of them.

The PEOPLE.

A few weeks ago, member Chad Martenson may have summed it up better than I ever could:

“The come one, come all culture they’ve created is both motivating and impressive.”

I loved that.

Because that’s exactly what we’ve always hoped to build.

Young and old.

Men and women.

Experienced lifters and complete beginners.

Athletes and non-athletes.

People chasing big goals and people simply trying to feel better.

Everyone belongs.

Come one, come all.

ONE ☝️ MORE THING….

I’d originally wanted the business to be called FIT 150, inspired by the “Rule of 150”—a concept I first read about in a Malcolm Gladwell book. The idea is that 150 is roughly the number of people a human can maintain meaningful relationships with.

That resonated with me at the time because I’d just spent several years working at a gym with three different locations. One was small, one was medium-sized, and one was LARGE and incredibly busy.

After spending about a year at each location, I learned something important:

Bigger isn’t always better.

I wanted to create a gym built around community and relationships. A place with around 150 members, where the trainers knew everyone by name. Not a massive facility with 15 part-time trainers scattered throughout the building, but a smaller gym with two or three busy trainers helping people change their lives.

But when I was starting from scratch, I needed a name that told people both WHAT I was and WHERE I was. Pinehurst Fitness accomplished both.

By the time we moved and became 5th Row Lifting Company, that strong community was already established. The foundation had been built.

So even if someone didn’t immediately know what the heck a “5th Row Lifting Company” was, it didn’t matter.

The people already knew.

And that community is still the best thing we’ve ever built. 💪

.nathe ‘s 5am crew:)

MOST PEOPLE DON'T NEED ANOTHER FITNESS CHALLENGE.

They need a place to start.

That's exactly why we created our Coaching-to-Community Intro Program.

One of the biggest concerns we hear is:
"I don't know what I'm doing."
"What if I can't keep up?"
"I want to try group fitness, but I'm nervous."

That's where this program comes in.

You'll start with 4 private 30-minute coaching sessions where you'll learn the lifts, get a snapshot of how our group fitness classes run, and build confidence for your first class.

Then you'll transition into 8 weeks of unlimited group fitness with classes available Monday through Saturday throughout the day.

No pressure. No trying to figure it out on your own.

Just coaching, support, and a community that wants to see you succeed.

🎉 June Anniversary Special
💥 Coaching-to-Community Intro Program
💥 Just $299
💥 Offer ends June 30

Purchase here:
https://5throw.pushpress.com/landing/plans/plan_4beda55d796742

PART FOUR: THE LOGO

Fitting that this is the last part, because a logo was the last thing I was thinking about. In fact—I wasn’t thinking about it at all.

I was standing in the parking lot in front of Pinehurst, talking with my sign guy, Nick Steig. I had a vision for everything I wanted the business to be and grow into. There was a lot going on in my ADD brain—chaos, really—but it was all in there. 😂

Everything except a logo.

So when Nick asked, “What about a logo?” I was caught completely off guard.

I quickly started thinking of logos I liked and told him the coolest one I could think of was the old Milwaukee Brewers logo—the baseball glove that cleverly forms both the M and the B.

Nick knew exactly what I was talking about.

A short time later, he came back with a design featuring a strongman lifting a giant pinecone overhead. I liked it immediately, and that’s what we went with.

This was 2014, and the craft beer and brewery movement wasn’t quite as prominent as it would soon become. It never even occurred to me at the time that the pinecone looked an awful lot like the hops used in many craft brewery logos.

Fast forward to 2021. We moved out of the Pinehurst shopping center, changed our name, and became 5th Row Lifting Company.

One thing I knew for sure: I wanted to keep the logo.

The pinecone had become part of the story.

So even though the name changed, the logo stayed.

And moving forward, with Clay and Madison being a big part of the future of 5th Row, if they’re ever ambitious enough to expand beyond Eau Claire, they’ll be taking a little piece of Pinehurst with them wherever they go.

The name may have changed.

The logo never did. 🙂

🏃‍♂️ GYM TO GYM RUN/WALK (or BIKE)
As part of our 5th Anniversary Celebration Month, we're inviting members, family, and friends to join us for our first-ever Gym to Gym Run/Walk (or BIKE)!

📅 Saturday, June 13
🕙 Start Time: 10:15 AM
📍 Starting Location: 5th Row North

We'll be making the journey from North to West on a route that is approximately 5 miles long, with about 95% of the route on the walking trail.

Whether you want to run, jog, walk, bike, or take your time enjoying the company, you're welcome to join us.

Along the route we'll have:
💧 A water station
🎉 Fun stops and surprises
📸 Photo opportunities
🤝 Plenty of time to connect with fellow members

This event isn't about speed or competition. It's about celebrating five years of strength, community, friendships, and everything we've built together.

Feel free to invite family members, friends, kids, or anyone who would enjoy a walk on the trail and a chance to celebrate with the 5th Row community.

5 Years. 2 Gyms. 1 Community. ❤️💪

Does anyone recognize the guy getting the hug?!?

Great to have you in for a workout Seth! You CRUSHED IT!!!

PART THREE: WHY “LIFTING COMPANY”?

“What are you guys?”

“What’s your thing?”

“Are you CrossFit? A boot camp? Kettlebells? Functional fitness? What’s your theme?”

We friggin’ LIFT.

What do you want from me? 😂

Seriously though, we do old-school strength training and exercise. Progressive overload. We help people get stronger. Lose fat. Build muscle. Move better. Feel better. Get some cardio in there too.

No cutesy theme. No trendy gimmicks. No special affiliation.

We just friggin’ lift.

For years, I never had a great elevator pitch for what we do. Honestly, I’m still working on it. 😂

The closest thing I’ve got is:

“We take people and help them get into the best shape of their lives—day after day, month after month, year after year.”

That’s the classic Ryan rant version of who we are.

But truthfully, our members played a big role in the name.

Back in the Pinehurst days, the biggest attendance days were always our most old-school lifting days.

BIG MOVE MONDAY.

Barbell squats. Bench press. Deadlifts. Overhead press. Pullovers—my personal favorite.

People loved it.

Then we’d run it back on THROWBACK THURSDAY, and they’d show up for that too.

The more old-school the workout, the more people seemed to love it.

And I loved that.

Instead of chasing fitness trends, we leaned harder into what was already working.

What our members kept showing us they wanted.

Strength.

Muscle.

Hard work.

Results.

So when it came time to name the company, the answer was sitting right in front of us.

5th Row Lifting Company.

Not because it sounded cool.

Because it’s what we do. 💪