Annie Forest Coaching and Studios

Annie Forest Coaching empowers you in your fitness journey! I was always nervous going to the gym and working out, questioning my form, and uncertain how to get the best results. Thanks to Matt I now enjoy going to the gym and feel confident in my skillset! They help you reach your strength goals and guide you every step of the way. Highly recommend for anyone seeking more gym confidence!
May 12th, 2023

TLDR; been training here for a year and I sincerely recommend Annie and her team to anyone who has chronic pain, is trying to build a positive relationship to movement and their body, or those wishing to build strength functionally and sustainably. As a fat-bodied person, finding a space and a trainer that I felt comfortable working with seemed like a high order. I was recommended to Annie and was very curious about her neuroscience based approach to coaching. During our initial consultation I was able to share my goals for functional strength, to build a relationship with movement that ACTUALLY feels good, and reduce the chronic pain Id been having. I also shared my experiences as a previous athlete, my struggle with toxic diet and gym culture, poor experiences with previous trainers, and a fear that Id be told to just work harder and do more restrictive diets to manage my pain by weight loss. Ive now been working with Annie weekly for almost a year and I can say that she and her team are the best, most compassionate, and caring people in this industry that I have ever met. Whenever something hurts, I say so and we problem solve together, none of the just push through it mentality. She does such a wonderful job of explaining why were doing something and how it relates to my goals, and she shifts our activities during sessions to match my own energy as it fluctuates from week to week so I know Ill always leave feeling better than when I walked in the door. I appreciate the flexibility to do semi-private coaching as well and recently organized some of my coworkers to do a group session once a week (theyre also amazed and love the process). I love everything about Annies process, her mission, and her as a person. I really cannot say enough positive things about my experiences here and the people who work at this studio.
Jun 12th, 2023

The staff at Forest Coaching are all incredible. They have impressive lists of certifications, including Strong First SFG II, Dragon Door RKC, Z-Health brain-based training, Oxygen Advantage Advanced, and so on. These certifications aren't just for show, either. I have worked with several trainers at Forest, and it is clear that they have all trained very hard and deeply understand the movements they ask their clients to complete. The staff are truly experts of their craft. Now, for my story... I started training at Forest as a complete beginner. I felt intimidated by commercial gyms and utterly confused by the sheer amount of highly opinionated and often conflicting advice available online and in books. Having never picked up a kettlebell before, I wanted to learn how to do some fundamental kettlebell movements safely and properly. I started out not being able to smoothly swing or press a 16kb bell, and after working with Matt for two months in-person and then following two months of at-home programming, I could military press a 32kg multiple times, complete 120+ one hand swings in 10 minutes, do snatches with great form, do kettlebell complexes with two kettlebells, and much more. I am absolutely blown away by my progress, and Matt has helped me crush every goal I've set for myself along the way! The thing that really sets this studio apart is the staff's knowledge of neurology and brain-based training. I'm a psychologist, and I admit that I was skeptical about the whole brain-based training language, but I can attest to the efficacy of this now. The trainers are certified in Z-Health, and know a seemingly endless number of tricks to improve people's sensory perception, body awareness, energy levels, grip strength, endurance, or whatever the need is. For example, stretching in a way that gently flosses your radial arm nerve can improve your grip strength before doing a heavy kettlebell press. It really is amazing how accurate and beneficial the brain-based movements are. In addition to gaining a lot of strength, I have also become much more flexible and mobile. Many of the movement drills and brain-based training strategies simultaneously improve a skill (like squatting) and mobility (hip flexibility). Over time, I've noticed that everyday activities like sitting comfortably on the ground, twisting, bending, etc have gotten surprisingly easier for me. In fact, I didn't even realize how inflexible I was before until my mobility improved as a positive side effect of my training here. While I have used the training and programming at Forest to improve my strength, I have met many other people along the way who have severe pain, injuries, or limited mobility and train here because the coaches are exceptionally talented at navigating these issues in a completely body-positive, accepting, and safe environment. Annie is particularly talented at that. Amanda is very knowledgeable about endurance sports, and I've also met people who primarily run/cycle and train here to gain supplementary strength without overtraining. If you're interested in breath work, Amanda is also an expert in that area. For those interested in kettlebell movements or classic strength training lifts, Matt and Troy are awesome. In all honesty though, you can't go wrong with any of the coaches, as they are all knowledgeable in each of these areas. Overall, I can honestly say that working with the trainers at Forest Coaching is one of the most beneficial things I've done in my entire life, and it's easily the best thing I've done for my physical health. I haven't felt this strong, flexible, or confident ever before, and it sure feels amazing! Please give this studio try. They have many options from online video courses, private coaching, group coaching, pay-what-you-can community kettlebell events, at-home training plans, and more. It really is life-changing!
Mar 7th, 2023

Matt and Annie were very nice and informative. They broke down skills step by step so that everything was manageable.
Jan 9th, 2023

I was referred to Forest Coaching for concussion rehabilitation in October 2021. I had no idea how life-changing working with Amanda would be. I have Fibromyalgia and hEDS, which cause chronic pain and fatigue. Since I began coaching, I've had only one Fibro flare, when I used to live in a constant state of flare. I'm now able to do more with my kids, for myself, and can enjoy life without constant pain. I *highly* recommend Forest Coaching for anyone dealing with chronic pain, fatigue, migraines, dizziness, and so much more!
Nov 22nd, 2022