Health Grant Seeks Improved Workplace Wellness
LANCASTER — Health and wellness is a need that many people put last on the list.
Not if James Fisher has anything to say about it.
And certainly not if you live in South Dallas County.
Fisher calls himself a “fitpreneaur,” personal trainer and bootcamp instructor. He recently received a grant in order to make sure his plans come to fruition.
“I was blessed and fortunate enough to receive a categorical grant for health and wellness for South Dallas County,” Fisher says. “This came about after attending numerous health and wellness events and fairs over the past two years. I saw such a passion and need for health and wellness education and resources in the city and area.
This is especially true in the corporate and small business markets.”
Fisher reached out to the Lancaster city council and was given permission to apply and start the grant process.
“The City of Lancaster has seen quite a bit of growth in recent years with the school district reaching close to 700 employees,” Fisher says. “There are also 40 small businesses and counting in Lancaster, so it is the perfect place to tap into an already rich history of sports, athletics, and of course fitness.”
Healthy Employees Are Good For Business
His company’s Mission Fit Fitness is headquartered in South Dallas. Fisher says companies should understand that fit employees are good for the bottom line.
“Healthy employees are more productive than chronically ill employees and it costs less to prevent injuries or illnesses than to treat after it occurs.”
Mission Fit Fitness ties worker productivity directly to the health care issue.
“Traditional approaches to the current healthcare crisis are misdirected,” he says. “These traditional efforts are what we call reactive. That means waiting until after the worker has been stricken with illness or injury, and then pay for necessary treatments. My approach, which emphasizes prevention and good health promotion, is much more proactive.”
Fisher says growing up an athlete, health and fitness became second nature to him.
Active Beginnings
“I was always active in football, basketball, baseball and track. I would watch old Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, wanting to have that certain look. Later, into my teens it changed more to having a certain physical appearance. Then it was health because my childhood youth pastor passed away from cancer. After that my father of a stroke, and there were many friends and family members with health-related issues. All of these factors, along with my own drive to push the limits of my body to the max, have a role in where I am today.”
His dreams do not come without challenges though.
“One the biggest challenges for Mission Fit Fitness is getting employers comfortable enough to allow employees to participate in fitness activities at the workplace,” he says. “There have been many Corporate Wellness Programs and companies that fail simply because they do not customize their programs to each individual. Fisher contends that this is truly the only way to get results.”
Fisher’s career began as a front desk representative making $7.25 an hour at a small health club in Dallas. In four years, he had climbed the ranks to become one of the highest paid personal trainers in North Texas.
“I became acutely aware of the need for wellness and fitness education in the workplace. Since 2014, I have developed a corporate wellness program that effectively impacts companies throughout Dallas and particularly in Lancaster too.”
Plans For Expansion
His five-year plan is about expansion. He says he wants to develop, grow and perfect the best system in the world for corporate wellness.
“We want to have a heavy presence in the area and hopefully want to service hundreds of businesses and employers,” Fisher says.
His certifications are Advanced CPT certificate, ISSA Nutrition Specialist, NASM-CPT Corrective Exercise Specialist and Performance Enhancement Specialist.
The Mission Fit Fitness programs include:
•Eating for Energy
•Outsmarting Fat
•Jump Start Exercise
•If There is a Will There’s a Way
•Stress Busters
•Abdominals 101
•Your Office is a Gym
All workplace programs take place onsite for employees. He also published his first book “Trial and Error: 15 Ways to Maximize your Health and Fitness Goals” in 2016, which was on the Amazon health and wellness top 50 for over a year. And, he has a weekly wellness segment on CW33 TV every Friday.
“Mission Fit Fitness makes sense,” Fisher concludes. “By helping employees change their behavior patterns and choose more healthy lifestyles, Mission Fit Fitness will lower a company’s health care expenditures, while raising worker productivity.
