SYCAMORE – Mike Davis began his path to fitness six years ago, and now with his own gym up and running, he is finding new ways to help others embark on journeys of their own.

Davis trained clients out of his Sycamore home before opening Fortitude Fitness, 265 W. Peace Road, in August. He said it has been his dream to operate his own facility since he started working with the Beachbody company in 2011.

“I’ve always followed down the path of trying to help people,” he said. “That’s kind of the servant’s heart I feel like I’ve been gifted with, which is why I started doing this in the first place. Some people helped me in my journey, and this is a way to pay to it forward to help others.”

Realizing that exercising with others is an incentive to work harder was another reason Davis said he wanted to open a gym with a sense of community.

“What we learned in the home fitness market is when people are in a group setting, being encouraged, motivated and held accountable by a group of people, they are more successful that way,” he said.

Fortitude Fitness offers boot camp courses customized to clients’ needs and abilities, as well as Zumba dancing and Turbo Kick, a program with choreographed kickboxing.

Davis said the gym will soon offer Pi-Yo, a combination of pilates and yoga, as a low-impact exercise to build strength and flexibility.

In April, Fortitude Fitness will begin its “Summer Slim Down Challenge,” where participants compete to lose the biggest amount and percentage of weight over a period of three months to prepare for the summer.

The winners will receive a free makeover from Stephen Alan Salon in Sycamore, among other prizes.

Davis said part of the contest will include working with people on lifestyle changes and making exercise and healthy eating priorities in their lives.

“There are too many schemes out there that people have been burned by,” Davis said. “You go and lose a bunch of weight fast then end up putting it back on because they never get to the root of what the problem is.”