This excerpt is from an article that originally appeared in Business in Calgary on January 2, 2019. To view the entire article click here.
Location, location, you know what they say. The staff at personal injury law firm Litco Law considers themselves lucky that they need only ride the elevator down a few floors to sweat together. Located in the same building as Lagree YYC, they’ve been doing the core-strengthening workouts weekly since they moved into the Britannia building in March 2016. The Lagree method is performed on a moving platform that uses a system of springs, straps and cables for optimal resistance training.
It’s generally a group of nine women, the Original Gangsters (OGs) they call themselves, who attend the 45-minute lunch-hour class. Case manager and OG Neily Soutar says working out midday is a great way to clear the mind and connect with her colleagues and she always returns to her desk feeling refreshed. “We push each other’s limits and laugh at each other when our legs are shaking so badly in a lunge it looks like we’re doing a jig!” says Soutar.
Litwiniuk places a strong emphasis on personal development and creates many such opportunities for its employees. The firm has brought in meditation and yoga instructors and hosted psychology and fitness lunch-and-learn seminars at its café which doubles as a learning centre. “I believe that if you take care of yourself personally, both physically and psychologically, then that’s going to translate into your work life,” says owner and managing partner Todd Litwiniuk. For the past few years, 10 to 15 employees have been attending a boot camp twice a week after work at Method Fitness in Mission. Very much a believer in leading by example, Litwiniuk brings intention and intensity to the boot-camp sessions.
The family-run law firm sets quarterly and yearly goals for the business and similarly encourages its employees to create ones for their professional and personal lives. Says Litwiniuk: “I want to work with people who are driven to take care of themselves. As long as you’re always striving for something, that’s the most important thing.”
