TAC FIT: A Basalt gym with a higher purpose

By S. Michael Jundt
Sopris Sun Staff Writer

The Aspen Clinic CEO, Amanda Wagner, joined forces with elite personal trainer, Megan Reilly, to form TAC FIT, a gym with a higher purpose located on East Valley Road in Basalt. The gym in itself is sensational. But what separates it from the rest is both its unique curriculum and its caring personnel.

On a recent visit, I was able to spend time with Reilly, whose 20 years in the fitness industry has honed an inspirational example of a healthy mind, body and spirit. Her passion is contagious and her conviction in helping others achieve their goals is rooted in more than her two decades of training.

“Ten years ago, I drove off of Independence Pass,” says Reilly. “My car struck a boulder and I was crushed from the impact.”

Reilly suffered trauma to her face, chest and wrist, both of her lungs collapsed. She was strapped to a gurney that kept sliding back and forth into the walls of an ambulance racing the winding road to Leadville, which might appear darkly comic but was anything but.

“The Flight for Life chopper was meeting me in Leadville for emergency transport to Denver,” says Reilly. But in retrospect certain parts (of the incident) did play like theatre.”

The road to recovery was neither simple nor fast, but Reilly is a survivor and not only fought through her recovery, but also gained a vast amount of rehabilitation knowledge that she utilizes today while assisting others with their rehab.

“The improvements in physical therapy since I was injured are phenomenal,” she says. “The state-of-the-art equipment that we have here at TAC FIT and the specific purpose machines that focus on an individual’s precise need would have cut my recovery time by one third. Our Director of Development, Curtis Schwab, has put his brilliance to work in selecting the finest equipment and his efforts have helped us achieve a fitness facility like no other in the entire valley.

Since opening, TAC FIT has gained medical credibility in the community. Physicians regularly direct their patients to the facility to help continue healing and regain functional mobility.

So, yes, TAC FIT is a gym, a stellar place to workout, and a solution to regain what you may have lost due to injury. For more information, visit their website at www.theaspenclinic.org.