Find Your Fitness Community
There is nothing that fills this Trainers heart faster than listening to my fitness community commiserate together after a difficult group session. Especially, when they are making plans and setting goals together. Now the AX Fitness community is a bit smaller than it use to be but I can assure you that it thrives and the peeps are tight.
A few clients asked for programs for upcoming races, the Rugged Maniac and the Monster Dash. I happily put together a couple of programs and then got to catch a whole lot of grief over the details of those programs. As I listened to them read what I felt were helpful notes and crack joke after joke about what they had just gotten themselves into...my heart was full in that moment. Full of happiness and joy and I was proud...very proud. I was proud of them for committing to each other and proud of all of us for building a healthy and welcoming community. And I thought to myself, this is exactly why I do what I do...for this moment.
I like to say that all trainers are not created equally. There are a ton of trainers out there but they are not all good at what they do. A few of them had good intentions when becoming a trainer. Another few got caught up in the the idea of being a trainer because they lifted weights and “helped some friends out”. And a few more realized the giant trend in fitness and wanted to capitalize with the hopes of having their own gym some day. But that doesn't make them all good nor passionate about building healthy lifestyles and creating a fitness community. Trainers that can do those things are the trainers that care about you, your goals and making a sincere difference with their footprint in this life.
What a person is looking for in a fitness community is going to be different for each individual. The key is to figure out what that looks like for you. Fitness is personal and so is your fitness community. You want to share that experience with people that can bring value to your life. You want to create a support system for yourself. Your trainer(s) should be able to help you foster those kinds of healthy relationships.
It is possible that you may start with one community and then move on to another once you decide what your fitness future should look like. One community could get you going, teach you how to live a healthy lifestyle. The next community may surround you with people with similar goals. You may find a fitness community that will serve you well for several years to come.
A fitness community is like your own personal village. My friends like to tell me that it takes a village to raise a child. I believe this to be true. I feel as though it takes a village to do most anything in this life. There are some introverts out there who are self-disciplined enough to get to any level of fitness they want. However, no one does anything completely alone. Humans drive each other, we need to be held accountable and we feel the need to hold others accountable as well. There is nothing wrong with that. Some people just need an extra push, a goal, or they are inherently competitive by nature and always need more. We also need others to experience what we are experiencing so we can talk about it, learn from it, and grow from it.
There are a lot of gyms out there folks and it’s hard to know just where to begin. Gyms are not created equally either. It’s tough to find a community in a larger chain fitness center. They can be downright intimidating just to walk in to. It’s not impossible... believe me those gals that go to “Body Pump” at the YMCA are almost cult like in their loyalty and dedication. While CrossFit is a worldwide phenomenon in fitness, the facilities all have different independent owners with varied reviews. Either it’s a family feel or it’s too hands off or even too competitive in some cases. I know of a few good ones, with great coaches. Weightlifting and powerlifting specific gyms form particularly strong bonds. Bootcampy type studios can be great as long as they can keep your interest and keep you challenged. I would stay away from places that only focus on weight loss. People tend to get numbers focused and forget that balance is a very significant component to living a healthy lifestyle and being a contributing member to their fitness community. I am in no way trying to say that every one is like that. These are just my observations, remember you can take them or leave them. :-)
At AX Fitness there has always been a strong sense of community. I never let my team plateau, I challenge them, they challenge each other and sometimes they challenge me. We do things together and genuinely care for each other. We are there for each other and work to create and maintain that balance that I was just talking about. That’s what a community does. If you haven’t found yours yet...get out there and best of wishes to you on your journey!
Trainer OUT!
AX MEMBERS: Reminder I will be out of town this Friday so no Friday class. Also, we are still in our trial period of 6PM on Fridays even though we have not changed that yet on the website
Here is a photo of our own Melissa Wolfe doing what I affectionately call the donkey worm! And a few videos from class.
