Meet Coach Jennifer, me (I’m on the right, with my adult daughters)!
You may have heard about my husband, fitness coach extraordinaire. Athlete extraordinaire.
I am responsible for the other half of the gym (I call it the hardest part). Why is it difficult?
I am the Head of our Nutrition Program.
Try asking someone to exercise one hour, 3 times a week and then ask the same person to change their eating habits.
What you put in your body takes much more intention, at all hours of the day. Not to mention, it’s very personal.
Luckily, our process really is exceptional, and simple to implement. The toughest part is allowing yourself to believe that it doesn’t have to be complicated.
My background is NOT in fitness.
Not even close. I am uncoordinated, and feel awkward walking, much less running! Out of breath very quickly and I’ve been this way whether I’m in the best shape of my life, or the worst. I never really understood why.
As I got older I realized that there was even more I was missing from the gym experience.
I saw other people leaving the gym happy and excited and I felt miserable.
I couldn’t figure out why I am in a corner trying to catch my breath and everyone else around me is going full force so I decided to see if it was JUST my breathing or was something else happening with my body.
My Heart Rate Hinders My Performance
I started tracking my heart rate. WOW did I feel validated.
My average heart rate in a workout was 171bpm and my max was 195bpm. That wasn’t an exception either.
My average heart rate was my body’s “max” heart rate, according to all the google searches.
My heart was working at at 100% effort for most of the workout.
I don’t know that anyone going at their 100% effort who wouldn’t be out of breath!
I’ve been to a cardiologist, had multiple tests and they found zilch, I just have a fast heart rate.
I’ve decided that I just need to work at my pace and not worry about anything or anyone else.
I’m going to move slow and have to take a break at times, and that is ok.
When I was a member at other gyms, the environment encouraged didn’t make it feel like it was ok to listen to my body and slow down.
While going at my own pace to keep myself able to continue, I felt judged and not accepted. Why would a place that said that anyone could do it, and everyone is welcome, make me feel as if they really weren’t there to help me?
Simple. Not all gyms are interested in helping people like me.
Actions speak louder than words
I’ve met quite a few women along my journey at other gyms who tell me they have seen what I’ve seen. I meet people that come in to see us and I still hear those stories.
It is all too common. Gyms that celebrate the people that are doing *the best* in class.
They celebrate the achievements based on how well someone’s body does in a workout. The pictures, the videos, the attention given to these high level athletes was COMPLETELY disproportionate to the average Joe and much more disproportionate to the below average Joe, like in my case.
Yet they say, “anyone can do this”. “We are for everyone”.
It’s EASY for people that are in excellent shape, proficient in movements, and are at the top of their game every day, to show up. They feel successful. They feel confident and have a much easier time finding their way into the community.
I didn’t like how I was treated. I didn’t like how others were treated. My husband noticed it as well.
My background is in service.
No matter the industry I had worked in previously, it mattered to me how my customers’ feel and that my team and I are delivering refreshing experiences for people. It matters to me that we treat people equally and that their treatment has nothing to do with their aptitude.
I worked in technology most of my life. The tech savvy customer will get the same service as someone who has never had a smart phone.
Coach Patrick and I decided enough is enough. There needed to be a different model.
Something refreshing.
Owning a gym that talks the talk “we’re for everyone” but doesn’t walk was not an option for me.
I opened a gym to provide a space for people who haven’t felt welcome in other gyms.
A space for genuine people who were kind, supportive and included others vs excluded them.
A passion arose in me to help people that needed and, more importantly, WANTED help to get the body they have been after.
Protecting the people, members, coaches, staff etc. that come to my gym from judgement and negativity is a priority for me. I don’t want anyone to feel less than.
Every gym has their “ideal client”
Whether they know it or not. They have a certain type of person they cater to.
76% of our members are women. 64% of those women are 40 or over.
That’s me. I can relate. It matters to me that these women feel welcomed and safe.
Now I won’t be kicking any guys out! In fact we’ve been asked on more than one occasion, “How about recruiting some single guys?!” Maybe they’ll read this and come over! But.. they ain’t gettin’ past me if they aren’t genuinely good people. Same rules for women that come here, don’t worry!
Our only requirement for anyone joining us is that you are coachable and that you try what the coach asks of you.
Colorado’s Most Refreshing Gym
- We are Colorado’s Most Refreshing Gym because we work first from the heart then from the head.
- I understand that you have tried a million things in the past and some have worked and some haven’t, you need the solution that sticks.
- You want a simple solution so you can stop the yo yo dieting.
- We understand you need a safe environment so you keep coming back.
- We understand you only have one life, and we want to help you make the most out of it.
There will not be yelling and screaming at you to lift more weight, run faster, DO BETTER, because you are doing better just by showing up at our door.
Now that being said, we won’t let you off the hook.
You will show up and move. And you will feel sore muscles the next day.
We won’t lie to you and tell you that Twinkies are the way to weight loss. But we will give you strategies to avoid the Twinkie and to set your kitchen up for success.
However, if you’ve tried the “roadblocks” we’ve put in place and you need a Twinkie…eat the Twinkie.
If this sounds like a place you can be successful and if I sound like a person you can trust, make an appointment to come see me or Coach Patrick, and we will help you customize the path to get you the body you desire!