Russ White 0:00
we're stepping into fitness. With many of us working from home The office is now just a sit up in bed away. Following the month long closing of Michigan's gyms, fitness studios and pools, many of us have become more sedentary. In a survey of 3000 us adults, people who were meeting an exercise goal of 150 minutes per week pre pandemic saw a 32% drop in physical activity following social distancing orders. So how can we get back on track or start a new fitness routine without risking injury? We'll hear from a duel that's always on the move. flexity Fitness co founders Trista presion and Jenny Quinn, Trista and Jenny will talk about some of the challenges their fitness duty was facing during the pandemic, how they pivoted to livestream sessions, and some tips on how to get moving before the onslaught of holiday foods. Trista is a 2005 kinesiology graduate of the College of Education and certified personal trainer with over 15 years of experience. Jenny who also has over 15 years of personal training experience holds a BS and Ms in exercise physiology and Health Promotion from Central Michigan University. Together they co founded flex City Fitness and 2012 flex City Fitness is a fitness studio that focuses on high intensity interval training, better known as hit and was recently announced as a recipient of the Athena powerlink Award for 2021. Established in 1999. Athena powerlink is a national mentoring program designed to increase the growth and profitability of women owned businesses. Following the closing of Michigan's fitness centers in March, Trista and Jenny moved toward digital offerings to keep clients engaged from the safety of their own homes. They also took on the task of opening a new Fitness Studio in Lansing in preparation for the return of in person workouts. Trista and Jenny Welcome to go green. Go live. And congratulations on the new Lansing studio and the Athena powerlink. award. Thank you so much. Thank you for having us. Can you first define high intensity interval training? And give us a little insight into what first drew you to it? And why did you build flex City Fitness around this method of exercise?

Unknown Speaker 2:27
Good question. It's a big question too. So Jenny, and I, we both as you talked about in our backgrounds, we have tried everything we've done the Personal Training, we've done the heavy, heavier lifting, we've done more the bar workouts, more of the cardio, running in that element. And we wanted to create a place that had everything, it was a one stop shop. So we've found the best of the best and put it all under one roof. And it incorporates everything for no matter what fitness level you're at. So we have beginners to most advanced and with the high intensity work, we kind of like to call it yet it's your in interval intensity work based on you. And so it's the most efficient, efficient and effective workout you're going to get.

Unknown Speaker 3:19
We found that, you know, people were spending their the misconception of time, a lot needed that needed to be allotted to health and wellness was this in people's mind this very large block of time. And if you couldn't accomplish this unrealistic number, what was the point and so we really wanted it to be efficient and effective. And that interval training is one of the quickest ways to get the most bang for your buck. Our workouts are under 4% of your day. But we'll accomplish what you need from a movement standpoint, while also being fun and keeping your body truly engaged. And also the way we do it injury we really helps with injuries and just exercise boredom

Unknown Speaker 4:02
in general. And with our studio workout, it's not like doing 1000 burpees. We have treadmills you can see we're in our studio here. But we have treadmills we have spin bike. And so you really do get a variety here of if you're not comfortable running on the treadmill, you can walk at a higher incline. And when you use the tread and a bike you're working different muscles, and it's not just the calories you burn in class, but the high intensity work. It's going to continue for the next 24 hours depending on how hard you work in class. And that's the fat burning calories scorching all the good stuff that comes from the high intensity work. And we

Unknown Speaker 4:39
both had done so much other things in our career and we kept thinking this is awesome, but it's missing this. This is a great option but it misses this. So what if we found something that could hit check all those boxes, and we grew up?

Unknown Speaker 4:54
We grew up in the Lansing area. We both went to hazlit. We grew up in that town. And we I moved to LA, we went to bigger cities, and we wanted to bring something back to the Lansing area that you would get in a big city. But that was going to be affordable, and allow anybody no matter, you know, your fitness level to come and not feel intimidated.

Russ White 5:17
So when fitness studios had to close in March, how soon after that, did you pivot to digital alternatives? And what kind of feedback Did you get from members and even how were you impacted as instructors,

Unknown Speaker 5:30
we made the decision to close just before the shutdowns happened. And the first day, we made a decision to close we did an Instagram Live workout that day, from the studio as we are getting things packed up. And then by the Wednesday, the 18th, we had our first class offered for people at home. So we pivoted within the first week, you know, then that was when we all thought it was gonna be too late. Yeah. So we're like, Alright, we'll just, you know, do some stuff. So we, we had it going within the first week, just because we wanted to be able to provide that to our customers. And we knew it was important because everyone was on edge and the stress level was high. And, you know, we knew that if we could give them a little bright spot in their data, to do something that would be good. So we we pivoted quickly, the feedback was very good. And, you know, we've learned a lot. And I mean, there's certain things, as we've all learned, working from home and doing more stuff virtually, you know, there's things that can be recreated to a level that you can't completely duplicate the experience. But we have tried to create the closest option that we can, while also being mindful of what you know, people's time constraints are at home with their spatial constraints, or if you're an apartment, you can't really be doing some of the stuff that you might be doing, if you have a lot more dedicated exercise space, or there was a shortage on equipment, anything anywhere, so we had to improvise with, you know, we did a soup workout where you stuffed your suitcase field books, and that was your heavy weight. So

Unknown Speaker 7:00
we did the best we could for sure. And it's still going we are still offering our live classes, we're live streaming in studio classes. So people can, you know, if they're not comfortable yet coming into the studio, or don't have the childcare aren't able to make it and yet, they can still join those that have a treadmill. And even if you don't have a treadmill at home or spin bike, you can still, you know, do double strength, or you can do cardio we give you, you know, examples for all that.

Russ White 7:26
And what was that adjustment like for you as instructors? Yeah, um,

Unknown Speaker 7:29
it's different, it was a lot different coming in, you know, we, you know, we teach a lot, but this was a different way, like we're working out, essentially, and teaching, you know, we were doing it multiple times a day, it was, it's hard when you don't have the energy of the people in the studio, we had to be, you know, their cheerleaders and keep them motivated. So

Unknown Speaker 7:48
the energy of our studio is, you know, we have loud music, it's really, you know, it's kind of a, it's kind of a vibe, so it's hard, it was hard to reproduce that, you know, obviously from our houses, and not getting any feedback, you know, while you're doing it, because you're just basically it seems like you're talking to yourself or an imaginary friend. So, I mean, we work with each other for the longest we had gotten since their business open. So it was definitely an adjustment. But, um, it was a good motivation for us, because it made us have to continue doing what we're doing. And we got to really get a lot of, you know, we still did get to have the give and take, you know, before and after the classes. And we're very grateful we had, you know, that connection, and our customers were super amazing. And we got so many thankful messages and comments and emails, and just, you know, just instance, we've opened a lot of appreciation that we were in that we kept them going during that because, you know, we never anticipated six months would have been, you know, the length of time that we would have been non operational.

Unknown Speaker 8:48
And the really cool thing is, you know, being in a Lansing studio, we were downtown. And when we you know, we have a lot of Michigan State students. And we've had so many of them move elsewhere throughout the country. And they started joining us virtually. And so we say you can do these workouts anywhere, any time and it was awesome to hear from so many of them. And now they have joined our on demand we have, you know, flex on demand. So we have a virtual library over 100 different workouts now, and we are continuing to grow that every month.

Russ White 9:22
Well, Trista and Jenny, you know, research consistently shows the impact of exercise not only on our physical health, but our mental health as well. So with flex City Fitness members returning to in person classes, have you noticed a change in their outlook, or an increase in motivation?

Unknown Speaker 9:39
I would say definitely the energy is with masks on you know, we're used we're not used to that. Other spaces. So it's really hard to repeat. But um, yes, I mean, the the shift is, there's like a palpable lightness with people right now. Like they you can just see that they have there we are socially distant. They you can you can, you can almost feel the release of stress and anxiety and just allowing them to, you know, they can leave what's going on in the world out there. And they can just be focusing on what's going on in their body for this brief period of time. And I think that the benefits of that are almost as much for the mental health right now and emotional health than it is, obviously, for the physical health, for sure. And we've always been about that here, we were not about like, Hey, get a six pack for spring break. It's always been sanity over vanity and health over the beach BOD. So obviously, those are good side effects. But we really believe in that. And for us, personally, I mean, we have two little kids and those pandemic ng with little children, I mean, hats off everybody, we know what it feels like to, you know, have no no breaks whatsoever. So you know, taking care of that mental sign that physical activity provides has, I think, just, you know, it's we've always known and we have, everyone knows, it's important, but I think that exclamation point has been put on that for sure.

Unknown Speaker 11:05
If you don't take care of yourself, you know, you're not gonna be able to take care of everybody else. So if you're feeling good, if you're feeling your best, then you can help and do all the things that you want to do.

Russ White 11:15
So what was that process like opening the studio during a pandemic? And what are you looking forward to in 2021?

Unknown Speaker 11:22
Well, we have we. So when we signed our lease last year, to move to our dream studio, that we got to, you know, designed from scratch, we didn't anticipate, obviously, a global pandemic so that it was unique designing it during that and a little bit. Obviously, this is sad, because we had, you know, we plan to be in here in April. So obviously, that didn't happen. But some of the silver linings were that we knew that we were coming into the post COVID world. So we designed the studio, the finishing touches of the studio accordingly. So we put Plexiglas between all the treadmills we were able to

Unknown Speaker 12:02
distance things out, we were able to, we have all the new h vac system, all extra sanitation, extra measures in that regard.

Unknown Speaker 12:12
So we weren't having we were able to kind of start, we were able to finalize all the design and finalize all the logistical things with this being in our forefront versus having to redesign and restructure and redo everything that we had already done. So that was I guess, I mean, so if you want to say silver lining to the whole situation. So

Unknown Speaker 12:33
we also bought these really cool, they're called drop sound headphones. And so when the weather got really nice, we've been doing outdoor classes, and so that is to get 19 people outside in a group class with the headphones. So we could really simulate an in studio class with the loud music, and people have really been enjoying those special classes. So that's something that we can do to get a larger group outside.

Unknown Speaker 12:58
So by what we're looking forward to is obviously, you know, times when people are out and about more, but we've really, I think we've done a really good job with our safety measures and all the protocols and following all the guidelines and our customer lifetime how safe they feel. And so, um, you know, obviously, as restrictions either tighten or loosen, we don't we feel like we are now equipped to kind of adapt to a range of scenarios.

Unknown Speaker 13:25
Yeah, it's definitely different wearing a mask working out but like anything, once you you know, do it a few times, you kind of just get used to it, it's the new norm for right now.

Russ White 13:34
You know, the pandemic arguably is worse than ever, is there any sense that you might have to close again, I hope you hope not obviously,

Unknown Speaker 13:41
we crossing our fingers we don't but where we are, we do have a plan if that does happen, you know, we are still going with our onto my on demand virtual we can still you know, keep that going. And we are working a lot with flex help with corporate companies. So that's another thing that we have

Unknown Speaker 13:58
community is really important to us. And we were really that was probably if you asked us in the beginning of this what our biggest fear was, is we spent a really we care a lot we let we know our customers by name we want. We wanted a space that was you know, fun and positive place for people to go to where you're not just Hey, you're number 12 I don't know you don't so that's something that was important to us. And I think that we were able to continue that community feeling through the you know, six month closure. And then so I feel like you know we've we've done the legwork to be able to kind of adapt to whatever gets thrown at us now our kids are six, three and two. So we're we're fine. We can handle most things right. I'm prepared for me.

Russ White 14:44
We're talking health and fitness with Trista Parisian and Jenny Quinn, from flex City Fitness in Lansing and Trista and Jenny with the holidays on the horizon and some of us looking to get ahead on some of the calories coming our way. What what piece of advice Would you give to avoid injury and see the greatest benefits from a fitness routine? Keep moving.

Unknown Speaker 15:07
Yeah, don't don't let you know, especially we always say like, if you know you're going to be going to Thanksgiving dinner, make sure you get, you know, a good workout in Get, get active, those kind of things don't stop,

Unknown Speaker 15:19
I think I mean, a big part of holidays, I would say is very similar to what pandemic and quarantine health and wellness is like, because obviously, we all had to change what like, you know, no one usually lived in their house for that many hours a day, you know, day in and day out. So you know, really figuring out ways to allocate your time for movement differently, because it might not look like it did pre pandemic. So one of the big best tips for holidays are breaking it up and taking shorter bouts of movement throughout your day. It doesn't have to be you know, crazy, cuz every hour all at one time, you know, doing a 10 minute stretching routine in the morning followed by like a walk with your family, or like doing something a little more active versus sitting around and making more time for the non food related activities of the holidays. So because I mean, everyone's watched all the Netflix movies available and already had all the snacks. So now it's so yeah, just making making time for it. And I'm always just gonna, you know, be going at your own level. So you know, a lot of people think, Okay, I'm going to, I really don't want to gain weight over the holidays. So they all sudden think that they're training for the Olympics when they've been sedentary up into that point. So I always say, you know, to kind of follow that crawl, walk, run mentality, start, meet yourself where you're at, start small, and then slowly start building not because those small steps are the things that are going to make the big rewards later on not not, you know, adopting a intense routine for three weeks just to avoid the, you know, what's it called fruitcake?

Unknown Speaker 16:50
Yeah, we're always looking for those long lasting results as well not the quick fixes. So follow our Instagram, we put workouts on our Instagram do those last two tips?

Russ White 17:01
on of course, you know, health and fitness is more than working out the food we fuel ourselves with is equally as important. How do you address that with your members,

Unknown Speaker 17:10
in lots of ways that is even a bigger spectrum than health. I mean, other than fitness, I mean, you can find so many different fitness fads, fitness trends, fitness philosophies. And then the same can be said for nutrition if not more, more, there's there's so much out there. But we are personal believers in the 8020 rule. We believe in making good choices most of the time, but also that life is supposed to be enjoyed and lived. So if you are making good choices, eating well, eating healthy, but also enjoying life, it tends to make it easier kind of more of an intuitive eating, we're not big fans of super restrictive or unrealistic ways of eating. But we also really, we post and share like a lot, lots of healthy recipes and lots of realistic things you can do with your family.

Unknown Speaker 17:56
We're big into like real food, not things that are made in a factory, those kinds of things. And you know, if you're going for your Thanksgiving dinner, you know, try to eat healthy foods before you're not going places starving and that kind of thing. You know, eat a good salad, fill up on the greens have a healthy smoothie, those kinds of things. Add it when you can drink lots of water waters huge Well, you know, with this roller coaster ride, we've

Russ White 18:19
all been on the last eight months, how have you to stay positive?

Unknown Speaker 18:25
Chris just isn't naturally much interested, I wish I achieve our patient emotions. I'm not not part she's patient for assessing patients for days. So I'm way more than me. So, you know, I think that we multiple things. One, we have little kids, and we have to stay positive for them. Because, you know, obviously they can feel everything going on. And honestly, we have felt like what is the what's the alternative? You know, we we know that we have to be positive for our customers because we care about their health and wellness. And so, you know, by just being there for other people and trying to be their cheerleaders is naturally kind of given us that positivity. And also I mean, there's few things we have control over right now but right now, our mindset is one of them. And so you know, kind of and that is not saying it's been easy there. Six months of closure was not like you know, a happy day every day it was definitely you know, frustration and sadness and panic but you know, everyday we kind of made the choice like we care, we love what we do. We are going to figure out a way to do it and it might look a little different than we thought but

Unknown Speaker 19:28
we're built this community they need us we want to be there for them and

Unknown Speaker 19:32
health and wellness have never been more important right so we know that you know what we do matters in the grand scheme of things and that life will return to something like it used to be maybe not 100% of what it was but you know just doing the best we can and just really you know we always say you can't control much but you can control your feet, your forks and that so that's what we're trying to do.

Russ White 19:53
Well Jenny interested We appreciate all this great information and your your passion is rubbing off before we let you go though. Trust I mean, how did being a Spartan in your time at MSU impact you and how still does it

Unknown Speaker 20:06
being a Spartan was always my dream I was the first person in my family to go to Michigan State. I met the my best friends there I met my husband there. And my husband and I at the time boyfriend, girlfriend, we moved out to LA we found the best community of alumni out there. I feel like everywhere we go, we find Spartan alumni, and they're always the best the kindest people. I'd love being a Spartan a big reason why we came back was to live in the college town I live in East Lansing you know, I bleed green. And I can't wait to carry the tuition on for my kids.

Russ White 20:40
So on Facebook and Instagram or you just flex City Fitness or what's the handle is their black City Fitness. Bubble, encourage people to go there and check you out. And thank you both for joining us and sharing your expertise with us. Thank you for having us. You can learn more about flex City Fitness by visiting flex city fitness.com

Transcribed by https://otter.ai