Hitting the Gym
Reaching your new year's fitness goals |
Marsha Williamson performs a kettleball swing. The full-body movement helps to develop muscles and boosts cardiovascular endurance.Each year as Jan. 1 rolls around, millions of Americans make resolutions of what they want to change about their lives in the new year.
According to the folks at USA.gov, the top 10 resolutions include cutting back on alcohol, getting a better education, getting a better job, managing debt, smoking cessation, eliminating clutter, saving money, taking a trip, volunteering to help others and, of course, losing weight and getting in shape.
While the verdict may be out on the first eight items on the list, the last two seem to never happen. In fact, according to many fitness facilities, while they sell a bunch of memberships early in the year to people hoping to, finally, get in shape, the reality is that by February, most have fallen off the wagon.
That is not the case at one of the area’s newest fitness facilities, 423 Strength and Conditioning, located on West Andrew Johnson Highway in the old Kia building in Morristown.
Owners Galen Godbey and Justin Wade say their focus isn’t as much on helping their clients lose weight, but in changing their lifestyle. In addition to designing personal coaching, group classes and one-on-one work, 423 also provides lifestyle coaching. This includes reviewing diet and nutrition combined with training and conditioning.
“We want people here who want to change,” Wade said.
Patty Christopher and her daughter, Lexi, work out with lunges, which work on hamstring and gluteus muscles.“We are results driven versus membership driven,” Godbey added.
The first change from the traditional gym is the lack of exercise machines. There are no steppers, Nautilus equipment or treadmills. Instead, clients are greeted by rings suspended from the ceiling, kettle balls in a variety of sizes, sledgehammers, ropes and steps.
“We try to instill in new people what we believe to be effective,” Godbey said. Initially, that consists of asking new clients to put aside their preconceived notions about what it takes to get fit.
Newcomers start with a foundation program, which can take three hours or three days, depending on the person’s schedule. The owners work with new clients one-on-one to help access their goals for the next three months, three years or whatever.
“It’s not for everybody,” Godbey said. “It’s not for people who want overnight results or those who are looking for a simple solution to complex lifestyle problems.”
Godbey said he believes many of the problems with obesity in the United States is tied to the search for convenience and “oversimplification of things that aren’t simple. Everyone wants everything quick.”
One of their clients, who has been with the pair since they opened, is Stephen Carpenter. The former high school football player was unable to do a simple pull up when he began.
“Now he can do 44 in a row,” Godbey said.
Shenoa McGuffin (in foreground) performs a wall ball exercise. The goal is to hit a spot on the wall two feet above her head. In high school Carpenter weighed 315 pounds. Today, he weighs 215 pounds. It took him two years to lose the extra weight and to get fit.
“I got tired of being mediocre,” Carpenter said. “I wanted to be better.”
He has embraced the new lifestyle so much that he is hoping to be in the position to help others. He is currently studying to be a nutritionist.
The training style Godbey and Wade employ is called CrossFit training. Many of the features are similar to the workouts seen on the television show “Biggest Loser,” but there are some differences.
“They do a lot of things to make you lose weight. We do things to make you better,” Wade said.
One of the biggest differences is the support clients and trainers alike provide.
“The community is what makes us different,” Godbey said. “It’s a community of friends.”
While it would seem logical that only young people and those already in good physical shape would seek out this type of training, the opposite is true. Godbey said the average age of their clients is 40 and the larger percentage of their clients are female.
“Typically this isn’t someone’s first resort,” he said.
Whatever condition a person is in, Godbey said it’s never too late to make an improvement and to stop making excuses and self-imposed limitations.
“Give yourself an hour,” he said.
For more information about 423 Strength and Conditioning, call 423-231-0739 or visit www.423snc.com.