Lessons Learned from Flywheel Miami

       I am a super-fitness snob and I do not love indoor cycling.  In fact, I truly believe it's one of the last activities we should be doing after sitting on our arses all day. Most of us already have super-tight hips, weak-disengaged core, terribly-rounded shoulders, blah blah blah, etc, etc and now you we are suppose to get into that same horrible position which contributed to these disorders?... and peddle for 45 minutes? Just saying.

       Three Months ago while in Miami on business, I met a Fitness Rock Star (Aleah Stander) who invited me to take her "spinning" class at FLYWHEEL MIAMI.  I heard of Flywheel here in Boston, but for whatever reason have never ventured in. I didn't know what to expect, but "Macho" Frank accepted the invite.

       The first thing that caught my attention was the "crazy" ENERGY karate choppin' me in the face as soon as I walked through the front door...it set the tone for what was soon to come. The staff were equally as fun and energetic as the DUBStep screaming over the speakers.
I've taken indoor cycling before.... But the level of COACHING here was Next Level. From the Leadership, cuing, tone of voice, to the personal connection to the audience.... It was awe inspiring. The instructor actually got off her bike to penetrate the stadium style sea of roughly 60 bikes just to add to the experience. I was quite impressed. Great Coaching.
        The choice of MUSIC only added to the value and swag of this class.... This particular class had a compilation of the likes of Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., and Mumford and Sons. It flowed seemelessly. I almost started rapping along with Biggy, but I was way too short of breath. The music was frickin' dope.
        After class while I was changing my footwear, I noticed that the lobby was filled with instructors and "FLYWHEELERS" mingling well after the "toture" had ended. These FLYWHEELERS spilled into the nearby coffee shops. This was an amazing display of the close knit-fun Family/CULTURE/community FLYWHEEL Miami has built. Really... Isn't this why we do what we do? Culture is King,
        Overall, it was an amazing experience. Since that morning in Miami, I have been to at least a dozen FLYWHEEL classes all over the country. So, I guess FLYWHEEL has erased my deep-hatred for indoor cycling. Though the fitness snob, strength and conditioning coach in me still believes there are way better things for our sedentary population to do in terms of exercise, Flywheel Miami over delivers in the following areas.... yet I still will go despite my beliefs.
1. Energy
2. Coaching
3. Music
4. Community/culture
       As far as i am concerned these four create the perfect storm for Fitness Success and I believe anyone in the fitness industry could learn a few things from the fluidity and the prasumed ease in which FLYWHEEL Miami delivers it's fitness mojo.
I Don't care how smart you think you are and how great you thnk your program design is...nothing trumps Culture, Energy and Coaching. Ultimately the Experience and the ability to make members happy and coming back rule.
Bottom Line FLYWHEEL Miami knows exactly what it is... Kick ass indoor cycling, kick ass music, kick ass energy, kick ass people... Nuff Said.
Try FLYWHEEL Miami (Indoor Cycling Stadium Gods and Goddess's)

https://www.facebook.com/aleahstandercoach
AleahStander.com

Focus and Fitness?

   

 

       It is pitch black as the alarm goes off. We barely enough time to shower, eat, and get the kids ready for school. We hurry into to work just to have every single second of that 10 hour day consumed with work related stress. Then....Over an hour of bumper to bumper traffic on the way home. We walk in the door with only to have a huge laundry list of chores waiting for us before dinner. Eating Dinner is perhaps the only time all day that we actually got to sit down in silence (maybe), relax and eat... After all of this....After this long @$$ day... and now that your finally comfortable....  You must change your clothes, leave the warm comfort of home just to go and get beat-up by some meathead trainer, who is only going to make us more uncomfortable. This is the reality we deal with.
      Weight Loss is SIMPLE. Everything else in your life is HARD, There's only so much energy and FOCUS one human can muster. 
      Usually when it comes to our Priorities, Weight loss, Health and Fitness fall to the bottom of the list. Its not that we feel it is not important. It is just that when it comes time to EXECUTE, there's a little or no energy/focus left. 
      Sadly, This is where we FAIL. 
     Try this.... Make a list of the top 10 things that cause you stress.... or lose your focus. Slowly start eliminating these negatives from your life. As your focus on your health and fitness increases, so will your happiness.

Normal Made Us Fat

          Cereal for breakfast, Steak and Cheese sandwich for lunch, lasagna for dinner. Sadly, this is what is considered eating "NORMALLY" today from a members point of view. And with 66% of our population "overweight".... I guess being "overweight" is normal too. 

One of the most asked questions by members dieting, is "when do I go back to eating "NORMALLY"? It is our responsibility from day 1 to educate our members and teach them the difference between eating "socially" normal (what we "normally" eat today) and "human" normal (how humans are meant to eat). One will get you fat and unhealthy, the other will develop a leaner, healthier person. Just because all your friends and family members are overweight does NOT mean it's "normal" and does NOT mean you have to be too....

Bottom line....If eating "Normal" got you fat.... It will get you fat again.

The Biggest Lie You've Been Told About Fitness

          "It's Easy" might the single biggest lie as it relates to describing fitness success...I absolutely cringe when I hear this garbage. This is a HUGE reason why we fail in our culture when it comes to fitness and especially weight loss.
Almost every TV infomercial, magazine article, or "Fitness Guru" blog continuously brainwashes  us with that fraudulent phrase "it's Easy". I completely understand why we get so frustrated and confused with fitness, then eventually quit or fail. We can NOT confuse SIMPLE with EASY. Though we all know that combining the ability to banish your diet of low value nutrients and adding exersise more consistently absolutely works and is a SIMPLE process.... By NO means, is this easy. The HONEST truth is.... Anything worth wild takes HARD WORK, SACRIFICE, and is NOT easy. Reaching our fitness goals and losing weight might be the single most difficult thing we ever do, due to some of the following lifestyle changes.
Here's what will have to change.... What we eat, what we do for exercise, how much we do, how we sleep, who we socialize with, how we socialize, how we deal with our emotions and stress, how we deal with being sore/uncomfortable, how we manage time, how do we sustain this, etc. This is a monumental undertaking and will be overwhelming. Hear are some tips.
1. Be prepared for this to be difficult.
2. Be prepared that all the sacrifices we make will be worth every drop of sweat and every slice of pizza skipped.
3. We cannot be afraid of hiring a coach for support. We are gonna need it.
4. Do NOT get frustrated and understand longevity. Fitness is not a day to day task or a month to month endeavor. It's a lifelong journey we all aim to improve upon year after year.
5. The next time someone try's to sell us on "easy fitness" we have to promise ourselves to turn and RUN!!!!!