Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community

A common theme in our interviews with the fitness community is COVID-19. This episode is no different, but there is an exciting twist. TBE CrossFit has seen a better turnout than prior to the shutdown.

Running a box isn’t enough to keep Sal busy. He is also planning a huge health event geared towards educating New Mexicans on the importance of not only physical fitness but mental and financial fitness as well. 

Check out this episode to get to know Sal and what he’s working on! 

Kevin: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by FIt Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin: Episode 17. Mark Morgenstern with the UFC Gym. In this episode, Mark talks about the gym, winning Rio Rancho's business person of the year, the impact of the Coronavirus, and more.

Sara: All right. Well, hello mark. How are you doing today?

Mark: I'm doing well. How are you, Sara?

Sara: I'm doing great. Thanks so much for joining our Podcast. It really means a lot for you to take time out of your busy day to join us to talk about the UFC Gym. So thank you.

Mark: You're welcome. It's my pleasure.

Sara: All right. The first question. Easiest question. What is UFC Gym?

Mark: That's a very good question. UFC Gym is a fitness-focused community that brings the style of training a fighter might do to prepare for a fight. We bring that to the general public. We bring that to the fan of UFC gym, the everyday person getting off work that wants a really good workout in a great environment. And we also, you know, during that they learn some of the striking aspects that a fighter might use to step into a cage and do a fight.

Sara: That's really cool. So you have different classes there, though, like kind of a range of classes. Talk about all the classes that you offer there.

Mark: Yes, we have our most popular classes called DUT. People always wonder what that stands for, which is daily ultimate training. So you always need your daily dose of ultimate training. And that is a strength and conditioning class. It can be a circuit style class. It can be a HIIT class. It might be just a strength or a kettlebell class. So any kind of, just strength and conditioning style. And our coaches have the leeway to kind of program how they see fit for their style. Our other classes are boxing and kickboxing. Those are a lot of fun. They are cardio, kickboxing, and boxing. So we keep you moving, but you learn how to strike. You learn the basic punches on the bag and kicks on the bag. And we keep you moving the whole time. So those are a lot of fun. And then we also offer a Brazilian jujitsu class for adults and for youth. We have a really great youth program doing the ground submission, training Brazilian Jujitsu.

Sara: That's super cool. I can definitely attest to the DUT class. That class is so hard, but so much fun. I love what you do in that class.

Mark: Awesome. Thank you so much. And that's the cool thing, is that it is very hard. But anyone can do it. It's all scalable. We can always alternate movements. You can rest and go at your own pace. And it's really cool the feeling that the people get when they see a workout. And I know they're thinking there's no way I'm going to be able to do this, but with the right process and taking their time, they get through it. And then, you know, they're so excited that they actually did something so challenging.

Sara: It's like a really fun circuit style class. I know some of the ones that I've been to, we were rowing. And then we were doing some kind of lifting, like either that's like Olympic lifting or dumbbell movements. And then you have, like, wall balls and box jumps. You really get a bang for your buck in that class. Like, I've burned some of the most calories ever in that class.

Mark: Awesome, yes, definitely. And those are the ones I like to set up the most myself. Are the station ones, the circuit training, where you're at a station for a period of time and you know the rest is coming and you know you're going to rotate somewhere new. So it kind of inspires you to go really hard for that station. In my programming, I always try to get some sort of cardio, some sort of leg movement, some sort of core movement and an upper-body movement when it's those circuit style of classes.

Sara: It's really all intensive. I highly suggest that, like, I know a lot of people who are like CrossFitters around here will dabble with that class, too, because it's pretty similar. But I would say even more intense because it's 60 minutes straight as opposed to like, you know, a eight-minute workout or whatever that we're accustomed to. So I love seeing, like, people branching out and doing that as well.

Mark: Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. I like to see them come in to and try out. And we go to other CrossFit gyms to do their style of workouts. But we are told that often that a lot of the CrossFitters come here just for the change-up instead of doing a slower pace strength workout. And then one short cardio workout they get the whole time you're going. So.

Sara: Exactly. And I also notice that there's so many people of different ages. I've seen kids in high school there up to maybe someone like your mother or father's age there. It's awesome to see everyone of all different ages and like, shapes, sizes, colors, you know, like athletic ability all hitting the same hard workout.

Mark: Right. And that's something we always, I guess, stress here is that you can come into our gym, stand right next to a professional athlete as a, you know, if you're a 65 year-old lady, which we have taking our classes regular or, you know, the untrained student. You can stand right next to a professional athlete, do the same workout and you will both be satisfied and have a great time.

Sara: Yeah. And it's the same way with the boxing and kickboxing classes. These are great tools to arm yourself with no matter what age you are. Everything can translate over into real life if you're ever, you know, in a potentially dangerous situation.

Mark: Yes. Yes. And that's what we use our jujitsu for, more of kind of the hands-on. A lot of it, you know, true-life assaults or something do end up on the ground. And so knowing how to control yourself there. And our boxing classes, you know, if you're standing up in an altercation with somebody, the average person only has about 30 seconds of all-out fight in them. So even though we're not training, you know, professional fighters here, we're getting people in really, really good shape so that they could fend somebody off possibly.

Sara: Wow. Good to know. I didn't know that. The whole 30-second thing. Very interesting. Well, then I guess everyone who attends your classes will be well prepared.

Mark: Yes. And if not, they'll be able to run away very quickly.

Sara: Yes, exactly. I'm curious. Since we're in this global pandemic right now, how have you had to kind of shift everything at UFC Gym?

Mark: Well, I mean, we've had to alter our hours just because the gym is not as busy. So that's taken, you know, kind of a negative effect on sales and income. We're operating at less hours. We've taken a few time slots off the schedule. We're not running our youth program, which is really big. There's usually up to 20 kids in a class Monday through Friday. And that can vary. But on popular days, there's up to 20 kids and it's Monday through Friday. And so all of their memberships are frozen right now. The kids aren't coming in. We have a lot of members that only come here for our Brazilian Jujitsu program. So adults, they're not coming in because there's no Brazilian jujitsu. You know, so many peopl...

Kevin: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin: Episode 16. Matt Avila with the Duke City Gladiators. In this episode, Sara and Matt dive into the fast-paced, high-scoring indoor football team, their work with the community, and some hints to changes happening in the future.

Sara: All right. Hello, Matt. How are you doing today?

Matt: I'm doing pretty good. Yourself?

Sara: Doing well. Doing well, can't complain. I wish there was some football. Some preseason football to be watching right now. But, you know, we're dealing with that.

Matt: I know the feeling. It's hard to, you know, realize that I look at the schedule. I have it to the right of me, and it's like, well, we would be in the playoffs right now. And, you know, but we're not. Nobodies Playing.

Sara: Yes, it's a bummer. It's my favorite sport too. So for those who don't know, you are one of the owners of Duke City Gladiators, is that correct?

Matt: My title is director of public affairs for the Duke City Gladiators. 

Sara: Ok. Director of Public Affairs. Awesome. OK. So for people who also don't know who the Duke City Gladiators are. Tell us who you guys are, what you do, and all those good things.

Matt: So we are in the arena football team and it is professional football. So what it's very different from the outdoor game. We actually play, obviously, indoors and we lay down a turf. We put it inside Tingley Coliseum. We select players from all across the country, whether it's players from, you know, Big Ten colleges, top 12 colleges. And a lot of my players actually come from the NFL. And we move them here to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We negotiate, obviously, a contract for pay because they are professional ball players. And, you know, they play here in Duke City and they put on one heck of a show for all of the fans.

Sara: Yeah, that they definitely do. For people who don't really know arena football. It's so much more fast-paced, so much more intense and the action is packed in non-stop. Talk about how it's maybe a little bit different than outdoor football that we're all used to.

Matt: The big difference as a fan. Right. So as a fan, when you walk into Tingley Coliseum, you're going to notice that the field is only 50 yards in length. And then you're also going to notice that there's no sidelines. It's actually a wall. So if you picture a hockey stadium or a hockey arena with those walls and we put pads on it. And that's actually the sideline for these boys. And so there is no catch the ball run out of bounds. You know, you catch the ball. You try to run out of bounce. You're going to hit the wall. And then you're going to get hit by another player. So it's very, very fast paced. To the arena football player, the difference is actually the width on the field. So that's only twenty-five yards. That's the biggest difference, because that means that we only play eight on eight instead of eleven on eleven. Which is actually the outdoor league. 

Sara: And is it two halves rather than four quarters. Is that correct or am I wrong?

Matt: Yes. So it is a four quarter game. It's the same as the NFL on that one. So same length and time on the quarters and then also same timeouts, challenge flags. All that is the same as the NFL.

Sara: Ok, and how many players are on the field at a time?

Matt: There is eight on eight.

Sara: Ok, so that's different from outdoor football. Correct?

Matt: Yes, definitely. So what you're really doing is you're taking away a couple of the linemen positions at that point.

Sara: And these are really high scoring games. I've been to a few games and the scores were in like the 60s and 70s or 50s. And so it's like really nonstop. If you're looking for a high pace-game which sometime outdoor football can be kind of slow. I remember a couple of games like Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins, it came down to one field goal. That was like way back then. So it's like if you're looking for more action, this is the place to be really.

Matt: Yeah, most definitely. It's so fast-paced and being inside of Tingley, every hit and every I mean, you can hear a lot of the language on the field as well. So that's one of the things is it almost echoes inside of that arena. Where it really gets so loud and that's where big-time advantage really does influence.

Sara: Yeah, absolutely, you really do feel like you're down on the field, and especially if you're on those bottom rows right next to the field. Yeah, you definitely feel like you're right there in the game.

Matt: Yes, definitely.

Sara: So you're 2021 would be your third season. Or how many seasons have you guys played so far?

Matt: This is actually going to be the Gladiator's 6th season.

Sara: Oh, wow.

Matt: Yeah, it'll be the 6th season. We did transition into different ownership, which really changed for the marketing to the public. A lot of people do think that this is our 2nd or 3rd. Before myself and Gina. Gina Thomas is the owner. Before we got here, they did have a few seasons under their belt.

Sara: But I saw that you guys would be going for your third championship and the 2021 season is that, correct?

Matt: Yeah, definitely. We did go back to back in the 18 and 19.

Sara: That's really impressive. So what do you think that means for your team? Do you think players are looking to play for you guys or does that make you guys kind of like a name in the indoor arena football league?

Matt: You know, it really does. Now, the recruitment side, because I am also in charge of a lot of the recruitment. What it does is winning one championship definitely gets your name out there. To these boys, their whole deal is to come play football, get some good footage and either go to the Canadian League or go to the NFL. And that's one of the things that we really want here. So we did hire a very good media team to get good media footage so they can send it off to the NFL. And, you know, one of the things is I just recruited... My whole defense within the couple months that we've actually been in the off-season. You know, I've got an NFL lineman, you know, from the Baltimore Ravens. I got a cornerback from the Atlanta Falcons, another quarterback from the Detroit Lions. I picked up a safety from Ole Miss College, you know, so the name is out there. These boys have never even heard of Albuquerque. And they're moving here, you know, because of the just the way that culture is. And, you know, obviously when two championships really big for us.

Sara: Yes, it's definitely huge. So given the circumstances that are currently going on, what does the season hold for you guys right now or what does the 2021 season look like for you?

Matt: Well, we do have tentative dates right now from Tingley Coliseum, and, you kn...

Transcript

Kevin: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin: Episode 15. Anita and Ken with Elite Physique. In this episode, we get to hear about their great work with the community, the passion they have for helping their clients, all of their amazing services, and more.

Sara: Hey, everyone. We have with us today, Anita, from Elite Physique.

Anita: Hey, Sara. Thank you.

Sara: Awesome. So talk to us a little bit about what is Elite Physique.

Anita: So, Elite is a 13,000 square foot cardio, strength, personal training, gym, facility. We were  established, it's going on six years now. We are out in Rio Rancho and we consider ourselves the next level or a level-up type training facility. So we're really wanting to take the average person and take them to an athletic status because we believe that anyone can be an athlete with the right mind, body, spirit type training. So we have a great team of trainers and excellent staff. We're definitely known for our cleanliness in the gym. We really brought together a sense of community locally, which is extremely important to us being a small, family-owned local business, to bring together that type of community that you really can't find anywhere else in the city.

Sara: Wonderful. And so your facility is set up in a way that in the front there's your cardio equipment and then you have different machines for lifting. But in the back, you have kind of a hidden gem. People don't really know about that. Talk about that back area that you guys have and what you offer back in there for people coming into your gym.

Anita: Sure. Everyone's really taken back by the gym when you first walk in, because initially from the outside it looks like it's going to be a small gym facility. But you go in and it's 10000 square feet full of Matrix, Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Rogue equipment in the front with locker rooms. And then as you walk to the back, like you said, it's a hidden gym. And back there we have a punching bag rigged. We have place for a lot of our classes, and then also a power-lifting area where it's kind of away from everything. And we have a lot of our powerlifting stuff there. So there is a lot of versatile training that goes on in the back. So it's kind of like another gym within a gym.

Sara: Yes, definitely. And there's pullup bars in there, correct? Or like kind of like a rig that you would find at a CrossFit gym. Would you say?

Anita: Yes. Well, we actually have that Road Rig the front now. As the centerpiece of the front; but in the back we do have three power-lifting slot racks. You can do pullups back there. There are twelve punching bags. There's tires and ropes and dumbbells and sleds, spin bikes. Right now, there's benches and cardio equipment as well. So if people want to have a little bit more privacy and not be in the main gym, they can go back and have more of an intimate type workout in the back room.

Sara: Definitely. So you can do kind of functional fitness workouts, powerlifting, and you briefly touched on how they're spinning bikes. You guys recently added spinning classes to your gym, is that correct?

Anita: Yeah, so before the shutdown, we introduce our Stages spin bikes. And it was just getting ready to start taking off and it was doing really well. Due to the government mandate, currently, we can't offer classes. So we're definitely looking forward to getting back to being able to offer a variety of classes. We offered Sping. We offer Zumba. We offer a great class called Bustin Guts with Morgan and Box Fit style training with Jesse. So those are really our signature classes and we hope to be able to offer those again to our members in the future.

Sara: That's awesome. Yeah. Those are all great classes. I know personally, Kevin and myself have taken the spinning classes and we have loved it. I mean, I love spinning classes. It was nice being back there in your gym. It was more intimate. And as some spinning studios are a little bit bigger. But you have like a nice little group of bikes and you feel a lot closer with the instructor and all the members in the class with you.

Anita: Right. And there's a little more room to breathe. I know a lot of spin studios are kind of packed in there like sardines. It can get a little bit hot and humid and crazy. But being in the back room with 25 foot ceilings and it's a little bit more open and airy. It just feels really good.

Sara: Definitely, I agree. And aside from all the cool classes that you guys offer. I think when I was there, I saw that you also help people prep for physique shows. So can you talk a little bit about that as well?

Anita: Sure, well, that definitely goes hand-in-hand with our personal training. So we have top-level, pro-level personal trainers that are training in our facility. Trainers that have competed several times at Olympia level. And as far as bodybuilding and figure competition is what Morgain competed in. So she is an ICB pro trainer. Very high-level that can help people prep for competitions if that's what they want to do. But it's a variety of training. So it can be a competition. It can be marathon. It can just be rehabilitation. We have, for instance, Ken is training a lady now that has polio and she came in not even being able to walk. And as of this week, she was taking 200. I think she told me 268 steps unassisted with no cane. And he actually has her jumping. So it's so amazing to see that anyone can become athletic. It just starts with having the right trainer to be able to be knowledgeable enough to train you in a way that you can believe in yourself. And that really starts with the mind because people can train their bodies and have perfect bodies. But then they haven't trained their mind. They haven't fed their mind. They haven't done everything that they need to do for their mind. So our trainers are so strong, both physically and mentally and spiritually, to be able to guide people in the right direction for their fitness goals, whatever they are.

Sara: Absolutely. I think the mental aspect is very important. So joining us also is Training Director, Ken. Ken, talk about what makes you so special. I know Anita just mentioned it, but from your perspective, what sets you guys apart training-wise compared to other teams that people could go to in Rio Rancho or Albuquerque?

Ken: Well, first of all, thanks for having us on. And thanks for having myself on. You know, I guess what I could touch on with what Anita was expressing is that the awareness, the staff, and the trainers, and the entire community that the gym has is what I think separates this gym for most gyms. The awareness and depth we take into the clients and the members is, I think by far, what sets us apart? Training that mind, training the body, training the spirit as equally and as one is what I think, what we strive to help our clients with. No matter what their goals or dreams or aspirations, whether it's on the stage, off the stage, just to move better, I think we all kind of share that common goal.

Sara: And it sounds like you work with a variety of people, I mean athletes, and then Anita said you're working with a woman who has polio. So many people would be like, wow, I never thought someone dealing w...

Kevin: Mixing it Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin: Episode 14. Sean Plake with Elite OSM. In this episode, we get to hear about what makes Elite OSM special, Sean's experiences, and what the future holds.

Sara: Hey, Sean, how are you doing today?

Sean: Hey, I'm doing great.

Sara: Thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it.

Sean: Yeah, we thanks for having me.

Sara: So. You work for Elite OSM. Tell us what Elite OSM is.

Sean: So, Elite OSM. We have a number of great practitioners. We come from different backgrounds. Chiropractic care. Physical therapy. Nephropathy. Massage therapists. Yoga and personal training. So there's a team of us. We all are involved. We joined together and created that community and we can offer all of Albuquerque and treat whoever we can that is the need. So people that are feeling tight or in pain or have an injury. Anything that deems necessary for bodywork. We try to accommodate everything.

Sara: And so there's like chiropractors and then you guys. So are you guys similar to a chiropractor or do you offer other services outside of typical chiropractor practice?

Sean: Yes, we have adjustment only sessions to where if someone wants to just get their body realigned and adjusted, hey can come in and see us. And we can do that. But furthermore, what we are really known for is full service, like giving soft tissue work, cupping, Kinesio Taping. We have a hammer type of therapy that we do for realignment. We've tried to do as much as we can. All-inclusive in one session. So basically someone comes in to see us with an injury. Explain what's going on. And we just kind of dispatched from there how we need to treat it. And we have so many modalities that we can do. Dry Needling is another great modality. So we just try to add whatever we can and to help the person that way it is just not cookie cutter. You don't just come in and get this basic treatment or standard treatment that everyone gets. So every experiences is unique. And we there evaluate each person and give them the best experience and make sure that they're feeling good before they leave.

Sara: Definitely. And are those all things that you yourself do. Do you specialize in a few of those techniques or whatever you'd like to call them.

Sean: Yeah. Yeah. My background is personal training, massage therapy, and then Naprapathic medicine. So I kind of did that in order. Everyone has a different background. Dr. Hightower is the founder of Elite OSM and his background is chiropractic. But he really is leading the forefront on body work in general. And taught us all of these successful techniques that he's found that worked in his career. And so that was a big head start for everyone involved. And then different co-workers have different social specialties. So we have physical therapists that are really good at dry needling, massage therapists that are amazing at just hands-on bodywork. And then obviously, chiropractors can be great at adjustments. And Naprapathic is another form of wonderful adjustments. A little less forceful. We're considered soft tissue specialists. We can sort the fascia, make sure that everything's working really well along the spine and muscles. Yeah. So it just depends. Everyone that works with us has a different specialty or a different style. So no matter what. Whoever you see, whether it's a regular massage therapists. Most people have experience with that. Everyone has a different style. Just depends on what clicks with the person. And that's how you decide if a therapist works reading.

Sara: Yeah, that's very cool. I think that's what sets you guys apart from others in the Albuquerque area. That you have this wide array of services and techniques and everything else that you can offer people. So maybe some place isn't working. They can try out you guys and you can see if any of your techniques work on them. Do you think that's like kind of what sets you guys apart from the rest?

Sean: Yeah, we get that a lot. People will be seeing a physical therapy place for a while or they'll be coming off the surgery or they have a particular massage therapist that recommends us. We try to help and get to the root cause of the pain. So, yes, if someone's seeing a massage therapist, but they feel like they need to get adjusted, then they can come to us. Or they're not quite getting where they want to from physical therapy. Usually we're that place that gets the person to the next level. So if they're just recovering from a surgery or an injury and physical therapy, take some just that initial like 10, 20 percent. But they need to return to a sport or an activity that they love and they're really anxious to get back to running first day. We do whatever we can to make sure that happens. So we're all former athletes and competitors. We know how it is to not be able to.. or be told to not to be able to do what you love. Just so many doctors do that. There just like, all right, over your ankles messed up, so you should stop running. Obviously, that person's like, "running away. So I need to keep running." They seek out whatever doctor they can to to help them. And then typically we're the ones that are able to helped them get to that point because we know how important it is. And especially with athletics. So and that's the whole reason that we're located inside of Jackson Wink MMA Academy. Over time, we helped so many fighters get to the point to where they're just they're not pulling out fights because that happens often. If anyone is used to UFC or MMA in general, so many fighters pull out last minute. Since we started helping the Jackson Wink Academy, we've had a great success on making sure these fighters can go when they ready. That's how they make their living so if they can't fight then they don't make money. So we have to make sure that they're ready to go.

Sara: That was going to be my next question, because you guys are most known for working with all of these top athletes at Jackson Wink. Plus celebrities who just happen to be in Albuquerque, like filming movies or making a stop here along the way, some where and I guess they see Beau's probably Instagram page or something and they stop by. But more so it's about like you said, keeping these fighters healthy. But also, you know, your average person who enjoys running or like in my case or I know you guys work with a lot of CrossFitters. Making sure that we're able to keep doing our crazy workouts everyday.

Sean: Yea Absolutely. So many different athletes that come by. It's really cool to be in such an amazing gym like it's world renowned. So many fighters just come for their camps. They can stay there. There's dorms in the building. So it's like such an amazing facility that Mike Winklejohn and Greg Jackson have created. Yeah. It's just really awesome that so many fighters can stay there. And actors like recently, Steve-O just ca...

Transcript
Kevin: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin: Episode 13. Amy Payton with Bear Canyon CrossFit. In this episode, Sara talks with Amy about her passion for helping people, the tight-knit community Bear Canyon has, how they're keeping members and staff safe from the Coronavirus after reopening, and more.

Sara: Hey, Amy, how are you doing today?

Amy: Hi, Sara. I'm great. How are you?

Sara: Good, thank you. So you are one of the owners of Bear Canyon CrossFit. Is that correct?

Amy: That is correct.

Sara: All right. In a nutshell, talk to me about Bear Canyon CrossFit and what all you guys offer.

Amy: Well, Bear Canyon CrossFit is obviously a CrossFit gym. But in the last five years we've owned it we have expanded into, not only the CrossFit classes that we offer starting at 5:30 in the morning going throughout the day. We also offer a full-body body workout class, which is called My Sweat Class. I teach that three days a week at 9:30. And then we also offer a functional body-building class, which is the class that focuses on the upper body. It's only upper body. And then on Thursdays, Beth coaches the lower body. So it's glutes and the lower body workout on Thursdays. And then also we've incorporated Olympic lifting in the evenings. We also do Strongmans on Sundays, although currently, that's kind of on hold right now. So we try to hit all different areas for people that don't or they're scared of CrossFit. Then we try to offer more than just a CrossFit gym.

Sara: I feel like something that sets you apart as all of the different classes that you guys do offer. So it's like more, maybe like you said, more friendly. The classes that aren't so CrossFity that maybe people are scared to take. You have a a lighter version of.

Amy: Yeah, I would agree with that. I think one of the hardest parts of owning a CrossFit gym is there's this perception that you have to be a certain kind of person to be able to walk into our gym and be able to workout. Like we're gonna ask you to clean 135 lbs. And so one of the things that we did is we offered this Sweat Class; really with a focus of not just CrossFit. Not just barbell stuff. And just to kind of reiterate, very few people are walking through the door and doing 135 lb cleans. So we try to make it a safe environment, no matter if you're coming from walking as your source of exercise or you've been doing CrossFit for 10 years. And so, yeah, we try to make sure that the doors are open for an 18-year-old kid and also for a 60-year-old person that just wants to feel healthier. So, yes, we try to do that.

Sara: I agree. There's definitely this misconception. I get it all the time. Every time I try to talk one of my friends into trying CrossFit. Well, I'm not in shape yet for it. And I'm like, when I started CrossFit 5 years ago I was not in shape for it and I could barely deadlift, you know, at 95 lb bar. I could barely snatch a 55 lb bar. It's like, were you in shape when you started playing CrossFit, I mean playing soccer when you were 5-years-old. No. It doesn't go like that. Walking through the doors the first step.

Amy: One of the things that I love about what I do is that sense of accomplishment, when people are sitting in the parking lot and they want to come in and they're nervous. I mean, how many times have I had people say, well, I came here for two weeks straight and I, you know, every other day and I sat in your parking lot and then I just drove away. Then that one time when they did walk in and then that feeling that they have when they finished the class and they're like, oh, my gosh, I can do this. Yeah, I was on an empty bar or yeah, I was on a train. A bar. Yeah. I had the wooden blocks on my bar to help me with the deadlifts, you know, but I was able to do it. So I think there's a sense of accomplishment when people get the courage to come in here and then they have the courage to finish the class. That's what I love about what we do. You know, it's these little teeny changes that we do in people's lives or put into people's lives.

Sara: Absolutely. So do you find your members doing the functional class or do you find people doing the CrossFit class also doing the functional class as well?

Amy: Well, so the functional bodybuilding classes is a pretty popular class. We have child care, so we have a lot of the same people that come into my Sweat Classes. If they want to train five days a week. They'll come 9:30 Monday, Wednesday, Friday in my Sweat Class. And then Tuesday, Thursday to Mark and Becs, functional bodybuilding classes. So, yes, but we also have our CrossFit athletes that want to work on their upper body and they want to take an hour once a week and just focus on upper body. So we have a full range of our CrossFiters doing it. And then we have, people that are what we call the Sweat Functional Bodybuilding people. To be honest with you, it's amazing. In the last what I've done Sweat for maybe two years now, almost 95% of them have a full CrossFit membership because they started out with a Sweat and Functional Bodybuilding. And then they're like, well, I can do CrossFit now. I mean, because Sweat is incorporating CrossFit and Functional Bodybuilding. It's incorporating both of those movements. We find that people are switching their memberships on that. So, yes, we get full range of people that are doing both.

Sara: So with the Strong Man class, I know you said it isn't happening right now. Talk about that one.

Amy: Well, we've had this epidemic that's been going on. I don't know if you're aware of it. 

Sara: What?! I've been living under a rock. 

Amy: It has taken the world a little bit. So we've been open now for three days when we were closed for three months. And so trying to figure out how to open a gym and make sure our members feel safe has been an unbelievably difficult puzzle. And I will give major kudos to Mark, who has been thinking of almost everything. So obviously, Strongman is flipping tires and keg lifts and heavy movements. Trying to do that in their block where they're working out is nearly impossible. So just like CrossFit Kids, the Strongman classes, we've had to put those on the shelves right now until everything kind of settles a little bit.

Sara: Definitely. What is one thing that you think separates yourself or makes you unique from the other CrossFit gyms in Albuquerque or New Mexico.

Amy: We're very, very lucky. We have a really strong community of CrossFit gyms here. From [CrossFit] Abq to Big Barn. I mean, there's a lot of really good, Duke City. And we have really good relationships with all of those, all of the CrossFit gyms. And I don't know if I would ever say that we are better than anybody. I think that we kind of keep our nose to the ground. We try really, really, really hard to not get caught in any of the gossip or get upset when somebody takes one of our ideas. We kind of are in this thinking as if somebody takes one of our ideas that we started with. It must have been a really good idea. And so I think one of the things that's made our gym success...

Kevin M.: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin M.: Episode 12. Alicia and Jonathan Montoya with Conquer Fitness Preps. They talk about how Conquer Fitness Preps came to be and where they are now.

Sara Y.: Hey, guys, how are you doing today?

Alicia & Jonathan: Hey. Doing well. Good.

Sara Y.: Thank you for joining us. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to join our podcast.

Jonathan M.: Yes. Thank you, guys.

Sara Y.: So talk to us about Conquer Meal Preps. How did you even get started in the meal prep business?

Jonathan M.: Well, OK. So it's kind of fun. So we started in 2015. We were going on a cruise with a bunch of friends and we're like, well, let's eat healthy. You know, we want to get ripped up for the beach and wanted to stay healthy. So we started meal prepping at our house with our friends. And, you know, from there we're prepping every single week. There's about 15 of us going on this cruise. And we would get together every single week and with meal prep. And then it kind of just became, after the cruise, we just started doing it for friends, family, and then from there and we just kind of started doing it as a business.

Alicia M.: Yeah. More and more people were interested because you would post stuff on our social media. "Hey guys! This is what we're prepping. We're getting ready for this vacation that's coming up. And people were like, "well, can we get in on that? Like, can we put our order in?" And we're like, "maybe this is something we should look into." And at the time I was going to school for nutrition and dietetics at UNM. Andall-in it kind of just like fit in perfectly. So then once I graduated, I could go all in with it since my husband was still working at his job. Yeah. And then we have just been going from there.

Sara Y.: That's awesome. So it's really kind of just a passion. Or maybe not a passion, but something you were already doing and it snowballed by word of mouth into this.

Alicia & Jonathan: Yeah.

Jonathan M.: Another thing was, you know, obviously we use we started into it because of the demand. But also we had a lot of family history where my grandpa had diabetes, high blood pressure. The same with my wife's family. So we're like, well, you want to be able to help people? That was another big reason why we wanted to start a business and actually help people. Obviously, we were helping body builders and stuff like that. We kind of switched in to more of the health niche where we're actually helping people get over those chronic diseases and stuff like that. 

Sara Y.: Yeah. So it's definitely a passion project for you guys. Considering how it snowballed from you guys meal prepping for yourselves, into family members, into friends, and now into a company. Obviously, with that demand comes challenges. Talk to me about some of the challenges that you guys have had to face and overcome.

Jonathan M.: Yeah, so the main challenge when building the company was pick up locations. That was always the hardest part because there's a lot of things that go into it. Having to structure a deal with the gym and having to coordinate pickup times for that specific gym was probably the hardest part. And then at first when we started, we were like, "should we go in the gym, should we go into, like stores?" And then from there then you're like do you have to buy the freezer, you know, like just there's just a lot of stuff with that. A lot of logistics that were kind of challenging. But as we grew, it became easier. We make connections in town. Right now we're at three pickup locations. We still do delivery, but we like our pickup locations because it makes it easier for our clients to pick up.

Sara Y.: What are some of the benefits of utilizing a meal prep company such as yourself?

Jonathan M.: As a business owner? I think that the best part about our business is that we help people that are really busy. We work with a lot of professionals. Engineers, doctors, people that are always busy and don't have time to be cooking, cleaning. So that's kind of what we try to market. Why waste four to six hours prepping yourself when we can just deliver the meals. That's the angle that we have as far as meal prepping.

Sara Y.: Very good. It definitely takes the guesswork out of getting your lunch and dinners ready every week or everyday.

Jonathan M.:  Yeah. They're able to eat healthy and have them all paired for the whole week. Pick and choose how many meals they want based on what they need.

Sara Y.: Yeah. So let's talk about that. What are some of the meal options that you guys offer right now? Are you guys doing like the Keto thing or do you guys have like different options or ala carte you can choose from?

Alicia M.: So we pretty much have four different meal plans you can choose from depending on what your goal is. If you're trying to lose weight, gain weight. Everyone has different goals. So you can take between those four plans, like one of them is a carb cutter. So, Tamzin, like your Teto question. Yes, they can get that if they wanted to, it would be like the carb cutter meal option that they would just have to add healthy fat. Avocados or nuts, or whatever they're trying to incorporate. But yes, we can do that. We have set meal plans to help you with that. If you do have your own macros. You're working with a nutritionist they have a meal plan set it up for you, then you can do that through our custom plan. So it's really, really customized to whatever you're trying to do.

Jonathan M.: Yeah. And another thing to add to that is that we try to make it really easy for people to order. So when we are building out the website, that was one of the challenges as well. We wanted it to be super easy on the consumer. But at the same time, it was going to be really challenging for us. So the way that we set it up is like they choose what options. So like like she was saying, we have our muscle building, our Keto, or a custom plan. They choose that option and from there then asks how many do you want. Then we have like a 5, a 10, 14, up to a 35. Obviously it's less expensive. Then after that it asks which meals do you want. Then from there you can pick and choose. It's 100% customizable to what you're trying to do.

Alicia M.: Right. We don't really believe in a one size fits all kind of thing. That's why we don't do meals already prepared. That's why we do everything through our website. Everything is customized. Even our meals, my husband's. They're different portion wise. And that's why we believe everything you are trying to do, you can do that on our website.

Sara Y.: That's awesome. It's great that you can pick and choose. Like you said, every body is different and everyone has different goals. When you guys spoke about macros, that's something big in the CrossFit or even the bodybuilding scene where having those macros at your fingertips makes everything so much easier when you have a specific number that you try to hit every day. I'm sure a lot of people out there that'll ...

Transcript
Kevin M.: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals, along with their stories.

Kevin M.: Episode 11, Kendra Rickert and Ben Kramer with Nirguna Yoga.  They give us insight into their personal journeys along with how Nirguna Yoga Studio came to be.

Kevin M.: Hey, Ben. Hey, Kendra, thank you both for joining the podcast today. I really appreciate it. 

Ben K.: Hi Kevin. Thank you so much.

Kevin M.: No problem.So you both are from the Nirguna Yoga. So why don't you tell us a little bit about your yoga studio?

Kendra R.: Well, we've been open for about almost a year. We opened last April and we really were super duper excited to have our one year little anniversary mark until we kept his little COVID hit. I feel like a lot of yoga studios are either traditional or athletic. A lot of studios teach, what I guess I'd call like fitness yoga. And actually, that's kind of where I started. I started with Bikram yoga in L.A. about 20 years ago. And I guess I would call that very much fitness yoga just really hardcore. In other studios tend to be a little bit more. I don't. I guess you can call it traditional, although I'd say that some hardcore yogas are also traditional, Ashtanga and Bikram. I guess the studios that would call themselves traditional, don't necessarily sometimes seem to challenge the student, you know, physically. And so I would say that we really aim to do both. Our training is very traditional, but we feel strongly that it's important to, In my experience, to be pushed, you know? I want to be able to do a practice and I want to be able to see that change in myself. You know, I want to feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. So I would say that we aim to do both of those things.

Ben K.: The other thing I would say is that we're so proud of the teachers that we have at our studio. And we're picky about who teaches at our studio. And we're not... We are traditional in a sense, but we're not we're not married to any one yoga tradition, per say. But we do really believe in the beauty of yoga traditions. And we just we just like to have bad ass teachers and some of the best. We have teachers with, you know, it's very normal for a teacher at our studio to have 20 years of experience teaching. And then we you know, and it doesn't matter in some sense if they have enough experience from their tradition. Then we know that we can kind of stay out of their way. We don't have to micromanage as studio owners. We just get to highlight the superstars to teach the students that come to us.

Kevin M.: That's awesome. So do the teachers just set their own set schedule and their own style and then the way they're going to do their classes versus kind of collaborating with you guys and what you want them to do?

Kendra R.: Well, I guess it's a little bit of both. We have a morning class, three days a week that we call yoga for life. And that's for people who would like to focus a little bit more on, what tends to be an older crowd. Like poses that a lot of people come who have a lot of injuries and those things tend to be a little bit more like alignment based. So I had those teachers who I wanted to teach those classes specifically. And so we kind of collaborated with those classes would be like. And then the early morning class, I teach the 26&2 series, five days a week at nine thirty. And then you're Vinyasa class at noon.

Ben K.: So it depends on the teacher. You know, some of them are more consistent than others. But yeah, for the most part, the teacher decides what they're going to teach if they advertise a 26&2 class. There's kind of a famous 26 posture's and 2 breathing exercises that was made famous by the Bikram tradition. And when that's taught at our studio, we teach it in a very traditional way. And if that's written on the schedule, that's what the teacher is going to do. But for the most part, yeah. Teachers get a lot of their own say. And it's nice because you want to... I as a teacher, I want to watch the students. I don't know how a class is going to go until I see who came to class and what the students are up to and how the students feel. And it's nice to be guided by what's appropriate for who showed up that day.

Kevin M.: That's nice. So you can kind of find out who there and based on their immediate feedback, kind of guide the class based on their needs. 

Ben K.: Yeah, yeah. Just watching their bodies.

Kendra R.: And I think that's a hard skill to have in your first learning to teach yoga. But I feel like all of our teachers, they have that skill to where they can see somebodies body and know what they need and know how to choreograph the class to that person, whether it's like a group of people who came to the class and one person's like maybe more advanced, the other person is maybe not. And so they can they can work with both people.

Kevin M.: Interesting. And so in the last year, what would you say is the most exciting or most interesting experience you've had owning a studio?

Ben K.: Boy, a, I don't know, in the last year... I mean, it's this is our first year. So it's exciting to get to highlight teachers that we're proud of. It's exciting to get to cultivate our own students and to watch students grow. It's so exciting to see someone get... It's such an honor to get people excited about themselves. Right. To see someone not, you know, not just get excited about yoga, but get excited about, oh, my goodness, look what I can do. I didn't know that I had that in me. I didn't know I had that capacity. Maybe I saw this or that. And I thought never me. And you see people start to... They start to stand differently in their everyday life that you just see their bodies change. You see this excitement about who they are, how they are, how they can be, what they can do. That's extremely rewarding.

Kendra R.: And I think to just like watching that, the relationships that have been budding in the studio, you know, like when we're first there, it's like we're just pretty new. So it's like we're like holding the conversations. But we're able to just see all these little relationships developing and people going and hanging out after class and and creating a little community. And it's just been really, really lovely to see.

Kendra R.: Yeah, yeah. And for somebody that wants to experience what you guys just talked about but are a little nervous when it comes to trying yoga. What would you tell them?

Ben K.: I mean, one of the things I would say is you don't know until you try what your capacity is. Everyone has. Well, I don't know what I call freak poses, but I sort of on both sides. Like, everyone has weird, freaky things they can do that they didn't know they could do. And actually, many of us have weird, freaky things we can't do, like for whatever reason. I have a hard time touching my toes, but there are other some things that I can do it for. I don't know what reason I was touched with the ability to do certain things that I've. I can just do. And everyone has those. And you don't know until you show up these weird little tricks that you have hidden so far up your sleeve, you can't even see them.

Kendra R.: And I think that's maybe one of the coolest things about being a yoga teacher, for me anyway, is getting to inspire that in other people. Getting people to see t...

Transcript

Kevin M.: Mixing It Up With The Fitness Community is a podcast created by Fit Mix that introduces you to local health and fitness individuals along with their stories.

Kevin M.: Episode 10. Marisol Enriquez with Hot or Not Yoga. Marisol talks about what makes Hot or Not Yoga different from other studios in town, the changes she has seen in her students, and more.

Sara Y.: Hello, how are you today?

Marisol E.: Hey, Sara, I'm great. How are you?

Sara Y.: Good, thank you. OK. So Hot or Not Yoga. Obviously, you're offering hot or not yoga. But tell us a little bit more about your yoga studio.

Marisol E.: Yes. So Hot or Not Yoga. We do offer heated and unheated yoga. People ask about that all the time. We offer heated yoga that's more of a static practice. It's traditionally known as the Bikram method. But we have taken a little bit of a different spin and created some modifications and a different attitude than the traditional Bikram method. We call ours Hot26. It's the same sequence of poses, but we approach it in a little bit kinder way for the human body. And then our non heated classes are a mixture of mobility yoga. So, you know, just creating some movement and strength and increased range of motion for people. And then we also have a traditional Vinyasa flow. We offer some slow flow classes. We offer Yin yoga and Restorative as well. So that is essentially, in a nutshell, what Hot or Not Yoga means.

Sara Y.: Cool. So the difference between the two obviously is hot or not. But what's the temperature difference?

Marisol E.: Yes. So the hot classes are held at 105 degrees Fahrenheit and approximately 38% to 40% humidity. And then the unheated classes are regular room temperature. We have a really beautiful fan that kind of pulls some of the heat and humidity out of the room, even when the room has been heated prior. So we can let that temperature hover around 75 or 78 degrees.

Sara Y.: What would you say is the most beneficial kind of yoga for someone who maybe has like aches and pains in their body and they're turning to yoga to try to get rid of those?

Marisol E.: I would ask a few questions first. I would ask about their activity level currently. I would ask about their age and whether or not they've been active in the past, as well as if they've got any known injuries or limitations. Before I would direct them to a specific type of yoga. So we we have a lot of people who have aches and pains, who are athletic people and, for example, runners who would have aches and pains in their lower back, tightness in their legs, hamstrings, glutes, because the running just requires that musculature to activate so frequently. Additionally, they've got pain in their ankles, their feet, their lower legs. And I would recommend something a little bit different for them than I would have for someone who say is mostly sedentary in an office job and hasn't really exercised for a few years or more and is experiencing aches and pains because of the seated aspect of their day. So it really does depend on what's going on with them. Before I could make a recommendation for where they started. If it's someone who reached out to me on email, I would ask those questions. And if they didn't really have a lot of forthcoming information from there, then I would say, you know, you could try any of our Yin classes or Restorative classes. Those would be really nice for addressing aches and pains. And I really like to get people into the mobility classes as well, because that's a really great start. A sort of gentle easing in and exploring range of motion for the body. Before we kind of dive into deep strengthening and more difficult poses.

Sara Y.: Very good. And aside from the obvious physical benefits that people can reap from yoga, maybe, what are some of the mental benefits people can get from coming to yoga classes like yours?

Marisol E.: Yes. So one of the greatest things I think that people experience and I get to see in their faces when they've completed a class or completed a succession of classes, is that they feel empowered. Empowerment is a very important thing to feel in one's self and in one's body. It improves competence. Additionally, we focus a lot; Yoga practice in general focuses a lot on the breath. The breath work that we utilize can really help to create a sense of calm and peace. So people feeling empowered and energized from their activity, but also a mental and emotional calm and peace just gives them a better way to confront things like conflict that they might be dealing with or sort of manage their responses in response to things like conflict. And also just the mundane day to day things that could create boredom. In fact, instead, they might feel grateful for the pause instead of feeling like they have nothing to do. So it kind of gives a little bit of a shift of perspective, appreciation for the body, an empowerment, feeling, confidence, as well as peace and calm. There's just a whole array of really amazing benefits that a yoga practice can provide.

Sara Y.: Yes, definitely. Going back to your yoga studio. How long have you guys been around here in Albuquerque?

Marisol E.: We opened in October of 2015. So in October of 2020, we will be five years old.

Sara Y.: And how have you grown or changed over those last five years.

Marisol E.: Well, I think one of the biggest things is when you first sort of start a business, I think you have this idea of what the business is going to be. What the community is going to look like. What your schedule is going to look like. What all of it's going to look like. You sort of have this idea and thought. And one of the most interesting things that I've learned over the years is that what really happens is when people start coming to the business, we start attracting certain communities of people and they are who actually form and create and build the heart of the studio itself. So we have in response to that, shifted a little bit in the way of what kind of classes we offer. What times we're offering. Our approach to the business itself. For example, we've switched our business model a little bit from just being like a random, anybody can come any time to shifting into a sort of let me work with you as far as on a wellness consultation before we direct you to create success and achieve your specific goals. So it's a little bit more personal now. I would say we follow a little bit more of the boutique model. Boutique business model than we do the large studio model. But we're kind of a mix between. So that evolution for our business has been really cool to experience and really eye opening. So it's essentially our customers and the people who are coming in are helping us shift into a place where we think that we should be.

Sara Y.: Very cool. Would you say that kind of personalized touch, that path that you put people on is what makes you unique?

Marisol E.: Yes, I would definitely say that. For sure. I don't know of many other studios who actually do that in depth, sort of one on one, consultation before creating a specific plan first for students to follow, to achieve and then checking in, direct, throughout the process after like a two week period, the 30 day period, the 60 day period, the 90 day and continually after that.

Sara Y.: And since making that transition into that kind of model, how have you seen...