Fast Twitch Training has been in business since 2005. Not many small gyms can say this. This is not me bragging. (Well, okay, maybe I am just a little bit proud, but this serves more to set the stage for where we started and where we are now.) I was 25 years old when I started Fast Twitch. At this point, every gym I had been to, even smaller gyms, were nothing but dumbbells and a bunch of machines and treadmills. Every inch of the gym was filled with equipment.
My business partner and I put our heads together, and we had a different vision of what a gym should look like. We wanted to see an open space with room to move. This was before Kelly Starret streamlined mobility or cross fit was CrossFit®. This was before TRX and Olympic rings. Battle ropes were just coming out, and they didn’t have the large ropes or any variation. People did not generally know about this type of training. We were forging a path that was unheard of, especially around our area. That’s what made us successful in the beginning.
Our outlook on fitness then? Helping people to be active, with full body movements that use your body as a whole chain, not isolating body parts, and not training like bodybuilders. People were having fun, and being athletic, and they were catching on to the workouts.
As we continued with our vision, our standards needed to evolve, and we needed to better define who we were going to be as a gym; what we valued. We watched the industry trend differently as well. Barre studios opened, spin studios popped up everywhere, then there was cardio boxing, Zumba, and more. We stayed with our science, and we stuck to what has worked for years and the one thing that has not gone out of style—strength training. That was not enough, though. We had to make sure we were implementing and teaching at a higher standard. The training industry has no set standards, therefore we had to set our own. (Many people call themselves trainers, and open gyms with little to no real education and or experience. In order to make sure we did not fall into this category it took time and education to understand what is right, what is wrong, and what is best for our community.) To this day I never am fully satisfied with where we are–I always want to move the training forward so our clientele does not get stuck in the same spot.
About three years ago we stepped our game up and in my mind fully separated ourselves from the rest of the pack. What is hard is not always popular. The men and women who have committed to this type of training are a cut above the rest. This is not to say they do not incorporate other training types into their workouts, but they value strength as a core value. All of our trainers who do PT have to be certified in FMS, a nationally recognized certification that tests functional movement patterns. FMS allows us to properly assess mobility and stability before we even approach strength training. This is something no other gym I am aware of has established as an entry point into their training system.
In addition to our commitment to PT and FMS, we thrive on doing things the right way. We want men and women to do legit pull-ups, deadlifts and squats. We are not a powerlifting gym… however we believe movement patterns are crucial and hold great benefits. Some people never work their way to the bar, but the movement pattern is always incorporated. We have other services like boxing, however we always take the right approach. Rather than launch a generic cardio boxing class, we teach the fundamentals of actual boxing and movement and build the class around that.
Our approach to fitness began at a young age, and we had to pave our own way to get to the point we are now. Now, the industry has been tested and tried. It is much easier to open a gym and format it for success out of the gates. However, what is missing from some of these gyms? It’s the years of experience, the definition of proper core values, and the ability to grow and adjust to the trends. My decisions are not swayed by the next cool thing or the new gym next door opening up. It is solely based on experience, my beliefs, and core values of fitness.
The Keys to Our Standards and Approach and what you will find when you train at Fast Twitch Training:
- We stick with what works as opposed to just instituting a new type of workout because it’s a cool fad. That is not good business or fair to the client
- We believe that having a base level of strength is important for longevity as we age. And research supports the very same thing
- Our decisions are made on values and core principles …not money and fame
Stop by for a visit and get a 1 Week Free Trial and Consultation to see what we are all about.
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