Photo Credit: Equinox
Summer is fast approaching, with the kickstart to the season, Memorial Day Weekend, being only a week away. If you’ve been putting off the gym and unsure whether your beach body (and confidence) is in check, don’t stress—it’s not too late. Equinox has the perfect solution to ensure you achieve all of your goals in your desired timeline through their unique personal training program: Equifit.
The Equifit program is extraordinarily unique as opposed to other workout plans, as each training program is tailored to your own body, strengths, weaknesses and goals down to each final detail. They ensure this through their thorough InBody tests that are complimentary with the first training session, which analyzes all of your baseline numbers (including weight, muscle to fat ratio, flexibility and more), to see where improvements are needed and track your growth throughout the process.
To learn more about Equifit and why it’s one of the best workout plans to achieve your ideal body, strength and flexibility, we chatted with one of the experts to find out more. Here, Jessica Walton-Mallory, one of Equinox’s skilled personal trainers explains to us everything you need to know about it and how to get your best results while training, as well as how to maintain your routine even while you’re on the go this summer.
HL: Tell us about the Equifit program. Why is it so unique?
JWM: The Equifit program is unique at Equinox because no other gym is going to give you such a thorough and personal program as we do. We take care to establish your baseline, we take the way that your body naturally moves, and the way that your body functions very seriously in our programming because we want to prevent injury. We want to always make sure that the clients’ goals are communicated very clearly, and that we’re able to align their goals with their individualized programs. I think it’s unique because most gyms will just give you a generic program that they just wrote for a guy or for a girl. We don’t do that here at Equinox at all. We write every program individually for each person.
HL: How do you tailor those programs for each client?
JWM: For example, if I had someone come in and tell me that they wanted to work on their glutes, and also feel more confident lifting things around the house or at work, I would tailor the program specifically to those needs. I would make sure that we incorporate heavy glute exercises into the training sessions, and also increase upper body lifts each week to work up their strength so that lifting things that are 20 pounds+ would eventually become easy and not so intimidating. I try to write each and every program so that each client is going to see exactly what they want at the end of it.
HL: What are some tips you can give people who start personal training to get the most out of their training sessions?
JWM: During your training sessions, I think it’s important to really be present and have an open mind about things. I have a lot of people who read things in magazines or online that isn’t necessarily true—like if they lift weights, they’ll get bulky. In order to have a good experience, you have to have a lot of trust in your trainer. Trust that we know the science behind what we’re doing, that we’re professionals in the field and we’re not going to steer you wrong. It’s also important to have a lot of patience and a positive attitude. This isn’t something that will change overnight—you have to be really dedicated and put in the work every single day and then you’ll see the results.
Photo Credit: Equinox
HL: What do you find is the biggest challenge of training for a lot of people?
JWM: The biggest challenge is what they do outside the gym. People can come in here and they can work their butts off every day, but their habits outside the gym might kill their progress because when it comes to fitness, about 20-percent is the gym and about 80-percent is what you do on the outside. If you have people come in and they’re working really hard, but go home and on the weekends they’re eating a bunch of junk, drinking cases of beer, there’s nothing we can do to out-work that. So, I always try to give my clients a good nutrition regiment to follow.
HL: What are some things people should avoid doing while training to not hinder your progress?
JWM: I enjoy a good cheat meal just as much as anyone else, but don’t go overboard on these things. Sometimes people get the mentality that if they worked out, they can eat whatever they want that day—which is not true. Also, try to limit your stress as much as possible. A lot of my clients have very stressful jobs—they’re doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc. That in combination with sleep—which is huge—are two of the biggest factors that will hinder your progress in the gym if you don’t address them. Hopefully exercising can be an outlet to help in both areas!
HL: With summer quickly approaching, what are some tips you can share to stay in shape and keep it going even while traveling?
JWM: One is to get outside! It’s summer, it’s beautiful and you don’t have to be inside to get a good workout in. There are so many things you can do outside to keep yourself in shape, active and fit. Personally, one thing that I would do if I’m on vacation is to go to the beach and make up a workout on the spot. I’ll see a wall and I’ll do some wall jumps into squats. I might take my bands with me and do banded walks and squats on the beach. Running in the sand provides a lot of resistance. You can do sprints in the sand, even doing squats and lunges in the sand provides a little more resistance than solid ground. Also, most hotels have at least some gym equipment—if you’re unsure, Google a workout and follow along with the instructions. The toughest part is to stay motivated—if you can do that, you’re set!
HL: What does Equinox’s motto, “Commit To Something” mean to you?
JWM: When I first started working here, I was a little hesitant to give it my all and go head-first into the job because I came from a totally different field working for the government for six years in the military. It was hard for me to switch gears. But I kept thinking, if I don’t give it 100-percent, I’m never going to know if I truly like it. So, I did it, and I have to say I’m so happy that I did! I absolutely love my job and I love changing people’s lives. Equinox is an amazing company and I feel supported every day. I think it’s important to #CommitToSomething! You never know what it may result in!
