Drew Nelson, Head Trainer at The Gym Jax | The Hustle: Your Health in the Workplace

Drew Nelson, Head Trainer at The Gym Jax | The Hustle: Your Health in the Workplace

Hard Work-ah
Hard Work-ah
Drew Nelson, Head Trainer at The Gym Jax | The Hustle: Your Health in the Workplace
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[Please ignore any typos. This is a direct transcription for your benefit.]

How do you motivate yourself to workout when I have so many other things in my day?

Pete: Now, continuing with our theme of perseverance and having the hustle. You know, I was reading an article the other day and it said that healthy employees, employees that have some kind of a wellness program are more productive and they miss less work and I invited Drew Nelson from The Gym Jax to be my guest here today. And Drew, let me ask you this. Okay. I work nine, 10 hours a day and I know a lot of hard workers that have listened to the show, they work a bunch of hours every day. And they say, “You know what? I would work out but I just don’t have time.” What do you say? What does The Gym Jax say to folks like this?

Drew: Well, first of all, Pete, you gotta make the time. You got to make it a priority. You know, everybody’s got jobs, everybody’s got kids; I’ve got three kids myself. I’m fortunate enough to work at a gym.

Pete: So, let me stop you right there. Drew comes walking in and he looks like a specimen; okay, his body fat is under 1 percent. Has to be. He shook my hand and almost broke. I have to tell you that that happened, but okay, so you’re a family man. You’re a hard worker. You’re working, but yet when do you have time to work out?

Drew: When I’m done working; you just have to make it a priority. I’m tired too. I got to pick the kids up from school while school is out now, but you just have to. You have to balance your time. You know, if you, if you got to get up early and work workout before work, you make it happen. If you get an after work, you don’t eat a lot of time, you know, 30 minutes, three times a week is the minimum amount of time.

Pete: Does your gym have, like hours that, okay, if I have to be at work at 8 a.m., can I come in at 5:30 a.m.or 6:00 a.m. or does it stay open late tonight?

Drew: Absolutely. We open at 4:00 a.m., so I’m not going to be there at 4:00 a.m., but we open it for it. Cold shower facility and do your workout, shower after your workout and get to work. You know, you can make it happen.

What are “group fitness” classes? How does it help me?

Pete: Yeah. In that article, it said that that I was reading that healthy employees make more productive employees. There was also a part in there that said, don’t look at it as like, oh, I have to work out and, and I don’t have time to do it. You actually add time to your life by working that. Here’s one thing too. I’m noticing that there’s these fit groups: boot camps, barre classes, other things I’ve read. What’s the deal now with it seems like the gone are the days where here’s the individual, maybe not gone, but there it seems there are more group workouts now then let me go there, lift a bunch of heavyweights and sweat and yell at somebody and get yelled at and then leave. It seems like there are groups and stuff. Do you, are you seeing that as well?

Drew: Absolutely. Exercise changes over time and progresses So, the new thing now is the group settings. Bootcamps, spins [cycling] been popular for awhile. The group setting, like you said, it helps them: motivation. You know you don’t feel like you’re doing it by yourself. He had 10, 15, 20 people, you know, going through the same thing, pushing each other…

Pete: So the members push each other a lot more fun.

Drew: That way, it’s more cardio based, it’s not three sets of 10 and then you’re waiting for 10 minutes and then do another set. You know, it’s new, it’s fun.

Pete: Good. And, and, you know, I guess if they are pushing each other, it kind of becomes like cheers, right? Oh Hey, norm. And everybody knows you’re name, right? That kind of thing…

Drew: Comradaries there, you feel like you’re part of a family, you know, you know your, your buddy’s going to show up. I’m gonna push you when you’re not feeling like doing it. It’s just a lot more motivating. Absolutely.

Pete: Let me ask you this: if we’re drawing the conclusion that, you know, I’m healthy employees are more productive, do companies into, does The Gym Jax offer company some type of an incentive to have a wellness program for their employees?

Drew: We do. We have, we’ve got corporate plans, for multiple businesses. We also some businesses have said the business does or they may do, but insurance companies, will give employees incentives to go to a gym. They feel like you’re more productive if you’re working out, you’re healthier eating better for their insurance plans. Actually, they reimburse some companies or employees for their gym membership. So that’s very good.

What are some exercises I can do at work?

Pete: All right, now here’s the question. Okay. I’m waking up here. It’s Sunday morning, I’m having my cup of coffee. I let the dog out, yawn and stretch. What can I do at the house or you know, what exercise can I do? And even this, if I’m at my desk for 9 hours a day, I’m tethered to the desk. I’m making phone calls. I don’t want to be out of breath, but can I do some kind of toning exercises while I’m at work?

Drew: Absolutely. Most desks are going to have a chair there, so, you’re gonna be sitting all the time. So, you can do like a squat, like a chair squat. You just pretty much just stand up, sit back down again, sit back down, [for about] 10 times. Uh, uh, you can do some just twists or rotation arm, straight out, rotate back and forth and just get a little bit of core rotation. You get your back loosened up a little bit. If you have a high desk and do pushups off your desk, lean up to the wall and push yourself back. Just something to keep your body moving and warmed up.

For more exercises, view these links:

“Office Workout: Moves You Can Do Right at Your Desk” by VeryWellfit

“The 10 Best Exercises To Do At Your Desk” by Forbes

“7 Muscle-building Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk” by Men’s Journal

When can I expect to see/feel results of working out?

Pete: Okay, a couple of things left to ask you. One is let’s say I’m going to embark upon an exercise program. And again, we’re talking about perseverance and, and you know, getting through some tough, tough things. You know, people want to see results and there are no magic beans. You can’t just walk in, I’m going to do some pushups. And I looked like you. It’s, it’s not gonna happen overnight. What’s what’s like kind of a timeframe where, you know, if I’m new, I come to The Gym Jax and I start working out what’s, what’s a timeframe where I should look in the mirror and maybe be able to see something or the scale tells me something different.

Drew: Oh, I generally tell people, you know, it’s gonna take two at least two weeks to see a change. And what I should say as soon as two weeks. I mean, you can’t expect to do one workout and immediately lose 3 inches in your waist or gained 5 pounds, or whatever you’re trying to do, it takes about two weeks for body to adjust to something new like that, especially in an exercise program. I also tell people to stay off of this scale. The mirror is always the best way to see your progress. How close that your clothes are fitting. So you never want to base everything off of the scale. That’s the worst thing, you can do.

Where is The Gym Jax located? How can I start?

Pete: Good advice. If people want to come to The Gym Jax, where are you located? And if I want to give you a call or you know, become a member or take a tour, how do we do that?

Drew: Well, we are located at Beach and San Pablo across from the Mcdonald’s.

Pete: That’s a good frame of reference for all new potential gym seeker when you were over there getting your big Mac and supersizing your fries, you just look across, and the guilt sucks you into The Gym Jax.

Drew: Yeah, just stop on in phone number there to the gym is 904-821-5101. You can call ahead of time and say you’re coming, or just drop in. We’ll get you a tour. You come in and get yourself a workout, try us out and we can go over everything at that time. Our rates start as low as 19 bucks on up. And just come on in for a tour that’s simple.

Pete: Fantastic. Drew Nelson with The Gym Jax, right here in Jacksonville, Florida. Thank you for being a guest today and we’ll be right back.

 

 

If you are interested in checking out The Gym Jax, click here to get more information.