Author: Wayde Wong – Personal Trainer, Houston, TX

Making Fitness Fun!

This Saturday morning was no different than a lot of previous Saturdays with the exception of the cold temperatures.  We’re not talking about a few degrees cooler, but 27 degrees was what we woke up to this fine morning.  What you have to understand is that most Houstonians aren’t accustomed to temperatures in the 40s never mind something well below that.  This is a city that goes in to shock with the slightest mention of snow in the forecast.  The only way you get a person out of their nice warm bed at 8:00 am to go workout is, if you promised them hot coffee and donuts. We had neither of these to offer them; yet they came.

I’ve been running our group workouts for the past 3 years before handing it over to my son. I’ve always wondered why they came to our workouts.  I had thought it was my charming personality and wit, but my wife set me straight on that.  So it must the workouts, right?  There are a number of things that make a workout really memorable.  It’s not those ones that you couldn’t complete because the trainer running it wanted to prove just how poorly conditioned you were.  No, it’s the ones where the time goes by so quickly and you’re finished before you even know it.  That’s the kind of atmosphere I want to be in and that’s what we do for our members.

You have to ask yourself, “If it’s not fun for them, why would they want to spend their valuable time with you?”

Right, fun is one thing.  What about the workouts?  They have to be tough enough to challenge the individual so they see change in the physical appearance over time otherwise it’s nothing more than a social club.  Our toughest challenge is to keep everyone motivated during class to push through one barrier on to the next. Not an easy ask when you’ve had a hard day at the office and you’re mind is already on cruise control.

Our workouts are challenging enough for the seasoned marathoner, and yet can be scaled down for the first time newbie.

We incorporate everything from light weight training, to body weight training, from mobility to isometrics, from Olympic weightlifting to sandbag lifting.

We follow many popular workout out formats that are out there; EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute), Tabata (8 rounds of 20 sec work with 10 sec rest), AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible), AFAP (As Fast As Possible). If you recognize these formats, then you probably follow Crossfit®, as these have become some of their staples.

We tend to go with timed rounds with a fixed duration of work on one exercise before moving on to the next one.  This usually comprises on 8 to 10 exercise for 3 or 4 rounds.  The emphasis is on muscle groups, such as; upper body, lower body, core, cardio and legs.  Of course we’ll throw in a Tabata, to keep everyone on their toes. That’s what makes it fun.

The great thing about what we do is that it’s very seldom the same routine over and over again. You never know what you’re going to be doing until you show up for the workout.

So if you’re having trouble keeping your workouts fresh and fun, maybe what you need to do is to mix it up a little.  Try some different workouts until you find what you’re looking for.  Once you put the fun back in to working out the rest is easy!

Follow Wayde Wong on Instagram @Waydeswong