On Thursday, October 24th, I paid a visit to Pure Fitness Training, a functional training studio in Louisville, Ky. I wanted to get some insight on what a functional, group class looked like in person.
Prior to class, a Pure Fitness member, John Thomas, gave me the opportunity to interview him on why he joined the studio, and the benefits he has reaped from functional fitness.
CS: Why did you want to join Pure Fitness Training?
JT: I had heard about CrossFit and boot camps, high intensity interval training (HITT) — I had wanted to do [functional training] for quite a while, saw some people in the gym doing it, and thought I’d give it a try.
CS: What benefits have you gotten from training here?
JT: My cardio is way up. I also mountain bike, road bike, and my biking is much better. I’m able to ride much farther, faster, and keep up with everyone — not get dropped.
CS: Do you have specific functional exercises you like best?
JT: I like the TRX®. I like the plyometrics, and I have a new exercise — a “plange pushup”, and that’s kind of set me up to the next level. I was plateaued for a while, but a “plange pushup” — I’ve gotten a lot of good results from that.
I like the camaraderie here. I like the group atmosphere … a group, there’s more intensity, more accountability. I think with one person, [it] tends to be low energy for me — a group of people, high intensity.
CS: What benefits have you gotten from functional training?
JT: I wish it had been around 20 years ago — 20, 30 years ago — when I was really into competitive sports. I think I would have been a whole lot better athlete. I know I would have. But things were different then — it was just lift a lot of heavy weights.
CS: What kind of competitive sports did you play?
JT: [I] played rugby for 15 years. I mountain bike now. Adventure racing. This doesn’t apply to the adventure racing as much as it would have to rugby. It would have been great for rugby.
Rachel Zabonick is the assistant editor for Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@clubsolutionsmagazine.com. Reach out to her about exciting events or programs your club has implemented, or to share the amazing accomplishments of a member.
