Today’s blog is an actual email we received from a BSP NOVA member, Katie Jacobson, last week.  You may recognize Katie as the BSP NOVA homepage cover model—you know, the girl smiling ear to ear at the top of her deadlift—yup, that’s her.  And with her permission we’ve decided to turn that email into a blog post.  Why, you ask?  Well, we could tell you all about what it’s like to be a member at BSP NOVA, but the reality is that that experience is perceived a little differently from person to person.  Our hope is that Katie’s email moves just one person from feeling like they’re not able to join BSP NOVA, to saying, “I’ll give it a try…”

 

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten”- Lilo & Stitch.

 

The Backstory

To me, as a third culture only child, family was more than blood. It was the people who welcomed my parents and me into their home when we were new to a country, with whom we formed life long bonds, the friends I made in the international schools that I am still close with today, the people in my life now who are closer to me than some of my actual blood relatives.

 

The people of your tribe push you, accept you, and inspire you. Over the years I’ve shifted within many “families,” so to speak, and have many tribes.  Lately, I’ve realized how much BSP is one such family. The gyms I’ve been a part of in the past had hundreds of members, but at said gyms, to me, there was never any unity. People milled around, switched from machine to machine, plugged into their music and as usual, avoided the environment around them.

 

I hated going to the gym. It was boring, I had NO idea if the employees ever cleaned the machines, and could tell that even though there were many trainers in these gyms, they were not paying attention to the individuals. You were liable if you hurt yourself, or if you were doing an exercise wrong. Very rarely would a trainer show you how to do an exercise correctly—unless you were paying for a session or part of a program on top of paying for your gym membership.

 

I would walk in and see the same people doing the same mundane thing, tirelessly going at it on the treadmill, or pumping up their arms, but never doing any leg work, as well as the observing everyone did. I won’t lie, I would compare and look around as well. You had the obviously extremely fit people who you KNOW did more than the treadmill but that’s all you ever saw them do, and then the people who were really trying, but sadly didn’t have the instruction that they truly needed.

 

I’ll give it a try…

Fast forward to last April when one of my massage class buddies kept telling me to try out his gym. I had all the excuses—it’s too far, I don’t know how to do any of that stuff, everyone is going to be SO much better than me, blah blah blah. As many of the BSP staff and clients now know, I’m a huge whiner and complainer (it helps me get through my workouts, I promise). Finally though, for some reason, I decided to try the 30-Day Kickstart and was hooked.

 

I could go on and on about how great the exercises were, and the individualized instruction was (and is) and what not, but what really got me wanting to stay after going for a few months was the inclusion. I never felt out of place—never felt like I was being criticized or judged. You could find great instruction and exercises at lots of gyms, but if you don’t feel like you are part of the group—at least for me—you won’t be motivated to keep going.

 

The trainers at BSP (and the clients!) welcome you into their little weird, awkward, and strange family right away. You have to be a bit odd, able to deal with ridiculous humor, and enjoy various dance moves to fit in—but who doesn’t want to be a part of a group like that? Even though I’ve been going to BSP for less than a year, these people have become my friends, rather than just my trainers and fellow work out buddies.

 

Although, again, I complain and the running joke is that I’m SO TIRED every time I come into the gym, I don’t dread going to the gym anymore. I look forward to seeing my gym family, and miss them when I miss a session or am away on vacation. The fact that we can all go and enjoy activities with one another when we are in something other than gym clothes and form friendships with clients and trainers outside of the gym is monumental.  This creates even more trust that boils over into our workouts. We as a group understand what each one of us is going through when it comes to muscle challenges, routine change ups, frustrations when we can’t achieve our goals right away, etc. They might not know everything about my life, but we can all bond in certain areas of life and support one another.

 

Being able to walk into the gym and have people ask how I’m doing, ask about something I posted on Facebook, remember that I went away for the weekend—these aren’t just trainers who want to get you through the workout, these are trainers that care about you. They become your friends and are there for you even if an outside issue causes an upset in your workout routine. Some days I walk in and have had a really crappy morning, and it might affect my workout, which is fine. Family pushes you, but does not berate you. You feel safe with your family, along with feeling motivated and knowing you have a support system that will be there for you.

 

I wrote this sappy blurb because over the past few weeks as I’ve realized how much I love this weird odd ball group of people who happen to be the ones who write my gym programs and make me want to scream when I have to pull a stupid sled or do split squats. Family members don’t always get along—and sometimes you really want to yell at your family—but when it comes down to it, you’re there for one another.

 

In conclusion, I feel that a successful workout program and way of life is only truly possible if you are comfortable and secure with the people you train with-and who train you. BSP is one of the rare gyms that achieves just that-and I am so happy to be a part of an ever-growing, and always accepting, family.

 

 

Thanks guys!

 

Katie