Coronavirus closed gyms, so try these online workouts from Dallas-Fort Worth trainers
Those who read my Texas Rangers stories regularly know that I spend hours a week getting my workouts in at Orangetheory Fitness studios in the Fort Worth area; Surprise, Arizona; and wherever else the MLB schedule takes me.
While my physique can best be described as classic dad bod, working out provides so many positives.
I’m in shape, not just for a 45-year-old. With a family history rich with heart attacks, staying fit is a necessity.
But a workout also allows me to escape mentally, unless it’s the MLB trade deadline. Even then, I still get it in.
The stress of the coronavirus pandemic is much greater than what general manager Jon Daniels is or isn’t doing each July 31. As such, working out might have never been more important.
That’s not me saying that, but five trainers and gym owners around the Fort Worth-area.
The stronger your immune system is, the better your chances of avoiding COVID-19. The physical and mental benefits, i.e. relieving stress, help to strengthen your immune system.
That’s great, but between mandated gym closures and governmental stay-at-home orders what’s one to do?
Many gyms and trainers have made working out at home possible with online or virtual workouts. The good news: They are doing so at little or no charge.
Here are five to consider, either selected at random or via recommendation.
Oh, yeah, I also did all five workouts.
What follows isn’t a ranking system, because they were all good. Some didn’t even require any free weights, and they all came with plenty of instruction for each exercise in the workout.
Let’s go:
Chris Ayala Training
132 N. Grants Lane
White Settlement, Texas 76108
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisAyalaFitness
Instagram: @ChrisAyalaFitness
Phone: (817) 360-8052
If you need a trainer to bring the energy to get you going, Ayala is your guy.
He has been around the area for awhile, training folks at 24 Hour Fitness and Larry North Fitness, but branched out on his own with a small gym for private personal training and group fitness. He said he’s at 85 members strong.
He does virtual workouts from his garage via the Zoom app. Non-members can contact him via Facebook or Instagram, and he will send a link to train with him all week.
For free.
The workout: Core and upper-body strength were the focus of this 50-minute workout, which included a nine-minute warm-up and a five-minute stretch at the end. In between were sets as long as a minute, testing endurance, and some as short as five reps, testing strength. Weights and body weight were also used.
Oh, there were a lot of burpees on this April Fools Day. No joke.
Ayala’s fitness philosophy: “After doing this for 15 years, I realized it’s not always by what the book says. It’s very important to train our body in every aspect regardless of what phase we are in. My philosophy is if we move better, we do better and then we become better.”
Why fitness is important now: “It can change everything,” Ayala said. “The thing that drives me crazy with people you see online is how heavy they can lift. When the coronavirus comes along, all your heavy deadlifts and heavy bench presses don’t apply. But when we walk every day, when we focus on your balance, when the coronavirus hits you your body should have a better chance at fighting it off. What applies is what you’ve been doing every day.”
Head2Toe Fitness Studio
605 E. Palace Parkway, Ste B5
Grand Prairie, Texas 75050
Phone: (817) 630-0348
Website: www.H2Tfitness.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/h2tfitness2
Percy Bass has been operating his gym near I-30 and Belt Line Road since 2013, though he’s been in the area since 2008 when he did Boot Camp-style workouts.
His 120 members have access to a virtual gym, including live workouts three times a day on the Zoom app. Non-members can gain access with a donation of at least $10. All proceeds will go to area small businesses, which is very cool.
Everyone can access free workout plans he posts on Head2Toe’s Facebook page. Some of those look brutal.
The workout: Three eight-minute circuits, three exercises apiece. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong.
Trainer Christian Randolph led the group through complex movements, exercises designed to increase the heart rate, and a just little of torture called the “shoulder-tap complex.”
In the end, I had the highest calorie burn of the five workouts in about 40 minutes. My wife was disgusted by the amount of sweat I dropped on our mats. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I’m going to lean toward good.
Head2Toe’s fitness philosophy: “We have our metabolic resistance, which is more of a circuit kind of interval training. And then we have our other program, which is our strength program,” Bass said. “In our studio, we don’t have any machine weights. Whenever I have people coming in and I give them a tour, I let them know, ‘The reason you don’t see any machines is because we want to make sure what we do here in the studio can translate outside the studio for everyday life.’”
Why fitness is important now: “During the coronavirus, you’re cooped in the house or you’re not as active as you were before,” Bass said. “So, inactivity is higher and your intake is higher and your stress is higher. We have to make sure we’re doing the things we can do to alleviate the stress.”
Sanara Yoga & Wellness
2008 East Highway 114
Southlake, Texas 76092
Phone: (817) 329-9268
Website: www.sanarawellness.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanarawellness
Ah, yoga, which I enjoy doing and need to do more but don’t do enough. Allison Fullmer, though, has seen thousands practicing online on the Facebook page for her 200-member studio.
(Some have joined in from as far away as England.)
Her 14 teachers are offering classes on Facebook Live and Instagram Live multiple times a day, and they are cataloged on Sanara’s Facebook page for those who can’t join live.
And it doesn’t cost a penny.
The workout: Jodi Dunaway taught the Vinyasa I class I took Wednesday morning. Vinyasa combines breathing with a steady flow from pose to pose. Your strength and balance will be tested.
I went into the workout feeling tightness in my shoulders and hips. I left the workout sweaty, relaxed and loose, and ready to give my first-grader his math lesson. When I woke up Thursday morning, I felt as good as I have felt in the past three weeks.
Sanara’s fitness philosophy: “We hold so much anxiety and stress in the body, and when we’re able to shift the body we can move some of that energy,” Fullmer said. “So moving around, going for a walk, doing yoga, connecting with your breath, those are all things that are going to help release stress and relieve anxiety and move that physical tension from the body.”
Why fitness is important now: “This is something you can do in your living room with your family,” Fullmer said. “I think there is something so beautiful about knowing you’re doing something with members of the community. It makes you feel like you’re still part of something. Even though you’re not seeing these people, you’re still connected.”
Texas Fitt
1919 W. Pioneer Parkway
Arlington, Texas 76013
Phone: (817) 459-3488
Website: www.texasfitt.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/texasfitt
The husband and wife team of Clint and Stephanie Springer own this 2,400-member gym and feel an obligation to keep them moving at a time when it feels like things are standing still.
They also want to give access to anyone just looking for a good workout at a time when they believe people need to be doing something other than sitting on the couch or stressing out over the stock market.
The workouts Texas Fitt is posting on Facebook are free.
The workout: Trainer Selase Botchway led a high-intensity full-body workout that originally was live-streamed but I found later on the Texas Fitt Facebook page. The workout lasted just over 35 minutes and packed plenty of full-body work into it.
The squatted curl was a real challenge, as was the triceps extension that also doubled as an ab exercise.
Just so you know, there’s a chance you’ll feel this one in your core the next morning.
Texas Fitt’s fitness philosophy: “It sounds cheesy saying it, but it’s really the wholesome body. It’s mind, body, spirit,” Stephanie Springer said. “What we’ve done is not just fitness. We do have great classes. We do have the best personal trainers. But we really take wellness to a whole new approach. For me, it’s just being fully alive — thinking, feeling, doing and moving well.”
Why fitness is important now: “We know when you’re active, somebody whose been active, it keeps your immune system up,” Springer said. “I know so many people who work out just so they can feel better and handle what life is throwing at them. I think it’s right up there with the most important things. I know we’re not considered an essential business, but really it is essential.”
#WorkoutWithHart
Darryl Hart
Online only
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/sq34pau
Instagram: @workoutwithhart
Like Ayala, Hart has trained locally for years and in several venues. He’s one of the trainers at Bass’ Head2Toe Fitness, as well as a coach at Orangetheory Fitness at the Arlington Highlands.
Also like Ayala, Hart brings energy and music and digs the interaction. He has some pretty nifty dance moves, too.
Hart is working quickly to jump on the virtual workout bandwagon. Catch him now for free on the Zoom app by shooting him a Facebook message. He has a class scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday.
The workout: Even though he has an extensive home gym, the workout Hart led Monday evening didn’t use any free weights. Body weight was plenty for this 36-minute interval training session that focused on the core and upper body, with some legs thrown in, too.
He ran us through five rounds of two exercises over five intervals, so 10 different exercises in all. The first interval was 60 seconds long, then 45 seconds, 35 seconds, 25 seconds and 15 seconds.
Rest? Of course, eventually.
Hart’s fitness philosophy: “My goal is to increase your heart rate and get you to work your body, but stand in front of a screen. I like how people are still able to talk to each other and feel connected because they’re still able to feel together even though they’re far apart.”
Why fitness is important now: “I believe it’s more important. Before this people were using fitness as a getaway from things, almost like you would use sports, to focus on something else, to know that you’re getting better at something. Now, with being sick stuck in the back of everybody’s mind, it’s nice to still be able to do something healthy for yourself even though you can’t do it in traditional ways.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
