Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathon Green.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I fell in love with training when I was in high school. I dedicated myself to making the varsity football team my freshman year and knew I had to put on some serious size to actually be competitive. So I hired my first strength coach that summer and started training harder than I ever knew I could. In one summer I had done the impossible. I watched my body change as I went from 150 to 185 lbs while maintaining sub 12% body fat — suddenly, I was hooked. I have hit the weights at least 5 days a week ever since. My passion was witnessed by others, and I slowly started to share how I had accomplished my goals with friends and family.
As soon as I was able to, I became a certified personal trainer and began training part-time while studying at the University of Houston. In my pursuit of knowledge at UofH, I sought out mentors from every corner of fitness. I worked on undergraduate research with a professor who was also a national class power-lifter, and I also helped gather data in pediatric body composition studies with a Physical Therapist. I shadowed the university’s athletic trainers and learned preventative maintenance techniques for athletes of all types. My goal was to become the most well-rounded trainer I could imagine.
To this day, I continue to expand my knowledge of the body by writing researching and writing fitness blogs and reading various types of exercise and anatomy-based books. Upon receiving my BS in Kinesiology: Exercise Science (the pre-physical therapy path), at UofH, I decided to take my business full time. In doing so, I decided to tackle the number one obstacle we all face when deciding whether to workout or not – time.
Time is the biggest obstacle people face when you ask them why they haven’t started working out. So, I decided first-off that if they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) take the time to get to a gym, then I would bring the training to them – JG FIT was born. I bring the service of personal training to your home, gym, or apartment. Next time you think you don’t have the time to make it to the gym, give me a call and I’ll save you the trip.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a personal trainer is never a smooth road. As a trainer, my day is the exact opposite of a typical 9-5 work day. My busy times are when everybody else isn’t working, which makes work/life balance a little tricky. Getting up at 4:30 am and ending at 8 pm can take a toll on myself and my relationships with other people, including my girlfriend who actually helped me found JG FIT.
Being self-employed means taking every opportunity I can to pick up new clients, which means I don’t get sick days or paid time off. If I want to go on vacation, I have to rearrange my schedule or prepare to not get paid time off. Not to mention, any time that I take off can also impact the lives of the people I train. It disrupts their normal routine and can even discourage them from restarting when I get back. Most people, even those who workout on a normal basis, live highly sedentary lives. The natural human inclination is to be as lazy as possible. My goal as a trainer is to keep my clients motivated and excited to workout with me.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about JG FIT – what should we know?
JG FIT brings the luxury of personal training from the gym to your home. Whether we train in an apartment gym or in your living room we are dedicated to maximizing the quality of your workout.
As the owner and lead trainer at JG FIT, I would say our specialty is catering our services directly to the needs of our individual clients. Every person we train is unique with their own goal in mind. Whether they want to become the next champion fitness model or just want to be able to walk without the use of their walker, we adapt our programs to fit the wants and needs of our clients as best as we can.
Typically, when you hire a personal trainer you will find yourself working out with somebody a few times a week for an hour a day – that’s all you get. What happens when you leave the gym? At JG FIT, we provide expert guidance in exercise during our sessions, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle outside of the gym. We encourage our clients to reach out for advice and tips on healthy exercise and nutrition on a day-to-day basis, including what to shop for at the grocery store and how to properly read nutrition labels. Fitness is a long-term journey that we embark on with our clients – that journey doesn’t end after an hour.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The biggest help in getting JG FIT off the ground has come from all of my clients. I am mostly a word of mouth business, so every happy client leads to one or two more. It’s a wonderful cycle of success. I would be stupid if I did not give credit to my former business partner Sydney Warren. We started as a two-person team running boot-camp workouts and she helped me turn this business into the success it is today.
Pricing:
- Rates for one-on-one sessions range from $50-80 per session depending on the weekly frequency we train.
- Rates for partner sessions range from $70-120 per session depending on the weekly frequency we train and is split among participants.
- Small group training (up to 4) ranges from $80-160 per session depending on the weekly frequency we train and is split among participants.
- 8 Week Workout Plans are $80.
Contact Info:
- Address: 777 Preston Street Houston TX, 77002
- Website: www.JGFIT.org
- Phone: 7138829875
- Email: Jonathon@JGFIT.org
- Instagram: @legit_JGFIT
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jgfithouston
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jg-fit-houston
Image Credit:
Terra Troxell at Trox Photography (@troxphotographyon – Instagram), (https://www.facebook.com/troxphotograpghy/)
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