Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Garcia.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to the United States in the late 90s. Lived in Chicago, IL for 21 years and that is where part of my journey into fitness started. When I first arrived in Chicago the big gyms chains were already very popular with the mainstream public. Very different from Mexico. This is where I started to get interested in fitness. Needless to say. I did what everyone was doing and still doing at the time. Joint a big gym with a huge floor space and full of equipment. That was in my late 30s because all this was new to me to devote myself to training very hard. Over time my body started to feel the consequences of weight training. Started to feel very tight and developed a slight lower back pain.
A very good friend of mine was the owner of a private studio, where they teached pilates and Gyrotonic, as we were discussing one day my aches and pains as resulted from by weight training, she invited to her studio so she could work with me. I started with a few sessions a week with pilates which I think to help me to stabilize my back and strengthen my abdominal. But my curiosity win over and I ask her about the strange piece of equipment that was located at the center of the studio. It turned out to be a Gyrotonic machine. Over time she started to train me with both methods. Needless to say that my body like the way the new method was making my body feel.
Has it been a smooth road?
In some ways, it has been a smooth road. I started to work right away after I got certified in the Gyrotonic Method. Alissa Getz who is the Master trainer whom I trained with believing in me. So she offered me a job. And I worked for so many years at the same studio that it started to feel comfortable. In 2015, I started to feel like I needed to challenge myself, so I decide to move. I moved first to Colorado and things didn’t turn out the way I was hoping. 6 months later I decided to move again.
This time I moved to Houston, TX. I have family here in Houston, I visited them every year for the last 20 years. But I never thought I will end up living and working here. Luckily I landed a job a few weeks after I moved here and started to work right away. I think the challenge is that people are still not familiar with the method that I use to train my clients. I think that is unfortunate because it is a wonderful system and can be used in many ways. Athletes can improve performance and minimize injuries, it can also be used as a rehabilitation method for clients that are pre and post surgery. I usually try to coordinate this with the physical therapist that is taking care of my client’s therapy.
For people that are just trying to practice an exercise system that challenges them enough, strengthen and improve their overall well being. There are so many great trainers out there. Its only good service and skills that are going to make someone stand out from the rest. Someday I would like to archive that level. I love my job and I really care about peoples well being. If a turn back and see how far I got, I would say that the road hasn’t been smooth. But the experiences and meeting the people I know now have to make it worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the All Ways Fitness story. Tell us more about the business.
As my company’s name means. All ways fitness is about moving in every direction. As life itself, we are constantly in motion. We feel like if we stop and look around we are going to miss something. I train people from different walks of life. Clients in their 70s and 80s, most of these communities feel like they can not move as they used to. I teach them how to be aware of their own breath. and then slowly I take them thru a journey of movement. As they learn to be aware of their bodies they start improving in ways that they thought will not be possible. A lot of people are referred to me because they are in pain. And they have tried everything, from physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractors, and pills.
For these group of people, I used a different set of tools, skills and combined with other techniques slowly I help them to get almost to the point where the pain is no longer an issue and then we start with the strengthening program. I am constantly updating my education and learning new skills to train people. People feel very comfortable with the way I train them because a let them decide how much they want to be a challenge. I love my job, it has helped me to keep improving and strive to be better every day.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I would like to become a Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Master Trainer. Currently working on the last step to start the process. The first step is to become a Pre-trainer for the system and then you start to move up the ladder. I want everyone to know about the Gyrotonic Method it is such a great method and it is a shame that not a lot of people know about the system and the great benefits that you can obtain practicing it. Opening my own studio and working in teaching others to become a trainer in the system. The system is constantly evolving and new training and updates are constantly being thought to use them as tools to work with clients they have bigger challenges or people that are looking to stay in shape or athletes that are looking for better athletic performance.
Ideally, I am looking for people that want to learn more about their own bodies and how they can move with more ease, less pain, and better posture. In my website, people can find out more about what I do. There is a couple a free report about the Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis methods and reason why people should practice them. Pricing is not included on my website. The reason I am not posting my pricing is that I want to learn more about my clients. What is their story? Things that they are missing in life because of pain or injuries. Base on that I would do a recommendation and I can tailor a workout plan that fits their needs and time. I am finding that thru this process people are more conformable because my goal is to find out how to better serve the Houston community and not
Contact Info:
- Address: 3100 Timmons St. Ste. 140
- Website: allwaysfitness.net
- Phone: 630-207-7147
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: allwaysfitness
- Facebook: allwaysfitness
- Yelp: allwaysfitness
Image Credit:
Brad Glendening, Jennifer and Mac Mcnelly, Tess Givens
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