Coach's Corner with Ricky Martin: From a Mission to a Movement

Hi! This is the Coach Rick from the Fitness Warriors program.   Our second season of offering free fitness classes in the communities that need them the most is now in full swing. We are building a movement that is improving the health and lives of people across the Richmond region. This has been an inspiring and informative year for me as the coach.  As we kick off our blog series, I wanted to share a few of my key learnings to date about what it takes to build a fitness movement at the community level.

 First, collaboration creates the movement.

The Fitness Warriors program comes from humble beginnings.  The first lesson I learned early in the process is that we can achieve greater success by having a diverse group of partners at the table.  From health and fitness experts, to community organizers to funders—it takes a village to create a movement. With the investment of time and resources from organizations like the Richmond City Health Department, Fit to Go, Anthem Foundation, and the American Council on Exercise (ACE), Sports Backers has transformed a free class in one community into a fully operational program that’s reaching communities across the Richmond region and beyond.

One of our most exciting moments was when we secured the partnership with ACE.  As a personal trainer, I know their curriculum is the gold standard in fitness, and with them as a certification partner, we were sure to be offering the Warriors the foundation they need to become top notch trainers.  To be honest, when we initially spoke to them, I was like a school girl gushing about being at the table with a prestigious organization such
as ACE.  Of course I told them as much and, yes, got a little teary eyed.  This getting teary eyed thing is not uncommon in our line of work – the Fitness Warriors themselves and the program administrators are all very passionate about helping improve the health of our community.

Second, passion drives the movement.         

The lesson here is simple: you have to love it so much that you’re always in tune with it.  Not just physically but mentally as well.  Right now you might be saying, “Rick, what does that even mean?”  The fitness industry’s shift to wellness means that a quality instructor has to be responsive to the whole person.    It’s my job as the Fitness Warriors coach to represent the fitness industry with the quality I’ve received over the years.   At the same time, I expect them to learn how to be in touch with what might happening “just beneath the surface” with their classes.  Our mantra in the Fitness Warriors program is   “feel your group.”

It was imperative for us to select a group of Warriors with the skill to think holistically about health.  And we did just that.  As a result, we have a very diverse group of individuals from all walks of life who are able to get the most out of their classes by being in tune with the needs of their participants.
For a listing of the free fitness classes being offered throughout the Richmond region by our Fitness Warriors, click here.

Lastly, commitment sustains the movement:

The Fitness Warriors program is designed so that seasoned mentors partner with new trainers and provide a continual knowledge transfer between WHAT EXISTS and WHAT IS DEVELOPING.  A passing of the torch, so to speak.  We believe this is critical to building commitment from within the program.  This principle has been a foundation for me as a trainer and as the coach for the Fitness Warriors program, I feel it is my responsibility to impart this core value to the Warriors.  I have so much admiration for all the trainers I’ve shadowed and learned from throughout my career.  It has helped to fuel my commitment.  The Warriors are catching the bug too.  It is how we grow commitment across generations of trainers.

I say fitness is a lifestyle – a phrase that is familiar to most these days.  Sometimes life will show up along your fitness journey and you will have to adjust your training to what is going on.  Life happens for our participants, our trainers, our mentors, our partners.  You over slept, left your sneakers, got sick, worked overtime -you name it, life will show up.  But life continues. We instill in our Warriors that life happens.  It is OK.  You’ve got to stay committed to be successful.  So get back at it as soon as you can.

We have an amazing group of mentors who really help us model the principle of commitment. Darryl Ellis, owner of DNA Fitness, opens his doors and hosts a training day each year for the Fitness Warriors to ensure we have quality training in a quality facility.  We have mentors from our first class of Warriors who are taking that commitment to the next level and becoming entrepreneurs in the fitness industry.  Damacia Johnson, from our first class of Fitness Warriors and a current mentor, now owns Diesel Fitness. Ebony Blanton leads fitness classes in underserved communities for the YMCA and Sports Backers.  She also teamed up with one of her fellow Warrior alumni, LaShay Garland, to offer Sweet Sweat Bootcamps.  Want to know more about these awesome Fitness Warriors and their mentors?  Click here!

In closing, I would be remised if I closed without offering a fitness tip for the reader- so here it goes.  Right now I want you to take the same amount of time you spent to read this to get your body moving.  Stand with your legs crossed and then bend over to touch your toes.  Stay a few seconds, then switch and do it with the other leg crossed. Exhale and say “Ahhhh!” as you go down.  You can thank me later.  Better yet, come check out one of our free Fitness Warriors classes – it’s sure to be a great workout and no better way for you to really see what our Fitness Warriors program is all about.

Until next time,

Coach Rick