In this week’s podcast, we will discuss the importance of training with a purpose. The word purpose means an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal. When it comes to taking up running a person may start out with just the thought of running off some pounds.

In this case, the purpose and desired result is weight loss. This is what I have a passion for helping people do one step at a time.

Although an individual's initial goal may have weight loss, other goals start to come into play. Goals such as running their first 5k race, trying out a 10k, or a marathon. There is more that we can do to enhance our running experience and goals. Have you considered swimming on purpose to help your runs? How about biking on purpose to create a faster turnover in running form?

What about boxing? Yes, boxing! This week caught up with a power couple from Rio Grande, NJ who owns Box IT Fitness Studio! Jeff and Courtney Wallace wanted to talk to us about training with intention and purpose.

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Coach: First off, thank you for being on the show! Let’s start off by how did you guys met?

Jeff: We inadvertently met through a casual first chance encounter during some downtime at another gym. Well, Courtney was doing some stair runs, while I was chatting with a client on the Treadmill and she zeroed in on me from a distance and made her move! LOL We got married in 2017, have since had a daughter.

Coach: Take us back to the start of your journey. Were you guys athletic growing up? Were you a boxer when younger? Any setbacks along the way?

Jeff: I actually grew up in Philadelphia and began learning how to box very early on during elementary school. I also began my Martial Arts journey shortly thereafter around the age of 7 and have been training in multiple disciplines ever since. I did some competing with boxing and MMA, but ultimately, declined a further pursuit professionally just because it was not financially feasible for my family. I have a background in Boxing as well as around 7 different disciplines of martial arts, have done extensive training in hand to hand combat, have been a women’s self-defense instructor, and was essentially raised in a combat sports culture. I also competed as a multi-sport athlete having played soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, etc.

Courtney: I began my boxing journey extensively shortly after meeting Jeff. It started out as a fun way to workout but very quickly evolved into a more serious passion. After nearly 5 years of extensive training under Jeff, I’ve transitioned into full-time coaching and have been actively doing so for over 2 years. As for athletics, I too was a multi-sport athlete including softball, soccer, basketball, swimming & surfing.

As for setbacks, we have both had adversity in our lives at different times. Jeff grew up in a poor area, his family was not necessarily wealthy by any stretch and he naturally had a ton of exposure to the more “not so pretty” side of the streets. He did have very good parents though that kept pushing him to walk a straight path in life and encouraging him to rise above the adversities and pursue his dreams.

Boxing and Martial Arts played an integral role in shaping his mindset as he evolved into his teenage & young adult years. Having been a young teenage Father of two boys prior to our meeting, Jeff continued to train but struggled as a poor adult, having faced massive financial adversity, with raw intelligence but limited formal education beyond high school. He was nearly homeless at one point, struggled to feed himself but always prided himself and sacrificed for the betterment of his children. It’s been a long road but it has been one filled with a wealth of learning experiences that have since enabled me to pursue my passions while establishing financial stability for my family.

Coach: Did you have a wake-up call with your own health that made you say: “I need to change my habits?”

For example, with myself, I ruptured my patella tendon in my right knee playing basketball when I weighed the highest I ever did 217lbs. That was my wake up call. Then after recovering from my surgery and getting back into running….. 4 years later I started this beginner's training program.

Courtney: After High School, I had a mindset of being forever young, basically not worrying about working out while indulging in no so healthy eating habits. As a result, I packed on about 20 extra pounds and finally took a stand and said enough is enough! I started going to the gym on the regular, doing 2-3 a day workouts, quickly dropping that 20 pounds and then some.

Jeff: For me, I was always athletic and constantly trained; however, there was a 2 year period in my 20’s where my misconstrued perception of being essentially invincible began to catch up with me. I packed on around 25 extra pounds while my workouts began to dwindle to a minimal and subsequently began pulling muscles, and hurting my back. It was in my 20’s, as a competitor, that I began shifting my interest into fitness as it relates to personal performance so that I could ultimately improve myself and become the healthiest possible version.

Coach: Tell us, what moved you to open the boxing gym?

Jeff: For obvious reasons, my passion for both boxing & MMA was well rooted and consequently a way of life. Despite my shortfalls in the way of formal college education, I ultimately did possess a natural intellect that allowed me to shape my success as an entrepreneur and subsequently allow me to combine my business sense with my passion. I wanted to be in control, driving that very passion in others and figured out the hard way that the best chance of doing so would be as my own boss, in my own facility.

Coach:

Talk for a moment about your relationship between you and the lives that walk through your studio

Jeff: For us, we treat our business as our home. Our focus is primarily on retention and everyone that enters our home becomes our family. We care deeply about every single person that we encounter, we get to know them on a personal level, we get to know their spouses, their children, etc. We truly take an extraordinarily personal approach and actively engage every member on the daily. We are only as good as our members and for us, our members are the absolute best!

Coach: We actually have a mutual client. Angelina Hawk and her husband Steve. How do you feel about those two? (Listen To Her Story)

Courtney: I just love Angelina’s drive. I appreciate how they are always at every class together and having a lot of fun together. That’s what is it all about right there when you can have a good time with your partner.

When Angelina told me that she was getting ready to take up running and working with you,I was so proud of her.

Coach: Yes, I am so proud of her too. She worked really hard to make it to her first 5k event. I can say: She Trained With Purpose!

When it comes to training on purpose….. What did you mean by that and why is this so important?

Jeff: Early on in this journey; there was this constant struggle that I witnessed in people. Being someone that naturally cared and lived my every day to improve people, what I noticed was a significant lack of commitment and interest. I was able to get people signed up at the gym, training, and such but the longevity was essentially non-existent. Sure, we get people in for a month, or two, maybe 3 or even 6 if lucky but that was it. People weren’t developing that passion that drives them to stick with it. With that, I started looking internally, asking myself questions like, “What has always driven me?” “What about fitness is fun?” “Why do I stick with it?” “What can I do better?” “How can I improve as a trainer?” I ultimately have all of this knowledge so what’s missing. It was then that I realized the answers.

I have fun when I train, I do because I always train with real purpose, intent, not just a goal but rather with real interests that exist at the very core. I have always been an athlete and throughout my youth, I stayed fit through sport.

I was a poor street kid, I couldn’t afford a gym, I barely had weights at my house, I had to run, jump, kick a ball, box, etc. and stay fit by performing fun athletic activities. It was through this retrospective lens, that I realized, hey, this makes sense. The best workout that anybody can do is the one that they love the most. So, when I say train with real purpose or train differently, what I mean is first and foremost, train doing something you love doing. Sounds simple right?

With boxing at the very foundation of our training, what we have essentially managed to do is tap into people’s inner athlete. For those that were athletes, we allow their competitive nature to basically re-evolve. For someone that was never an athlete, we provide this forum where they can basically become athletic so to speak while developing that sense of competition. Now, 80% of our business is non-contact and by non-contact I mean, we’ve taken all that is good about boxing, the bag work, the pad work, etc. and we’ve developed this positive curriculum that allows people to gain strength, improve their cardiovascular, lose weight, improve bone density, prevent disease, etc. You know, all the good things that come with exercise and then some. Now with our boxing curriculum, there is also a massive stress release in addition to cognitive growth & development. It is also incredibly empowering and allows people to overwhelmingly improve their self-esteem while focusing on proficiency. So, in a nutshell, we are getting people fit through sport.

Coach: Let’s play a game. New to our podcast will be some random questions that I will ask guests or flip things around and let them be the podcaster.

You two will be the first ones. So here it is…… You are the podcaster’s and I am your guest.

What Questions Do You Have For Me?

Host Courtney & Jeff: So, we’ve spent all this time talking about us, let’s flip the script now and talk a little bit about you.

What propelled you forward primarily in your fitness journey?

Was it a passion early on in life or like us, were you an athlete turned fitness enthusiast?

Coaches Answer: I grew up a Michael Jordan Fan and a Michael Jackson Fan……. I was either going to be on stage or playing in the NBA….. Tony Robbins once said that when you are a kid, you may have visions on becoming one thing but then although he’s not singing in front of a crowd like his favorite rock band…. he is on stage inspiring many to change their mindset. I can relate to that because I’m not Michael Jordan but I compete in a sport and I get to train others to compete in races at any age. I was able to perform on stage last year at the Atlantic City Marathon Series by educating a room of people interested in using the run, walk, run system.

I became a health coach in 2013 to help a family member lose weight and gain confidence in herself. I took that energy and used it to lose and maintain 45-50lbs weight loss. Along the way I have had the privelege of inspiring many along the way.

Host Courtney & Jeff: What do you do as an “everyday” type thing to ensure your passion stays alive and burning so that this way of life that you have created remains intact?

Coaches Answer: I practice what is called the Miracle Morning. It’s a book by Hal Elrod…… And I do the SAVERS

Silence

Affirmations

Visualize

Exercise

Reading

Scribing

Personal Development Is Huge. I received the biggest compliment over the weekend from a former member. She said: “You are amazing, you are always moving forward.”

During COVID our service has taken a hit like everyone else. But I see the positives… We are still creating some awesome stories like Lisa Diaz, Tracy Furgerson, Gabrielle Cruisse, & Angelina Hawk….. I have to keep pushing forward as if…….. (Click on their names to listen to their stories)

I also have a running streak going to keep me moving daily to remind me of my goals. Day 331 of streak.

Ok, give me my show back.....you guys are too good at this,

LOL If you can only keep 3 apps on your phones, which one would it be?

Courtney: Sirius XM, Amazon, Instagram

Jeff: None, I’d get rid of them all and live a quieter life. Lol (Courtney said I’m a brat)

Coach: (Talk about my 3 apps I would save......)

My Spiritual App (JW Library)

Nike Run Club

For my 3rd app….. I would like to thank our NEW SPONSOR: STRIDES APP

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I’m really a goal oriented person so this app is helping me keep track of some goals that’s near and dear to my heart

Let’s tell the fans your current exercise and eating patterns that keep you on top of your games.

As a busy business owner, what is your exercise routine?

Courtney: Well, we both are incredibly busy, we are currently teaching over 20 classes per week and collectively conduct about 60 private sessions per week. Did we mention that we also have a two-year-old :) So, just like our clients, we are two extremely busy, working parents with responsibility. People think owning a gym, it’s easy to stay in shape when in fact, it is sometimes harder. The best thing that we do is make fitness a priority for ourselves and our family. Staying healthy spans beyond yourself and effects your loved ones around you. We manage our time very efficiently and we schedule our own training into the weekly calendar and we do not compromise that time. As for diet, we both know what to do and how but we, like everyone else, find ourselves slipping often. We really have to make certain that we shop and plan meals accordingly in order to maximize our dietary intake. It isn’t always easy and right now, to be honest, I’d give ourselves a B+ (soon to be A+).

Coach: Do you practice Intermittent Fasting? If so, what does that look like for you? (What’s your fasting/eating window)

Jeff: Not at the moment. We are both fans and supporters of it and will probably do so at some point in the near future. It just isn’t something that we are currently doing.

Coach: Any special diet that you are currently following?

Jeff: At the moment, we’ve been focusing more on the quality of food, shopping smarter, and stocking our home with fresher ingredients. We’ve cut out things like butter, limited sodium intake, and reduced our refined sugar intake. We focus on moderation, healthy, lean meats, fresh vegetables, etc. We aren’t calorie counting or anything, just trying to keep things simplistic but smart. A lot of chicken, seafood, brown rice, fresh veggies.

Coach: What have you both excited today? Any special events that you are working on at that moment?

Courtney & Jeff: We aren’t working on any one specific thing that has us super excited at the moment. We are; however, thrilled at having our business fully re-opened and operational again and are in the infancy phase of planning some special events, promotions, etc.

Coach: How can our listeners connect with you guys?

Courtney:

On Facebook @ Box It Fitness of Cape May County, https://m.facebook.com/boxitfitnesscmc/

Instagram @ Box It Fitness, https://www.instagram.com/boxitfitness/

Email at boxitcmc.jeff@gmail.com or boxitcmc.courtney@gmail.com

Coach: Thank you for being on the show and giving us such guidance on how to train with purpose, no matter what form of training we decide to do.

Before we let you go........

WHAT can you say to our listeners who may be ready to start their journey tomorrow?

Jeff:

Remember, even the greatest Champions were beginners once,

don’t be deterred, take a leap of faith,

and most importantly, find something you love doing and it will love you back!

If you enjoyed this episode, would you do us a favor? Please subscribe, rate and leave a review for us on Apple Podcast!

One last thing, feel free to share this episode on your favorite social media platform. The Angelina Hawk story would not have happened if her friend didn't share the Carl Tait story.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read or blog and be a part of our story. Remember we are just ONE run or walk away…….

So Keep Calm And Run To The Best You! -Coach Tadris