Meet our newest coach, Andy!

Andy joined our team as an intern in June.  While I was super excited to have him join us I was also a little nervous. He was my first intern at Studio ME. Of course, I've had interns in my previous life in corporate world but not in my own business. It was a new adventure for me and let's just say that is was one of the best decisions I've made since opening the studio. Of course opening the studio was #1, hiring all of our amazing staff #2, quitting my corporate job #3,

Andy was able to experience A LOT during his internship from his first experience teaching group classes, to getting his own private training clients to work with as well as learning some of the ins and out of running a fitness studio. It's been such a pleasure sharing my knowledge, getting some help and watching him grow as a fitness professional.

Thank you to all of our members who were there every step as Andy got his feet wet in group fitness.  Here's what Andy had to say about his experience. 

"Thank you for making my internship special, giving me a place I could learn and grow and accepting me into the community as one of the instructors. I am overjoyed that I found such an awesome gym. I am excited for what my future holds at Studio ME.  I look forward to having you all in class moving forward and continuing to learning just as much from you guys as you do from me. And even though my internship is complete I know to many of you I will always be Intern Andy!"

For those of you who don't know Andy, he is a recent grad from Iowa State but just because he is a recent grad doesn't mean that he isn't a seasoned trainer.

Andy holds a B.S in Exercise Science from Iowa State University. Is a ACE Certified Personal Trainer, hold his American Red Cross CPR and First Aid and is working towards an ACE Functional Specialist Certification. He had been training clients over 1.5 years before coming to Studio ME. Heck yeah and a HUGE win for us!

Now it's time to get personal...

Tell Us a little about how fitness has played a role in your life?

"I grew up playing sports of all kinds from hockey to ultimate frisbee. High school football was the first time I stepped into a weight room/gym of any kind. I didn’t love it, lifting was just something we had to do and I pushed through it. In high school and going into college I had this idea that to be fit I needed to have as large of muscles as I could. I thought I needed to squat 300 pounds and continually improve that number. Turns out I hate that way of doing things. It works well for others and it definitely is a way to be fit but it is not the only way. After I came to this realization I began to love fitness. It was filled with challenging exercises and ways to move my body without even thinking about using weights. I began working on being functional throughout all of my movements instead of just lifting a heavy thing a few times."

What made you want to become an instructor at Studio ME?

"I love the community aspect. I have since I walked in the very first time. Everyone cares about each other here and they want each other to succeed. Classes are full of energy and members are pushing each other. It’s also nice that we can have community events where we just get to hang out. Studio ME wants you to improve and cares about if you’re in class unlike a lot of other gyms."

What is your favorite exercise that you program into your classes and why?

"I really enjoy the birddog. It challenges you to be aware of where your body is in space as well as engages your whole core. It is great for spine health and core strength and should be a part of everyone's routine."

What is a fun fact about yourself that none of the members know?

"I know how to three ball juggle. I learned it for a class in college and it’s really fun!"

I think we should have Andy show us his juggling skills...who else wants to see this?