Words of Wellness with Shelly

Strength, Mobility, And Mindset: Building Wellness That Lasts

• Shelly Jefferis • Season 2 • Episode 136

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What if training wasn’t about chasing a look, but about building a life you can’t wait to live? That’s the heartbeat of this conversation with Heather Flebbe—exercise physiologist, kinesiology professor, and owner of Fit Fix Studios—where we unpack how movement fuels confidence, clarity, and a longer, happier health span.

We start by reframing fitness as agency: the daily choice to move your body so you can say yes to opportunities. Heather breaks down the essentials of aging well—consistent movement, joint mobility that protects your freedom, and progressive strength that counters muscle loss through menopause and beyond. We dig into why “heavy” means genuinely challenging loads, how to train for what you love to do in real life, and the mindset shift that turns discomfort into growth.

Curious about slow, controlled training? Heather explains the Lagree method and why tempo drives muscle activation, core stability, and better form across all lifts. She shares real outcomes from her community, including fat loss and strength gains powered by consistency, not gimmicks. We also talk about building an inclusive studio culture, offering variety without confusion, and keeping wellness simple enough to start today and sturdy enough to last decades.

If you’ve felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice, consider this your clear path forward: move daily, restore range of motion, lift heavier with control, and tie it all to the life you want at 90. Join us for practical cues, encouragement, and a reminder that it’s never too late to begin. If this conversation helped, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a rating and review—what small step will you take today?


CONNECT WITH HEATHER: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitfixstudios

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithshellyj https://www.instagram.com/momswhoflourish
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShellyJefferis

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High quality, clean nutrition and beauty products: https://shellyjefferis.isagenix

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Cayla Gray- Non-toxic cologne & perfume: https://caylagray.com/wellnesswithshellyj (10% discount)

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Coupon code for 10% off: ShellyJefferis

Thank you for listening to the Words of Wellness podcast with Shelly Jefferis. I am honored and so grateful to have you here and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute to follow, leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with anyone you love and anyone you feel could benefit from the message.

Thank you and God Bless! And remember to do something for yourself, for your wellness on this day!
In Health,

Shelly

SPEAKER_01:

So for me, fitness is not just look the part, look your perfect body. It's not about that at all, at all. It's what happens in your mind and just the power to live your life and to accept opportunities that fall into your lap and you go, yeah, you know what? I think I can do that. I can do that. That's what I love for people, and I wish everybody would experience that.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you get confused by all of the information that bombards us every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated, or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing? What foods you should or shouldn't be eating? How to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone. I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffrey, and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more. To share tips, education, and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes. With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker, and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you. To bring in guests who can share their journey so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness, and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life, and that you will, we all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives full of energy, happiness, and joy. Now let's dive into our message for today. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelley, and I am your host, and I am really excited to share my guest with everyone today. She is an exercise physiologist, a professor in kinesiology, and an owner of a studio called Fit Fix Studios. And she and I go way back. We probably will talk about that a little bit. And I was honored to have her at my most recent Moms Who Flourished Wallace event. She was a speaker. And she's amazing, and she does all things fitness, nutrition, exercise. She is a professional for sure. So I'm excited to have you here. Fleming, welcome. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

I was really blessed to be part of it myself. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for sharing that. I so appreciate that. And I I felt it too. I, you know, you're always your worst critic because there's always different things like I know I want to tweak or add and this and that and the other. And it's not even so much being critical, maybe, but it's more like, okay, what are we going to do the next one to just always be improving and building and growing and making it better, which I know you understand that. I think that's I think that's innate to when you're a teacher and when you're in wellness. It's like you're always wanting to do better for yourself, but also for other people, I feel like. So, but thank you. I appreciate that. It was so wonderful to have you. So we're gonna dive in, and I mean, there's so much we can go into today, but I think that we want to talk a little bit or I have you share because you honestly, Heather, have been more in the not the weeds, but in the midst of you know, exercise physiology and teaching. Are you still at a university teaching, right?

SPEAKER_01:

I am still at Cal State LA. I teach kinesiology courses. I do online now. I used to have to drive down to East LA and it magically worked out that I got to teach online, and I love it. I do miss the personal interaction with the students, but yeah, I love teaching anything exercise science. So yeah, I will always stay with Cal State LA, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00:

It's so wonderful because I I'm teaching online as well, and it's it's actually a fitness class, and honestly, I feel the same way as you. Like it's been so nice to be able to continue to do that and not have to commute, not have to drive anywhere. And I feel like same thing. I'll just keep going as long as they keep offering the class. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Right? Like, and they keep offering it to me, so I'll keep saying yes. Yeah, yeah. It was fun to have an impact on the next generation of wellness leaders that hopefully our experience that we share with them will lead them into, you know, being the next leaders of changing people's lives. So I like to be a part of that too. For sure.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, because then you know you're you're impacting, you're impacting lives in a big way. So that's huge. So I know we you shared at the event a little bit about fitness and nutrition and longevity. And I know that's something that uh is so so important. And I know you know, I share about that as well, as far as what are we doing now that can help us into the future and and help us to feel our best and not just live a long life, but live a long life where we're feeling good and we're having energy. So, what does that look like for our listeners? What are some of the top areas?

SPEAKER_01:

And I know we could talk a lot about this, but what would you say is most important at this point in time for living a long, full life of doing all the things you love and feeling good through life? Um, I mean, number one would be move your body in any way you love to move your body. So you can follow this new fitness pat or you know, but just just move. It could be a simple walk, it could be simple stretching, but don't stop moving ever. The, you know, the body of motion stays in motion kind of thing. But um find what you love to do, dancing, if it is lifting heavy and all of that, that keeps you moving. But really, mobility is the key to life. That would be the first thing because if your joints don't move, if they're too stiff and you have limited range of motion, you will be limited in what you can do and what you can enjoy. So I would say number one is move your body every day, as much as you can all day long. And that doesn't mean going to strenuous H classes 24 hours a day. It just means stop sitting in a chair and get yourself up. There's so much of our culture now that we are staring at a phone, sitting at a computer. It's harder, it's harder to get us to move all day long. Even me, who I own a gym and I move my body every day. There's still a lot of hours that I sit and don't do anything because that's just like the way our you know world has gone. So trying to find ways to move your body in fun ways that are enjoyable for you and maybe involve friends and family and you know, don't do it alone too. So that would be my number one. Do you want to keep going with others?

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. I was gonna say to your point too about the sitting. I don't know, you probably don't notice it just yet, but I definitely notice I'll get up from sitting and I'm already going, oh my gosh, I'm stiff. And I'm like, okay, so just like when you're saying like we're active, but even still, we're sitting. I know I'm sitting more probably than I ever did. I mean, we're not going out and we're not going to the college to teach, you know, just little things that we used to do that we're not doing now, even though we're still working out. But I notice it so much. If I don't work out, which I do pretty much daily, but I also know the other part of this is the whole stretching component is so, so important and so critical. As you're saying that, I'm like, okay, yeah, I can relate that.

SPEAKER_01:

There is such a focus right now on lifting heavy strength training, and that is a great focus. But if you don't have the joint range of motion to go into a deep squat or a lunge, then that's when sometimes you do get injured or you limit how much strength you can gain because you can't move. So I definitely would couple the joint range of motion. And sometimes people don't really quite understand what stretching is. Stretching isn't just about lengthening the muscle, it's about being able to lift my arm all the way up or, you know, um being able to squat all the way down and grab something. So it is very functional. I remember uh leading classes for a senior living center, and I remember I was young, so I hadn't really experienced this yet. And I remember a man couldn't lift his arm higher than this. And I remember looking, going, oh my gosh, I never want to get like that. Like there's you have to reach in covers, you have to lift your arm all the time. And he's always stuck with me that I never want to not be able to reach over my head. So I mean, I think that we take it for granted that we can move until we can't move, and then it's harder to, you know, reverse it. But it doesn't matter where you are, even that man who couldn't lift his arm over his head can definitely get to the point where he can lift his arm over his head. It just takes movement and you know, more purpose.

SPEAKER_00:

But well, and I think that's so important too, is to to remind everyone that's listening that it's like you're saying, it's never too late. And you know, it's just it everything, it just takes that commitment, right? And that being being consistent with that movement and doing whatever it is you need to do to overcome whatever challenge you might have. And I just know at this stage of my life, I know this stretching is really, really, really critical. And I I've known that, you know, I've known that we know that for for all of our years of being in the profession. I just recognize it more so now than ever.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. I try to tell all the younger people in my gym that I actually I remember being a young trainer and hearing about menopause. And I remember saying to myself, like, you don't need to do anything different for menopause, like it's the same. And then you get there and you're like, oh, I underestimated that. So I try to tell all the younger people, like, you have to preload your muscle because that muscle is going to be really important to you one day when you are losing it and then you know, fighting all the things about hormones and everything. But um, I try to think get the younger generation to think about preloading my body to be prepared for aging. And then us who are already here, now we're battling this aging process. Aging is going to happen. We cannot avoid it, but we can make it a process that actually is enjoyable. Like, I feel like I have more muscle now than I did when I was 20 because I am focused on lifting heavy and I still feel strong. I want to still feel strong at 90 years old. I tell my classes, like, we are all going to be here until we are 100. We're not stopping. This isn't just a like, ooh, I want to look good in my bikini thing. This is, I want to be 100 and still be able to climb a mountain or go on vacation. I don't want to be like, I can't do that because of this limitation. Um 100%.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. And uh, I mean, you look amazing. And I I I totally understand what you're saying too. There are many times where I'm like, I feel like I'm in my 20s or my 30s, even though obviously we're not. But it's so important to to stay with it and to keep at it. And I think that that was a really important point that you brought up too at our most recent event was talking about preloading and also adding that extra weight so that when you're strength training, you're adding some extra weight to the exercise that you're doing so that you are building that muscle and it can last you later into life. And I think the functional fitness, like you're saying, is one of the most important things, right? Being able to play with our grandkids someday, be able to walk up and down stairs without being out of breath. All those little things we take for granted when we're younger are so important to be able to do comfortably as we get older. And I think people forget that because you don't really think about it until you're there and you're like, oh gosh, this is also so good, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Definitely the functional movements of what if you think about what you like to do in your life, that's what you design a program for. If I want to run around with my grandkids, then I do need to have stamina and cardio. If I want to be able to hike, you know, I don't know, to 14,000 foot elevation, then that's the way I should be training. So instead of getting confused by like, oh, this is the magic program and this is the magic program, move your body in the way that you want to move. And yes, do it consistently. But your point about the adding the weight, if I can already climb to 14,000 feet easily, then I need to do something that's harder than that if I want to gain strength. So that could mean either climbing steeper pitches, it could mean adding weight onto my body so that I'm challenged. So if I'm going to the gym, walking, whatever it is, and I'm not challenged, I'm kind of in this maintenance zone, which is that's not a bad zone to be in either. But if you're looking for this continuous improvement, like you talked about with your event, you're challenged each year you hold that event, that challenge builds you stronger so that you come back better next year. Same thing with your body. If I'm not challenged, I'm not really in that zone of improvement. So if I'm picking up five-pound dumbbells, but I pull 20 pound five bags of groceries out of my car, I'm the five pounds isn't really challenging me. So I need to make sure my muscles are getting more than they're used to. And I think that's the hard thing for people to understand. I think they will go to classes and be like, whoa, my muscles are burning. I'm lifting three pounds, 100 reps. Yeah, that's hard. And it's a it is a stimulus, but if I want to gain strength, I have to do more than my muscles are used to doing.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, for sure. And I think that also to your point, is harder for someone to understand the importance of really challenging themselves. Like you and I are used to doing that in our, you know, career that we've chosen, and we're used to that pushing ourselves. But I find, and you and I'm sure you see it too, but I even see it within my students, or I have to feel like I keep reminding them to, you know, pick up the pace a little, walk a little faster, do this, do that, just to make it more challenging. Because it's, you know, I mean, it's it's kind of like that normal thing where people just want to be comfortable and they want to do what's kind of like middle of the of the road, right? But that's just not gonna bring them the best results. So I think it's so important to remind them of that, like what you're saying. You have to add that weight, you have to make it challenging in some way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. It is human nature to stay comfortable. I mean, your body likes homeostasis. Um, yeah, it's human nature to be comfortable. It feels better to be comfortable. It feels hard when you push yourself for hard things. But that's what I wish everybody would actually experience that because there's so much joy on the other side of either like, wow, I just did that, that feeling of accomplishment, that feeling of success, the endorphin highs, all the things that you get from pushing yourself. It's hard in the moment. It's hard to stay in it. If you can draw on the reason why I'm doing it, why do I want to be stronger? What does it mean to me to be stronger? What does that bring to my life? Then I can stay in that discomfort for my purpose. And then if you get through it, you accomplish it on the other side. Oh my gosh, there's so many rewards. That's what I love about fitness, is for me, like it's the confidence I build, it's the mood boosting, it's the just the I, if something comes my way, like an opportunity comes, I actually pretty much always feel like I can say yes. Because I know that I've built this strong mindset, this strong body. I've gone through challenges, I've overcome challenges. I can do, I feel like I can do anything. And I know that's from the power of what I get from pushing myself in fitness. So for me, fitness is not just look the part, look your perfect body. It's not about that at all, at all. It's what happens in your mind and just the power to live your life and to accept opportunities that fall into your lap. And you go, yeah, you know what? I think I can do that. I can do that. That's what I love for people, and I wish everybody would experience that and not be intimidated to show up or scared to try. Don't be scared. This is your life. Your life can be so exciting and powerful and energized. And I I I know the secret is fitness. It is.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, for sure. And I love all that you're saying. I mean, of course, I completely, completely agree and feel the same way. And it's interesting, you know, I sometimes think back, and this would be decades ago, to when he first started getting involved in lifting weights. And so I try and put myself in that position when someone new is coming into a class or coming into a workout because it can be intimidating, but like you're saying, you this is something you're doing for you, for your health, and ultimately for yourself so many years down the road to serve you and help you be around for a long time. And it's so, so critical. And yeah, I love that. And it's it's like you're saying, it's not just the physical part, but it's everything that goes along with it. And that's what gets me so excited too. And that was a real big reason why I wanted to title my podcast as I did, because I didn't want it just to be the physical part, the nutrition part. There's so much more to our overall complete wellness, and you just kind of hit the nail on the head. Like you now, you just feel strong, like you can tackle anything. And what a wonderful, wonderful confidence and attitude to have and be able to relate it back to being strong and in all your years and fitness and what that has built within you. And it's huge, it's super motivating. What I want to go back for just a minute because I know it's kind of a hot topic, and why it's hot now and it hasn't been around and discussed for you know years and years, because we've always been going through it. But what did you find different or what did you maybe change within your personal workout routine when you started experiencing menopause?

SPEAKER_01:

I definitely focused on strength training a lot more. Um, you can you can see it happening right in front of your eyes, the like muscle wasting that's happening. Um there were you go through all these, your body for it's for quite a lot of years. You don't really quite understand what you're going through. Um physical changes and body weight going up, body weight going down, like all these cycles of changes, and you're trying everything. I tried fasting, I tried the paleo diet, I tried it all too, because I was like, what in the world is going on with my body? And the number one thing that really helped calm everything down and kind of make me feel like my body is mine again, in addition to I did hormone therapy too, um, still do, but um was the strength training. I was doing a lot of cardio. We were doing triathlon events, half marathons, you know, mud runs, all those things. And I am not someone who says don't do cardio. I 100% believe you need cardio. You need all five components of fitness, but the the heavier strength training. And it took me probably a few years really to train people that that 10-pound set of dumbbells you pick up, that's not what we mean by heavy. Like you really have to change and go to the 20-pound dumbbells, and maybe you are doing less reps. But um, I have really enjoyed how pushing a heavy weight makes me feel too. But I I just felt like my body started to shape and change and lose body fat, gain muscle, feel stronger, and and also just that like that confidence boost of pushing a heavy weight around. So that that would be, I think, the most effective thing that I have done. And it is also the big trending message for everybody, everybody now to lift heavy, and it is for a good purpose.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure. And I know I actually started lifting heavier many years ago, and I remember it was an underlying theme, and I know you've gone through it too. Emphasizing with our students, especially the the the females and the young girls, that you're not going to get big. Like I feel like I had to like always repeat that, right? Yeah. And just stress the importance of challenging themselves and lifting heavy. And that was always a concern for so many people back. I mean, it might, it probably still is now, but I just know I just remember so many students would be concerned about that. And and I would just encourage them.

SPEAKER_01:

And what's the enlightening thing I heard recently? I had uh 25, I think is how old he is, was a gymnast working at my gym. He was gonna go pro-Olympic gymnast. Super strong, so incredibly strong. And he was leading some workshops at the gym, and he said, to that point of don't be afraid, you're not gonna bulk up. He said, I have been trying my hardest to get big and bulky, and I cannot get big and bulky. So when he said that, I was like, Yeah, I mean, I try really hard to gain muscle, and I'm not big and bulky. Like, it just isn't gonna happen. And those people that we see that are big and bulky are using AIDS to assist them to get that size. So yeah, it's not a fear that is uh legitimate fear. Like you're you're gonna try as hard as you can to get big and bulky, and it's not gonna happen. It's not exactly from a 25-year-old Olympic gymnast, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Right? That's so crazy. And plus, like spending hours in the gym, I would tell them too. I'm like, if you want to become a bodybuilder, I mean you see women that do it, and it's possible, but again, they they're getting a little bit of help and they're spending hours upon hours at the gym.

SPEAKER_01:

And so and they also might be really perfectly counting their macros and you know, being very regimented, and so maybe they're not all getting assistance, but um, you know, it takes serious discipline to get that size too.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure, for sure it does. So I want to uh go into talking about, I want to be conscientious of our time and your time, but I want to make sure that we go into sharing about your studio. And I had the honor today to be able to go in and take a class. And this workout, this Legree fitness workout, is completely new to me. So I had never heard of it until you talked about it. So can you share a little bit about kind of the theory behind it, what the workout is about, so that our listeners can kind of learn about it?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. So I would say it's what you might think of as like a Pilates reformer, but it's not the same method, just so people have a visual of what it kind of looks like. You have the machine that you're working on, the carriage that slides. Sebastian Legris was the founder, is the founder of Legris, and he took strength training principles to design his Legris method. So when you are in a Legris class, it is going to feel like strength training. So you're pushing against heavy resistance, you're moving very, very slow because that is going to activate more muscle fiber. If you like rush through a lunge up and down, you're missing an opportunity to get more muscle to control the movement. So with more muscle activation, you're gonna get better results, more muscle added onto your body, more strength, you know, benefits of that. So it still is like it still is a method that can improve mobility, but it really is focused on strength training. And you are going to feel your abs like you've never felt them before, and your booty is gonna get pumped and lifted. Um, arms, I mean, it's a full body strengthening workout. And it's, I feel like it is a little less intimidating than going in and picking up a barbell. So I think it's a great alternative to people who are like, oh, I don't know if I want to pick up a barbell or heavy dumbbells. You go in there and we sneak in, you're gonna get your strength training anyway. Yeah, you're what did you think about it? How did you feel in the class?

SPEAKER_00:

I loved it. I I know I'm sure I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, but when you're talking about it, it's it's so interesting that it was challenging, like a strength training workout, challenging, yet you're not lifting a weight at all. You know, which is really, really cool. The whole design of it. Um it's I just I actually honestly, I've never at this stage, I actually haven't even gone into using a reformer in Pilates yet, which is so crazy. I don't know how I haven't all these years, but I haven't. So that was really my first experience using any kind of a reformer like that. And it's really cool. It's a really good workout for sure. And I I just think that it's exciting that you are offering that because I, like I said, I hadn't heard of it at all. How long has it been around? Do you know?

SPEAKER_01:

You know, actually, I don't know how many years Legree, I don't know when it started. I should know that, but I don't know. But Pilates has been around for a long time because it's come from the rehabilitation type of a war of you know, method. So dancer rehab is what Pilates is founded in. So, yes, Legree is relatively new. How many years? I don't want to say the wrong thing, so I don't really know exactly how many years, but um, it is founded in something else, which is strength training. So it is a different, you will definitely feel the difference. Although some movements could be similar, the method of how you execute the movement is going to be different and it's going to feel different. It's gonna feel more challenging. You're gonna leave there feeling your muscles. You're definitely gonna walk out going, like you just said, I'm gonna be sore. I bet you don't say that a lot in Pilates. It's a little more uh, I don't know, manageable, doable, which is great for lots of people.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and I think too, the other really important point of the the workout, too, like you were saying, is that you're going through the movement slowly. And a lot of times I think the average person doesn't understand the benefit of doing that. And you know, I just remember too, again, classes that when we were teaching in person, just reminding everyone not to let momentum take over, not to rush through that movement.

SPEAKER_01:

And this is even slower than some of those, you know, workouts and routines we would do in our slower movement because it really connects your mind to the muscle too. You really feel the muscle controlling the movement. I think you become much more aware of your body and how your body moves. Um, so that that also then becomes more effective because you really are recruiting the muscle better. But I also know that that mindfulness then transfers to other things you might do, either other fun activities, or you go into now you're heavy lifting in the gym and you're going to move slower when you heavy lift heavier. You're gonna have more core stability and control when you move. I've had um the even like men who lift really heavy will come to the Ligree class and they've told me my knees feel better when I'm lunging, or like my back doesn't hurt as much. So it is transferring to help you move better in other formats too.

SPEAKER_00:

Which is huge. I mean, that's that's right there, a huge, huge benefit, especially when you think of someone who's uh you know a larger build, uh, you know, um, you know, a very strong person. That's that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I've hear I hear that a lot. So I what I was gonna say is uh I I am about to I've scheduled this post, so I can't tell you what day it's posting. But there is a woman who I we measured her through the in-body scan. So we measure your muscle mass, body fat, all of that. Um, and then we re-measured her in eight weeks. So I just measured her, and in eight weeks she lost 11 pounds and 3% body fat, which is a lot to lose in eight weeks. And she only does the Legris classes, she doesn't go to any other classes. Of course, I encourage her to do all the classes we offer, but yeah, through just Legris, 11 pounds and 3% body fat. So yeah, it is very effective.

SPEAKER_00:

That's amazing. And how many days a week or average was she taking a class?

SPEAKER_01:

She was very consistent with four to five days a week. I mean, that was her secret was I asked her how did you do it? And she said, I was consistently coming four to five days a week. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_00:

That's very, very impressive.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's fun work. I love that. The reason I added it, I actually used to do Ligree workouts. Uh, even being a part of gyms and owning gyms, I would pay to go take a Ligree workout because I really loved it. I loved what it did for my abs. Um, and then I wanted to bring it to my gym because there's so many boutique studios charging such a large amount for memberships that I thought, first of all, I think it's a great Pilates, all of that is great, but you're only focusing on one type of movement that I wanted to bring it, plus have all the variety that we offer, but also wanted to bring it at a little more. I mean, it's we are still a more expensive gym than say a 24-hour fitness or something, but I wanted to bring it at a cost that is a little more reasonable, and you also get all of our other variety that you that we offer.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, you have such a variety of classes, and for for our listeners, I mean, we we are Heather's gym is local to San Alcoritas. So those of you who are listening and you're local, you'll want to go take take a class with her. And another thing that she has coming up is her uh grand opening. So that is happening November 8th, correct?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, November 8th. And Shelly's gonna be part of it too, of course. Excited. Um, yes, actually, it's funny. We just had a grand opening a year ago, you know, last October, we had a grand opening because I had my original space now for six years, and we were previously an all-women's gym. We were under a franchise, we were kaya fit. I was able to end that franchise contract, rebrand to my own brand. So I love now it's my own um method and vision. Um, so we we had that one space, and we ended up getting a second space in our building. So we had a grand opening last year, and then all of a sudden, we have an opportunity for a third space, which is much larger. It's and it's the end unit, everybody can see us now. So we're having another grand opening a year later. So sometimes things just happen really fast, and you know, you'd be patient and it all comes. But but yeah, so we're celebrating this third studio space, and all three of our spaces have all been redesigned. Um, we have the Legris studio that has its own little Legris vibe. We have the strength studio that strength hit and open gym and kind of stuff like that happens. And then we have the find your flow studio that has functional flow and dance and map Pilates and cycle and boxing. I mean, we have almost every format of exercise. Almost.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you I was so impressed because going there for the first time today, I didn't realize all of the equipment that you had and everything that you offer. So it's it's really great. I mean, it's such a great variety.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's so much fun. I have so much fun. We really do have the best coaches that are so knowledgeable, so personable, you know, attentive to you. They design effective workouts. Um, even a community of members is just a great space to be, like great people to be around, and everybody encouraging encouraging each other and lifting each other up. And I don't know, it's fun to be there. You're happy. I hope everybody's happy there. I think they are, but it seems like you're coming into your happy space when you walk in there.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's so huge. And that's kudos to you. I mean, you've brought that, you've brought that in. You've attracted that. So that that that's really huge. I'm just, I don't know, I'm excited to be a part of it on the 8th. And for any of our listeners who are local, anyone can come by, right? On that day.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, we're having um in the three spaces every 30 minutes, we will have free samples of the classes. So you can pretty much try. I think almost every one of our classes is going to be on display in those 30-minute classes. So, yes, it's free. Um, I'll send you the link that you can send out. And we even have a little line dance lesson party at 11 a.m. with a DJ. So from 11 to 12:30, then it's line dancing fun. Um, there will be prize giveaways every hour. You get to meet all of the coaches. Uh, we'll be there, and all of our great community members. So, yeah, you should come and have fun because it's gonna be super fun and just experience and you find the class that you would love to come to. I love it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I'm excited to be a part of it. I'm looking forward to it for sure. And I, you know, it's just it was fun being there today and meeting a couple of the trainers, and I think it's it's again, it's a testament to you because when you have those individuals who are the trainers and people that you're working with and working, you know, with you and alongside you, and then you have your members and and it's a positive environment, that's that's huge, and that all trade you know goes back up to you. So I'm really excited for you. I'm so proud of you for doing this. I just I I want to just like I swear, like I feel like I want to bow down to you.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, I don't think I can do it, and you're doing it, and it's hard, it's a lot of work, but I really I it all comes from a desire to I just really want everyone to feel their best and feel good, and that's why I do it. I don't wake up every morning like, how can I run this amazing business? I just really love fitness and what it does for people, and I just really want people to experience in their life and feel better. I love it. It's easy, it's easy actually when that's your mission.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you're so right. And I totally I'm you know, completely in alignment with that, and that's part of the reason I started my podcast and why I've gotten involved supporting moms and empowering moms to put their wellness as a priority, and also being involved in in more of the nutrition side of things for the last decade over you know, 10, 20 years, and it ultimately comes back to exactly what you're saying. It's just helping people feel their best, and we want to have that impact and help people feel as good as we know they can feel, and it's what we've experienced, and we want to share that. So I totally get that. Yes, I love it.

SPEAKER_01:

So I know all of the times I've ever been a part of your world in um what was it, Mission Mission Valley? What was that? Oh, Mission College? Mission College. Um, every time I would see you in the halls, you just light up a room and make everybody smile. So you also are imparting a difference in this world too.

SPEAKER_00:

So thank you. I appreciate you saying that. That's super kind. It's really nice of you. Um, so where can people find you, Heather? I know that some of our listeners aren't local, but if anyone wanted to reach out to you or they had questions about their fitness or what have you, what's the best place where they can find you?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, they can either go to our Instagram at FitFix Studios. So they can message me there. They can see what we're all about there, who is a part of our community there, what the message is. Um, that would be a great place to go. There's the website, fitfixstudios.com. They can email me if they really want to directly contact me at Heather at fitfixstudios.com and yeah, jump into a class and come see what we're all about.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's awesome. Well, I will add all of Heather's contact information in the show notes as well. But this has been a lot of fun. I uh, you know, we didn't get too into, which is totally fine because I guess it could kind of like date us a little bit, but Heather and I did go to college together, we were teaching together, and this is uh this is a span of I don't know, 30 years, maybe more of knowing.

SPEAKER_01:

More than 30 years, yeah. But I don't know, it that seems like there's no way it was 30 years ago. I do, like you said, I still feel like I'm 25, 30. And then I look at my wrinkles and go, oh no, not true. But but yeah, that went by fast. Life goes by way too fast. But it goes. Even I just remembered today, one other um we used to do the Valencia Valley PE classes. I had forgotten that I did that. So we did a lot in 30 years.

SPEAKER_00:

We have done a lot, and it's so interesting how we've like like we won't see each other and then we'll reconnect, and then we don't see each other, and then we'll reconnect. And it's just super cool. So I'm I'm very, very grateful that we have really, really reconnected this time, hopefully for good. And I had forgotten too about Valencia Valley. You know, we went through a few different instructors through those years, and and part of that is just kind of it's not that it's a blur, but it's like you're saying you're like, oh my gosh, I completely forgot I did that. I mean, it's been, I don't know, it's been what a lot of years since we did that. I'll just put it that way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Hopefully we've gained some wisdom over the years to help. I think so.

SPEAKER_00:

I think so. I always say that, you know, with age comes wisdom. So I'm just gonna say we we are both very, very smart women. We've learned a lot through the years.

SPEAKER_01:

We should do an episode where we maybe get a little like let's get into the physiology of stuff because you've studied it and we could pick a topic that we dive into like the science of things too.

SPEAKER_00:

A hundred percent. I would love to do that. And we definitely, we definitely should. This has been a lot of fun, and we'll have to do another episode for sure, and maybe have you back on after you. Well, heck, maybe you're gonna have another location and in a year you have another group.

SPEAKER_01:

I was kind of like, what's gonna happen next year? You never know. It keeps life exciting, right? I know, it sure does. I'm definitely not bored. No, nope, not at all. My husband would probably like to not um every day have to, you know, be my handyman at the gym. So he'd probably like a little bit of calm.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. He's ready for a little bit of a break. Boy, that's that's nice though to have him there helping you. That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_01:

What a great husband and being I actually really, really couldn't do all I do without him. It would cost me a lot more money to do all the things that I do because he's my free labor. But uh, but really is the support behind the scenes and helps me tremendously. Yeah, that's so huge. That's makes me makes me look like I do I do things so easily. It's all him.

SPEAKER_00:

I love it. That's so awesome. Well, what would you say just as we wrap things up? Any last, I don't know, words of wellness or any inspirational thoughts you want to leave our listeners with?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, oh man, I could say so many things, but um, I would say start today. It's like just make a choice today. But also like I my message has been becoming that you really can control the outcome of your life. Of course, things come your way, but you can control how you respond to them, how it, you know, is it a bump in the road, or do I just keep climbing right over it? So you can decide what you want your life to look like. You can decide now what do I want my life to look like when I'm on uh 100 years old, and then make the daily choices. There's daily choices we make every day that direct our life. And if I can make those choices that keep me healthy, keep me moving, keep me feeling my best, then I do that every single day. Then I'm gonna get to 100. I'm still gonna feel, we're gonna still be saying we feel like we're 25. So they have it. But but yeah, you are in control of your hormones, you are in control of your strength, you are in control of how well you feel every day. And it doesn't have to be scary, and it doesn't have to be the perfect fad diet and all these things. Just choose to move your body, to make healthy choices. It really doesn't have to be that complicated. It does not have to be complicated.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that. And we were talking about that before we pushed record about keeping things simple. So many things in life, we we complicate them, right? And they don't need to be that way. So such a great message. Thank you for that. It is so, so important and a great reminder for everyone. So, well, with that being said, thank you so much for hopping on and taking time today. This has been really great, and I look forward to doing it again.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, me too.

SPEAKER_00:

Really look forward to it. And for our listeners, reach out to Heather if you have any fitness questions, exercise questions, or anything that we've talked about today and you want to know more. Feel free to to reach out to her. And she's just she's a light. Again, she she's just so so kind and sweet. And I just love this time that we've had together. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. And come see Shelly on November 8th. So you can see her beautiful light also. She will be there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe we'll get you in dance class or I can't wait.

SPEAKER_00:

That's gonna be fun. We're line dancing again. I can't wait. Ah, I love it. So, as always, to all our listeners, take time for yourself and your wellness on this day. And until next time, have a beautiful, blessed rest of your week, everyone. We'll see you next time on Words of Wellness. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did. And if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening. And if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelley Jeffries, and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy, and blessed week.