73: Meet Lindsay Avery: A Group X Coach Who Builds Strength Through Community

Many fitness professionals talk about crushing goals and hitting PRs. But what if the real magic happens when you prioritize encouragement over intensity, connection over perfection, and laughter alongside the sweat? 

In this heartwarming episode of Group X Appeal, Kimberly and Terry welcome Lindsay Avery—a Midwest-raised mom of three, group fitness instructor, and coach who's redefining what it means to lead with authenticity.

Lindsay doesn't teach from a pedestal—she trains alongside her members, meeting them exactly where they are. Her philosophy? Burpees may be optional, but encouragement is mandatory. 

Discover how she creates spaces where people feel truly seen, builds strength from the inside out, and transforms classes into communities where showing up on hard days matters more than perfect form.

Whether you're an instructor seeking inspiration to lead more authentically or a fitness enthusiast tired of the perfection-obsessed culture, Lindsay's approach will remind you that fitness is about community, consistency, and compassion—not just the workout.

Ready to meet a coach who proves strength is built through connection? This episode delivers heart, humor, and the kind of encouragement we all need.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube - @groupxappeal.

Questions or topic ideas? Email us @ groupxappeal@gmail.com

Get your FREE Guide To Holistic Well-Being here: https://gxaguide.com/

Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

What if fitness wasn't about perfection, but really about showing up, maybe laughing a little and getting stronger together? Today's guest proves that burpees may be optional, but encouragement is mandatory. She is a mom of three, a Midwest raised coach with a big heart, bigger energy and a gift for making people feel seen. Group X Nation get ready. This one is about purpose, strength and community.

Kimberly/terry (01:04)
Hello, welcome back Terry shorter here with Kimberly Spreen Glick and welcome to your 73rd episode of group ex appeal We've got a good year. Why was it a good year? that was the year we were born. It was a very good year. Yes, it was We're so excited today. I for so many different reasons, but the main reason is because we've got Lindsey Avery here She's a group exercise instructor. She's a coach. She's a wife. She's a mama who

As we mentioned in the hook, she leads with heart. She leads with humor. And we're super, super excited. And authenticity, by the way. Big time. Yeah. And she's known for being incredibly approachable. I approach her all the time. I just approached her this morning and after class again. I approach her every Wednesday when she's done and I'm going to teach. Anytime we get. You know what she does for me every Wednesday? She plays a walk-on song for me. What's your walk-on song? What's my walk-on song?

Lindsay Avery (02:00)
⁓ Hypnish High is by Biggie. ⁓

Kimberly/terry (02:02)
⁓ that's a good one. I'm going

to need a song. And then if we run out of that one, she starts to play. love it when you call me big pop. Put your hands in the ayer because you a true player. You know, because that's, know, I love it because you're so gangster. you think of that song, you think of me. Absolutely. Big pop. I love it. the best. I'm sorry. I digress. You were saying, you know, ⁓

Lindsay Avery (02:19)
Totally. ⁓

Kimberly/terry (02:31)
I think one of the things she shared her bio with us, and I want to share her beliefs because I thought this is really important for people to know. She believes that fitness is way more than just workouts. It's about community. It's about showing up on the hard days. The easy days are simple, right? But the hard days for sure. And also lifting each other, elevating each other up. And like we said, burpees may be optional, but her encouragement is not. And if you laugh at her bad jokes, ⁓

Lindsay Avery (02:55)
I'm sorry.

Kimberly/terry (02:59)
That's a bonus. If you laugh at her bad jokes, you get another bonus. Yeah. Good luck. So we are super excited to welcome Lindsey Avery to Group X Appeal. Hi, Lindsey. Thank you so much for being here. So we have just a few questions we like to ask just to learn a little bit more about you. And first one would be just to ask you to take us back.

Lindsay Avery (03:11)
Hi, glad to be here. Yes, thank you guys for having me.

Kimberly/terry (03:28)
How did you get started as a leader in fitness and kind of what made you love it?

Lindsay Avery (03:33)
⁓ Well, I could go back as early as three and a half when I started taking dance lessons. Age three and a half. Yeah, age three and a half. I started dance and believe it or not, I was kind of forced into it. it was every Saturday, my mom would bribe me to walk to the bakery after and get a cookie.

Kimberly/terry (03:39)
Three and a half years ago? I think she means three and a half years old. ⁓ okay.

Hmm.

dance

and I'll get you a cookie. Right, that's awesome. ⁓

Lindsay Avery (04:03)
Yeah, right. All about the balance, even learning that yuk, right?

So it started, I would say then, but really kind of watching her over the years with Jane Fonda or her taibo. And then, you know, I remember even like the buns of steel. You guys remember that? So watching her kind of set that example when I was young and always

Kimberly/terry (04:19)
yes.

Absolutely. Of course.

Lindsay Avery (04:31)
pretty fit as a young mom. ⁓ And then I was always active in some sports. ⁓ I played baseball young, I played soccer. And then leading up to high school, I was still doing dance and played softball.

Kimberly/terry (04:48)
So your parents, in other words, are trying to keep you out of trouble. Yeah, basically. you busy. Keep her out of jail.

Lindsay Avery (04:53)
My mom was very much keeping me busy, ⁓ So yeah, like her example and then just trying new things as a young child. ⁓ And then I think once I got to college, ⁓ I joined a dance group there. It was just fun. ⁓ And then I also started...

Kimberly/terry (04:55)
Yeah.

Lindsay Avery (05:14)
working out on my own, trying to learn the weight room, which can be super intimidating. And it was for me for many years. And then through that, I went and job shadowed a couple of personal trainers. And I thought, gosh, I knew I wanted to help people in some capacity, whatever that looked like. I was like, I can do it through something that I've learned to love. So I just took that and went with it and started personal training.

then I did, yes. Yeah, gosh, how many years ago? Like 20, I think, something like that. Maybe even more than that now, but yeah. So yeah, it's crazy. over the years and then got into group fitness only about like seven, eight years ago, so yes.

Kimberly/terry (05:45)
So you started as a personal trainer as well. I did not know that. So cool.

you

So you're only five, that's really impressive.

Yeah.

Really

interesting. That's a little newer, fairly newer. Yeah, I had no idea. I thought you'd been teaching like the whole time you've been in fitness. It's such a natural thing for you. It's just so cool.

Lindsay Avery (06:14)
Yeah.

Yeah, maybe. It takes you a lot of time to get there.

Kimberly/terry (06:24)
I did not feel that way at first. How

did you end up teaching your first class? Was it something you wanted to do and you worked toward it or was it you kind of got thrown in like some of us?

Lindsay Avery (06:34)
I ⁓ kind of

did actually, got ⁓ introduced to a mom in the area and she was doing this, she had a franchise that was called Baby Bootcamp. And I just happened to be running with another friend that day and it was kind of a little mini running group. And she was like, Lindsay loves fitness. Yeah. So I started working with her and ⁓ it was.

Kimberly/terry (06:46)
yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Avery (07:01)
So baby bootcamp moms brought their babies and strollers. Yeah. So, ⁓ so I did that for a few years and then I had my third son and was able to bring him along too. But then I feel still, I still felt like I was missing that part that I needed. So I then joined lifetime. And when I took a class there, I was like, ⁓ I think I could do this. And so I talked to our manager at the time and.

Kimberly/terry (07:28)
I

Lindsay Avery (07:31)
The rest is history. I taught strictly strength. Yeah, it was a great place to start. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (07:33)
Wow, so what's the first format you taught at Lifetime? ⁓ good one.

Yeah,

because you could pull what you learned, excuse me, from the weight room and as a personal trainer. Yeah, into that one easily.

Lindsay Avery (07:46)
Yep. For sure. Format

it however you'd like set it up. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (07:52)
So what made you love it?

Lindsay Avery (07:54)
The people mostly always to me it takes me back always to the people and seeing them grow and change and be inspired and just learn to love it as well and get through that point where stepping into a class is very intimidating so moving past that point as well and Yeah, just Seeing them

Kimberly/terry (07:55)
Yeah.

Lindsay Avery (08:21)
week after week show up to class getting to know them personally. I still have some of the members that took like some of my very first classes still taking my class today. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (08:31)
I love it. tells

you a lot about that speaks volumes,

Lindsay Avery (08:37)
It's special

for sure. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (08:40)
fantastic. And Lindsay, what's one unforgettable moment that you can share from teaching? It could be like a goosebump kind of story could be a hilarious mishap or maybe that time a participant completely changed your perspective and you were inspired by perhaps

Lindsay Avery (08:58)
So thinking about this, I'm sure I can pull up many moments of like that, of like that wow. But there's this couple that probably about two years now have been attending my classes regularly. And they have just...

become such a part of my life, not only in the club, but outside the club. They've attended my boys sports events, baseball games, water polo games, and have just become such an intricate part of my life and like what it really means to like grow those relationships, community, not only in, but outside the club as well.

Kimberly/terry (09:23)
Mmm.

Lindsay Avery (09:40)
So I would say that for sure has been like a really special moment in my life. And they're still a part of my life today. So that's not going away. But I would say that and then our Aurora community has really like changed my life. ⁓ Some of the most caring.

Kimberly/terry (09:40)
That's huge.

Wow.

Lindsay Avery (10:01)
individuals that I've come across, their commitments. Most of our members take like our aqua classes, so rain or shine, they're in the pool. Even today I heard the water was pretty cold, they're in the pool. ⁓ But just seeing that community grow, seeing them do things as a community outside of the club and growing those friendship has just been, it's priceless.

Kimberly/terry (10:09)
Mm-hmm. They're there. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Wow.

That's incredible. Yeah, there's something about the fact that we get to create those connections where we support each other in the world of health, fitness, wellness, but then there's life outside of that. And when those connections kind of expand beyond that, it's always such a cool thing. even like Lindsay was telling us before we started recording today that she had a coffee meetup with the Aurora group and like 15 of them showed up. So they weren't coming for workout.

Lindsay Avery (10:39)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Bye.

Kimberly/terry (10:58)
They

were coming to sit around, have coffee and get to know each other and just relish and nurture those relationships.

Lindsay Avery (11:04)
Yep.

We have a few of the ladies that come that like really are really good at recruiting and inviting. So that is like super special. Yeah. If you're sure they really inspire me to many of them are not only taking the Aurora Aqua classes, they're starting to jump into some of our regular strength classes and watching them realize how important that is for their health. And, you know, they want to be able to.

Kimberly/terry (11:11)
you

For connectors. Yeah. Love them.

Mmm, yeah.

Lindsay Avery (11:36)
get on the floor with their grandkids and do everyday tasks so they inspire me.

Kimberly/terry (11:38)
Sure.

So and

for the listener, by the way, our apologies. We didn't define what Aurora is. so Lindsay, she's spearheading the program there at our local club in Laguna Niguel at Lifetime. And so if you can share with the listeners or the viewers in the YouTube's case, can you share what Aurora is more specifically?

Lindsay Avery (12:01)
Sure. ⁓ We don't really like to put an age to it and define it that way. It is for older adults mostly. That's our population. But it could be for anyone that has an injury or coming back from an injury or maybe even that pregnant mama that just needs some sort of movement, but it's more gentle. ⁓ So really that community, yes, we do get mostly older people, but ⁓ yeah.

Kimberly/terry (12:16)
Yeah. Yeah.

A lot of active agers, as we like to call them. No seniors in our world. They're just active, aging.

Lindsay Avery (12:32)
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Not really. mean,

yes, they're in their all ages, really. I mean, I had a young mom take my aqua class this week. yeah, so yes.

Kimberly/terry (12:42)
Yeah.

Wow. Yep. That's cool.

So Lindsay, how do you, because I know how busy you are and you've got the three kids and plus all your classes. How do you stay inspired to continue leading with the kind of passion and intention we know you have?

Lindsay Avery (13:02)
⁓ really good music. Yeah. Seriously. I mean, I always like think about like before my class, like how can I inspire others before I step foot in the door, no matter what I have going on my life. ⁓

Kimberly/terry (13:04)
No, there you go. Good answer. I love it when you call me big.

Lindsay Avery (13:24)
I always think I am here to impact somebody else's life. This could be, they could be having a really rough day. What am I gonna do to ⁓ inspire them? So yes, really getting in that good mindset of ⁓ that's what I'm here to do today. No matter if one person shows up or 30 people show up.

Kimberly/terry (13:36)
underneath.

Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Avery (13:48)
That doesn't matter to me. So, but I also know that for me, I need to fill my cup, right? And build myself up a little bit. So how do I really do that? Through my own workouts through community, through taking classes, through other instructors, ⁓ through podcasts? Yeah, so.

Kimberly/terry (14:11)
It's so important that you bring that up because so often we get into the mode of being of service. a servant leader, often the loop is give, give, give, give, crash. Give, give, give, give, crash. And I think it's important that we fill our cups, as you said, and that way we can kind of give from the overflow and stay healthy and strong. It's good for you. Yeah.

Lindsay Avery (14:31)
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

I think that's really important. Yeah. We wear a lot of hats, so we have to.

Kimberly/terry (14:41)
Yeah,

absolutely. Educator. You know, you're, you're an inspire. You're sometimes a psychiatrist. Yeah. Motivator, entertainer can bring to like the whole five star leader. Exactly. DJ, music DJ. Right.

Lindsay Avery (14:48)
Totally. Yeah. That's so Yeah. I

mean, if you're not, because you, we hear a lot of things that are going on in people's lives. So we really have to take care of ourselves to be able to, you know, not let that bring us down to. Absolutely. Yep. Yep.

Kimberly/terry (15:01)
Yeah. yeah.

for sure.

And be able but be able to be a safe place for them to be able to open up that's huge. Yeah

And so that that is a great segue into the next question, you know being a fit pro for those who don't know It it may look easy, but it isn't always easy You know, you just heard Lindy talk about how she before she even steps foot in class in the classroom She always focuses on okay. What's the intention right? What does she want to provide? What does she want to give? How can she be a person of service?

And so for you, Lindsay, what's been your biggest challenge and how would you say you've overcome it?

Lindsay Avery (15:45)
My biggest challenge I think is just balance and making sure like I'm, ⁓ my priorities are set. And I go back to remembering my why. Why do I love group fitness? Why do I do what I do? And it's to be, yeah, that influencer to make an impact in other people's lives, to serve them. Yeah.

to give my knowledge. So, yes, all of that.

Kimberly/terry (16:16)
love that because it sparks joy, right? ⁓

Lindsay Avery (16:18)
Absolutely. It brings so much

joy to my life. I mean, it doesn't even feel like it's a job. Doing what you love should not feel like a job, and it doesn't.

Kimberly/terry (16:25)
I know.

Right.

Yeah. Well, I I can say from witnessing you in action, you, you do it with such authenticity, with such grace and with a level of kindness. That's why people are so drawn, you know, to your classes and, you know, it is, it is the music and it is the great workout and you're a great coach, but you're just a really incredible human being and you show up just authentically. And I think people are really drawn to that. So you make it look easy.

Lindsay Avery (16:52)
Thank you.

Kimberly/terry (16:58)
Yeah. do. Yeah. I watch you. But we know, know, we know all the hats and how challenging it can be. So good for you. So if you were to fast forward 20 years, we'll talk legacy now. Like what kind of impact do you hope that your fitness career leaves behind? Like what do you hope that your participants will say about the experiences they shared with you?

Lindsay Avery (17:07)
Yeah, thank you.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ I'd have to say I hope it's more than workouts, right? I hope they feel like something I said impacted them or how I made them feel really impacted them more than any workout that we've done. ⁓ I hope they feel ⁓ joyful and ⁓ they felt supported during that time. Yes.

Kimberly/terry (17:48)
beautiful. I love that.

Lindsay Avery (17:52)
Yeah, I hope they feel like they were encouraged and welcomed. And one of my goals is to learn people's names. That's been a goal since day one, so it is really hard. ⁓ But over the years, I've learned tricks to make that better. But I hope they feel that they were seen. I know them. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (18:01)
That's hard.

Yes,

that's huge. That's so huge. Love that. I think just the idea that it is more than a workout. We talk about that all the time. It goes so far beyond the physical and the impact that you can make on them during that one hour they spend with you can very easily impact the other 23 hours of their day. If not more. If not more. Yeah, so that's beautiful. Awesome.

Lindsay Avery (18:35)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yes.

Kimberly/terry (18:40)
And so here's a, here's an off the cuff question, Lindsay, since you, since you, ⁓ are, are so focused, you emphasize music in your classes, which is great. You're speaking our language. You're you're singing our tune. Yes. No pun intended. Pun very much intended. So what would you say, what's your top song on your playlist? Like the go-to song where you're like, when this song comes on, I'm like, different level, I'm ready to go. Or it just gets me hype. I'm like.

Lindsay Avery (18:51)
Thanks

Thank

Kimberly/terry (19:09)
Nothing can stop me.

Lindsay Avery (19:10)
⁓ man, that's a really tough question. How about genre? 90s hip hop mixed with classic rock.

Kimberly/terry (19:12)
Hahaha

Okay, I'm just honored with that. That's a good start.

Boom. Wow. Okay.

So I need a moment. this way by Aerosmith and Run DMC. Nice. I love it.

Lindsay Avery (19:27)
Yeah. yeah. Good.

That's really important to me. Like I listen to a lot of, as I'm sure you guys do, a lot of music.

Kimberly/terry (19:42)
⁓

Yeah, there's just about everything. I think everything under the sun. Sometimes people ask me like, what are my favorite genres? I'm like, I have appreciation for all genres. However, there are two, like the super heavy metal, like where they're just kind of screeching. I like hard rock. I can do classic rock, but the heavy metal, bang your head kind of screechy stuff. Can't do that. And then like, I love traditional rap. Like give me some salt and pepper and I'll put that on anything. ⁓

Lindsay Avery (19:51)
Yeah.

Heh.

No.

Kimberly/terry (20:12)
but the gangsta rap, not so much. And I know you look at me and you think she must be into gangsta rap, but no, but anything else in between, I'm there for it. Awesome. All right. So yeah, there you go. that was the best music era, eighties and nineties. I'm sorry. I sound like an old man, but you are an old man. It's too loud. He's like, everything now is all tuned. I do say that a lot.

Lindsay Avery (20:24)
I play a lot of 80s too.

that.

Kimberly/terry (20:39)
⁓ my god, but it but it's but it's very very true kind of ⁓ Kind of like just mechanical. Yeah, right over over over produced, but that's just my own humble personal old opinion

Lindsay Avery (20:40)
Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (20:54)
I love it. So, all right. So we got your genre down. That works. She give us a specific song, but we know the genre. We know Lindsay's like her go-to. 90s hip hop and classic rock. All right. All right. All right. So mashup. I like that. So, well, very cool. And share with everybody, Lindsay, ⁓ is there anything else that you're working on? Any special projects that you're focusing on or what your intention perhaps is for this year?

Lindsay Avery (21:01)
Yeah, I mean, there's so many songs. A good mix of that, yeah.

⁓ Me personally, I always like personal growth. ⁓ just continuing with my personal workouts, lifting, taking classes with some other instructors for inspiration. ⁓ and growing our Aurora community is really important to me. yeah.

Kimberly/terry (21:45)
So we had a recent episode where we talked about moving into the year with intention. And one of the things that we had suggested that was that people have a word. Do you have like a word or two that has been kind of on the forefront as you go into 2026 that would be a point of focus for you?

Lindsay Avery (22:00)
Thank

I would probably just say grace for myself. Yeah. Cool. Okay.

Kimberly/terry (22:08)
That's a good one. That's better than a line of fire. That was her word align a fire. I kind of

I kind of put two words together is not a word, but we made it over. It is a word now is alignment and simplification or align and simplify. So is it line of fire? But I like grace. Grace is huge. And I think that when you give yourself grace, the beauty in that not that any anyone need your permission, but when they see you give yourself grace.

Lindsay Avery (22:17)
I like it though. it makes me feel better. Oh, I like that. Yeah, giving myself grace, I think. Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (22:36)
They feel like they can give themselves grace and I think that when you're the leader in the room and there's 20 30 40 people who are looking to you for guidance That's a pretty powerful thing for sure And then also Lindsay where can our listeners where can the viewers find you where can they follow you? Where can they learn more about Lindsay Avery?

Lindsay Avery (22:46)
Yeah.

I'd love to invite them to a class at Lifetime in Laguna Niguel. So that would be amazing. A guest pass. ⁓ And then also I'm on Instagram. So, linsavery is my handle. So, yeah.

Kimberly/terry (23:00)
Hey, there we go. person, in the flesh. No better way. Awesome.

Alright.

So we'll make sure to include the handle in

our description here. Yep. Good deal for sure. Lindsay. Thank you so much for reminding us that strength. It's not just built in the body. is built through connection, consistency, compassion, and of course, community. For sure. And you are truly, truly, truly proof that the best coaches don't just count reps. They lift people, they elevate people and you make space for.

Lindsay Avery (23:20)
Yeah.

Kimberly/terry (23:43)
effort over ego, progress over perfection and like Kimberly said, community over comparison. And so to everybody listening, please take this with you. Show up, move with purpose, laugh often, encourage, you know, loudly. Yeah, because burpees may be optional, but being kind to yourself and others never is. So Lindsay Avery, thank you for bringing the heart, the humor, the hustle to group X appeal. We're so glad we got to have this conversation with you.

Lindsay Avery (24:04)
Yeah.

Yes,

thank you guys so much.

Kimberly/terry (24:13)
They're

so great. So everyone listening by all means if you know someone could benefit from this conversation and getting to know Lindsay Share this forward this this podcast this this video if you're watching on YouTube and ⁓ Get the word out any kind of review or liking downloading all the things we appreciate the support Means the world but thanks for tuning in to get to know Lindsay a bit better We got to know Lindsay a little bit better and we've known her for years. So that's awesome. Yes. I love it. So

Thank you so much again. I'm Terry Shorter. I'm Kimberly Spreen Glick And until we meet again, we encourage you to make it a great day. And why Kimberly? Because it is a great day to have. It is. Peace out. Much love.