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People of all fitness levels find support and community at CrossFit Orillia

Achieving a healthy lifestyle is possible, regardless of age or previous ability
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While joining a gym can often feel intimidating, CrossFit Orillia's inclusive approach to health welcomes both beginners and long-time participants into a supportive community.

Matt Spencer, the owner of CrossFit Orillia, said a common misconception is that you need to be in top physical shape to do CrossFit, when in fact, they work with clients of all fitness levels.

"It's a place for all people to come together and work on improving themselves, and work towards having a healthy lifestyle," he said.

For those feeling hesitant about starting, Spencer explained that the first step is getting to know the person and their fitness goals.

"We sit down with people who have some weight to lose, we especially love to help people with knee, hip or back pain, it doesn't matter what is bringing them in we want to know who the person is, and from there, we come up with a tailored plan for them," he said.

Often, the group classes, which Spencer describes as personal training in a group environment, are the best way for an individual to accomplish their goals. However, for clients needing a little extra work, one-on-one personal training is available and can also be tailored specifically to clients needing pain or injury rehabilitation.

Despite the pandemic forcing gyms to frequently close, Spencer said it has allowed them to serve the Orillia community in a new way. Where class sizes were previously limited by their brick-and-mortar location, online classes — offered three times a day via Zoom — allow clients to consistently hit their goals without going to the gym.

"It has opened us up to almost anyone in the sense of now we're able to serve people, whether it's personal training, nutrition coaching, or group classes, through Zoom, and now we have a far better reach and impact outside of the community."

All the classes are recorded, so if a client can't make the live-stream time, they can access the video later.

"It's still about connecting with some sort of community because we want people to feel like they're part of something, whether they're joining us in person or online," he said.

Nutrition is also an integral part of a healthy life, Spencer said, but people too often set unrealistic weight-loss goals. CrossFit Orillia's online nutrition course not only helps create a sustainable goal it also connects people province-wide who are on a similar path.

"True weight loss is done over time," he said. "When you get that shared collection of struggles, then people succeed a whole lot faster because they feel like they have a sense of shared purpose with other people."

There's no age limit to who can do CrossFit either. In fact, Orillia now offers what they call the Legends Lunch, which introduces exercise to individuals aged 60 and up in a way that provides social support and shows them they are capable.

One member of the Legends Lunch initially struggled to do a sit-up when she first joined the online class, but as time went on, Spencer encouraged her to keep trying.

"Sure enough, she did it," he said. "She was on mute, but I could see she was cheering herself on."

Her recent email to Spencer details that she has lost 20 pounds in three months, but most importantly, she no longer needs Advil for knee pain which used to leave her in tears.

"That's not even an issue for her anymore," he said. "Those are the people that we help, and really the sky is truly the limit for what she's capable of."

To learn more and get started on your own health journey, visit CrossFit Orillia online