Both Luis Alfonso Zambrano (manager) and Guillermo Nieto (Pilates and yoga instructor) understand physical activity as more than just a sport. It is health, it is physical and emotional well-being, it is feeling good about yourself and connecting with the community. And that's precisely what they want to transmit in their Fit Jeff Buceo center, which has been open for over a year and a half.
Today, in this new installment of Sharing Experiences, our partners in Uruguay tell us what it means to them to be part of Fit Jeff and how it differs from other fitness centers.
Read on and to learn more about their experience. 💪🏼
What do you like most about being part of Fit Jeff?
Luis Alfonso: What I like most about Fit Jeff is being able to work with the public and help them improve their physical and mental health. Watching people evolve every day in the fitness world, feeling better about themselves, and more comfortable in the center. I think that's what I like most and what motivates me the most about being at Fit Jeff.
Guillermo: What I like most about Fit Jeff is the bond and the community that is formed. As an instructor, coming and teaching the classes makes you form very strong bonds with the students. This exchange, which helps you grow daily as an instructor and as a person, is something that motivates me a lot to continue.
What would you say differentiates Fit Jeff from other fitness centers?
Luis Alfonso: The difference between Fit Jeff with the rest of fitness centers is that our treatment is personalized. We go one on one with the student, we are always aware of their physical and emotional well-being.
Do you think this model has a future?
Luis Alfonso: I see the future of Fit Jeff as quite promising. Right now in our center we have a good number of students, and we are going for more students! In fact, I think Montevideo has a great potential to continue opening more branches.
What has it meant for you to have Jeff's support with your project?
Luis Alfonso: The most important thing Jeff has done is accompany us. They are always there with us helping us in everything: providing us with the necessary tools so that we can be good instructors and the center can continue to grow.
Guillermo: I would also highlight the support we receive in all the ideas we have.
Regarding your students, how do you create community at the center?
Luis Alfonso: What the students emphasize about belonging to our community is that they like the bonds that are formed. Here we have expert Guillermo, who is the expert in creating community...
Guillermo: At the end of the class or at the beginning, you ask how the student is doing, what they did during the week, how their weekend was. This generates a communication with the student that is then reflected in the Fit Jeff community.
This is also reflected in the students' response to the Fit Days and events we organize. We provide the initial idea and the fact that they want to be part of the Fit Days from the beginning is very valuable. That's when you realize how much weight the community has in this center.
Speaking of events, can you tell us a little bit about the yoga retreat you recently had?
Guillermo: Sure. In our gym we wanted to do something to keep motivating the Fit Jeff community. What we came up with was to do a yoga retreat to continue bonding with our community, but also to get out of our day-to-day routine.
The idea came up, and Luis and I discussed it first. Then we discussed it with Fit Jeff's head office and from there we got a positive response, so we began to propose the initial idea to carry out the retreat.
Luis Alfonso: It’s important to note that the success of this retreat is due to the fact that last year we had already done a yoga retreat and it went well. This first retreat helped us a lot to boost the gym. We felt that before the retreat we were one gym and after the retreat, another.
What did the retreat consist of?
Guillermo: This year's retreat consisted of 2 nights and 3 days. On the first day we left very early from the center, where a bus picked us up and from there we all went together to the place of the retreat in Maldonado.
The itinerary for the two full days (Saturday and Sunday) started at 8 am and we had three yoga classes and trekking. The trekking was essential to connect with nature, to walk and to generate conversations among the students to get to know each other.
Luis Alfonso: Our main objective was to continue building loyalty and for these 25 students to become our brand ambassadors, in order to attract more students.
And how was it? Was it a good experience for you?
Guillermo: We were super grateful. It was incredibly gratifying to see all that Luis and I did.
Luis Alfonso: Also, the things people said filled us and made us want to continue doing more things for the Fit Jeff brand and for our students.
We hope that Luis Alofonso and Guillermo's experience has helped you get a more detailed idea of what it is to have a Fit Jeff and why we are a fitness center different from all the others. But what if we take it a step further? Let's see what Fit Jeff Buceo alumni have to say.
"What made me be here and want to come every day for 1 or 2 hours to learn different disciplines is how I have fit in, how I have felt, and how the teachers and my colleagues, and the students, have made me feel during class.
After each class I leave happy and satisfied with myself."
Santiago Ferrari
“Truly the Fit Jeff concept is a good one. The gym, the variety of disciplines it has, and the schedules; for me, the experience at the center has been enriching. I've been here for a year now and it has transformed me physically and honestly, mentally as well."
Eugenio Pena
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