Our Breakthrough Spotlight Members this month are Zo and Eddy! This pair brings a fun, warm energy to our morning sessions, and they are always up for a challenge. In their interview we talk about their “why”, sneaky tactics for getting family members to join you in training, and even make up some new words!
BREAKTHROUGH: Thank you, Zo and Eddy, for being our next Spotlight couple. We haven’t done a couple spotlight in a really long time. So, this is exciting! What I always like to start with is hearing what brought you to us in the first place. Zo, you were the first one. What brought you to Breakthrough?
ZO: Yes. I think it was about a year ago and you know, I’ve always trained on and off with Eddy. My mom and my sister had always been into fitness. So, I have been in and out, but I’ve never stuck with anything. I can’t get myself motivated to just work out at home. We were driving down Ventura around my birthday last year and we passed by Breakthrough. I was, like, oh I’ve thought about checking out a smaller gym. I looked it up and I loved the whole presence and I wanted to give it a go. I was so impressed with the individualized attention you gave to me. I kept talking about it every morning after the workout to Ed.
EDDY: Yes!
ZO: Ha, ha. I would come back smiling and telling him you have to come, you have to come.
BREAKTHROUGH: Aww! I love that! Yeah, and I know you just jumped in. The Tactical Strength Challenge was starting shortly after you joined and you had only done a few weeks and you said, I am doing this challenge. I was like, Ok, let’s do it!
ZO: Ha, ha!
BREAKTHROUGH: Then you, Eddy, came to the Challenge to watch and see what Zo was up to… and then you wanted in.
EDDY: I knew that it was very tactical the way you guys got me in, but it was contagious. The energy was contagious. Obviously Zo played a big part in it, seeing how annoyingly happy she was coming back home every morning.
BREAKTHROUGH: Ha, ha!
EDDY: I was going to the gym too, and have been working out since college more consistently, so my workouts were more like going to 24 Hour or whatever and kind of doing my own thing. I have never been a part of a gym like this. So, I was a little hesitant or skeptical, but I came in and after I saw Zo breaking personal records of what she used to be able to do and having so much fun, I thought, Okay, fine! I’ll do it!
BREAKTHROUGH: Yay! That’s the best. So how are you guys feeling now that you’ve both been here for about a year?
EDDY: I mean emotionally, like the motivation thing has always been a thing for me. For me, going to the gym on my own in the morning was more like, like I have to go, I have to go. But it was on my own accountability. I remember a handful of times that I would go to the parking lot, park, and then say, I really don’t want to be here so I would get in my car and go back.
BREAKTHROUGH: Oh my Gosh!
EDDY: Yeah! But because there is external accountability here – RT’s on me, you’re on me, Caleb is on me – it just feels good to be here. And also, my body doesn’t creak as much anymore. I can get out of bed without having to stretch five minutes beforehand. My lower back pain is pretty much gone.
BREAKTHROUGH: Oh yeah, I remember when you first joined that we were tackling that with swings and making sure that your back was ok.
EDDY: Who knew that deadlifts were NOT a back workout! Ha, ha!
BREAKTHROUGH: Ha, ha! That’s true! That is good to know!
EDDY: I feel stronger. I know that sounds kind of cheesy to say but I genuinely feel stronger and the parts of my body that were creaky aren’t creaky anymore. I am so thankful for that.
BREAKTHROUGH: Yeah, that is amazing. So, what about you, Zo? How are you feeling?
ZO: I am feeling a lot stronger than I was. And having external accountability has been really helpful. Having the coaches to say “You can do this, you have done this before and let’s go a little bit higher. We’re here if you need us.” Having that support has been really helpful, and it has built my confidence and my strength in everything else. So, it been awesome. A year later, I feel stronger than I have ever been, for sure.
BREAKTHROUGH: That’s amazing! That’s great news. Now, we always like to know what is your why? What is the motivation, that deeper reason for why you prioritize doing this? You guys come in super early in the morning. It’s not always easy to wake up, especially on a Monday morning. I get that! So, what is the why? What keeps you motivated to do it?
ZO: I just want to feel better! Ha, ha! I see a difference in the days that I work out versus not. There is definitely a difference in my mood, my productivity at work, in all those things. Like I mentioned, my sister and my mom have always been athletic. My sister is older than me and seeing what they are able to do after 40… They are two of the strongest people that I know. I strive to be like them too, in terms of being strong and being able to live my life without needing to rely on anyone as I am getting older as well.
BREAKTHROUGH: That is awesome. I love that.
EDDY: For me, it kind of started off as a joke, like the idea of being able to put on my pants by myself when I am 65.
ZO: 65 is not old!
BREAKTHROUGH: Ha, ha! No, it’s not!
EDDY: 75, whatever! I mean that independence of being able to do things for myself by myself. Not having to rely on someone else for those activities of daily living is a huge motivator. Because in my 30’s I started feeling like I thought I would in my 60’s or 70’s. That felt really young. That was really scary. So, for me to witness that in less than a year to NOT be feeling that way is really, really huge for me. I know genetics and all plays a part in it but being able to do – like Zo said- on days that we workout, I feel cognitively sharper. Whereas on days when we don’t workout, I am like, I will sleep in an extra half hour or hour. It’s a slower morning; it’s nice but I just feel sloggier for the day – is that a word?
BREAKTHROUGH: Sloggier? Sure! I think so! If it’s not, it is now!
ALL: Ha, Ha!
BREAKTHROUGH: I know what you mean!
ZO: Perfect! You get it!
EDDY: Plus, it is fun and motivating, whereas going by myself, it used to be just me by myself surrounded by a bunch of people who are just there doing their own thing by themselves. But being here is really fun! Again, coming from always working out by myself in a bigger gym, I was really hesitant to have someone else tell me what to do. But it feels great to not having to think about it…
ZO: Focus…
EDDY: Yes focus. You guys are so great at tailoring exactly what we need based on what you guys assess, based on what we say we want to do,…
BREAKTHROUGH: Yeah! It is a dialogue!
EDDY: Yeah! And it is so on point!
BREAKTHROUGH: That is good news. I am happy to hear that.
EDDY: I mean, just all the praises!
BREAKTHROUGH: Amazing! Thank you, guys! Anything else you want to share? Anything else we didn’t cover? Things you notice outside the gym? Anything else that surprised you?
ZO: Ha, ha!
BREAKTHROUGH: Why are you laughing?
ZO: I am laughing because I have a coworker story. We were at the water cooler, and it was out. She was like, oh let me get it, and I said workers’ comp! Don’t do that. Let me get it. I just picked it up and put it on. She said, “You already did it? How fast was that? That is so impressive!” I mean it was funny … but obviously, it helps to be aware of functional fitness where I am not hurting myself doing things. I would have initially called Eddy to come change the water cooler a couple of years ago. Now I am like ….
BREAKTHROUGH: Just let me do it!
ZO: Yeah! Let me do it.
BREAKTHROUGH: That kind of stuff is amazing. I love hearing that. The gym is great. We do some fun stuff in here, sure. But it is 4% of your week if that? What is happening outside the gym?
EDDY: That daily functional aspect is so huge. Totally unrelated to any of that, but I love that you guys are family oriented. It is a whole family operation. And that is how our business is too. It’s me, her, and my brother who is working with us. We have a bunch of friends who came over with us. It’s very much – I was making a joke earlier– this is what it is like working with my brother like you with RT. My brother always gives Zo a hard time and jokes around all the time! It is just a different feeling than going someplace that is money driven or…. It’s just a different feeling that is really nice.
BREAKTHROUGH: Well, thank you! I am glad that you notice that. You guys are amazing! Obviously, you brought your dad, and your sister came for a visit. We love seeing families train together. That is why we started the gym in the first place. So, that our family could take care of themselves and have that place to be together. That is huge for us – seeing multi-generations of people taking care of their health. We love that!
EDDY: And you see people of different ages and different generations all training together here. And you are like, what is going on here? Is this a gym for old people? Not at all!
BREAKTHROUGH: It is for everyone!
EDDY: It is for everyone! Coming from a background where I was trying to lift really heavy – albeit with horrible form because I didn’t know what I was doing, it’s really challenging which feels really great!
BREAKTHROUGH: Challenging in a way that you can succeed.
EDDY: Yeah, yeah!
BREAKTHROUGH: You’re not going to blow out your back.
EDDY: No, no, no!
ZO: The culture is so much different than somewhere like 24… too many people, overcrowded. Not enough dumbbells are available. But here, it’s available for everybody and..
BREAKTHROUGH: We share…
ZO: Yeah, we share exactly! We are good training partners! Ha, ha!
BREAKTHROUGH: Ha, ha! And that makes all the difference. Thank you guys so much for sharing all of this. You guys are the best!
ZO AND EDDY: Thank you!