Meet Chris Crowthers: Founding Instructor at Brrrn!

I think the best way to get back into a regular fitness routine this season is to PLAN!  Fail to plan = plan to fail.  Book your classes, workouts, trainings, etc. and PUT THEM ON YOUR CALENDAR.  If you’re not sure where to start, start with workouts that you like to do and make you feel good.  Once you’ve gotten back into the swing of things, try spicing it up a bit with something new.

Having a workout buddy OR even an accountability buddy helps, too!

Same thing goes for nutrition.  Do some meal prep when you have time.  Chop up some veggies for salads for the week, or roast some veggies and chicken.  Having things ready to go in your fridge will mean you’re less likely to eat out or order in.

All of our classes at Brrrn are unique because we’re the world’s first cool temperature fitness experience – we work out in 50º!  Our SLIDE and HIT + SLIDE classes both incorporate slide boards which are GREAT for lateral movements.  In most workouts, we really only move forward and backwards (think walking and running, spinning, etc.), but the slide boards get you moving side to side working a lot muscles that you may not even know you have.

When it comes to my classes in particular, music is a driving force.  I find music to be really inspiring, so I take a lot of time to carefully craft my playlists (every Wednesday I do Woman Crush Wednesday where I feature a different female artist or female artists that all have something that ties them together).  You know at the end of a workout where you’re starting to feel a little tired and then THAT song comes on and you get the boost you need to finish strong?  I try to do that with every playlist.

Most important thing is FUN.  You’re not gonna do it and continue to do it unless it’s fun and working out should be fun!  I say this a lot in my class, but working out should feel like a celebration of all the amazing things our bodies are capable of doing AND the fact that we CAN be doing the things we’re doing in a class.  Working out is NOT a punishment for something you may have done the day before or over the weekend, like indulged a bit too much.

Don’t let the 50º temperature scare you.  50º is cool, NOT cold and within the first 10 minutes or so, your body adjusts and warms up and the room actually feels GREAT!  How many times at the end of a class where the temperature is in the upper 60’s – low 70’s are feeling run down and like you couldn’t possibly do one more burpees or push up or squat?  Good news!  At Brrrn, that’s kind of eliminated and you’re able to work out harder for longer.

A lot of first timers are nervous about the slide boards, I was too!  But I’d say just about every person I’ve ever had in a SLIDE class looks like they’re ready for the Winter Olympics by the end of class.  Stepping outside your comfort zone is a challenge, I get it, but challenge creates change and isn’t that why we workout out, to make some sort of change?

Yes and no.  LOL.  It’s funny, I was having this conversation the other day with some colleagues.  To really create some significant change and get better at something, you have to keep doing the same thing.  For instance, if you’re trying get bigger arms, you gotta keep working on your arms.  Pretty obvious, right?

I have a trainer that writes programs for me mainly for the accountability.  I could absolutely program my workouts for myself, but I’ve found that I’m less likely to do them.  Most of workouts consist of lifting weights, some ab/core work and then a metabolic finisher.  That being said, I like moving my body in as many ways as I possible can. Strength training can sometimes feel confining or restrictive or contracted but it’s so useful.  However, I spent a lot of my life dancing, which can feel elongating and expansive.  I also REALLY like a group fitness class.  There’s something about community and working out alongside others that really fuels me.

I typically lift weights 4 times a week and then I’ll get in one or two other workouts during the week that I do because they’re fun – ride my bike or take a spin class, yoga, dance, boxing.  Spice Girls said it based “spice up your life!”

Having a “WHY” is super important for many aspects in our lives.  For me, my WHY for working out is actually for my older self.  I want to make sure I’m taking the best care of myself NOW so that in 25-40 years I’m able to get up and down without any pain and feel strong and healthy.  So to answer the question, my reward is in the future but I feel rewarded after every workout knowing that I’m working towards that WHY.

– Chris Crowthers

  Founding Instructor at Brrrn