Workout videos have been around for decades. From Jane Fonda to Kim Kardashian, and lately it seems everyone is talking about Beachbody's P90X. We found a group of North Texans who are taking the workout out of the living and bringing it to the public.
"Who's new? Whose first time? Yea! We're growing I love this," says Jimmy Hays Nelson. Nelson and his wife Kelly are the beachbody coaches who lead the Dallas Fit Club sessions.
For the last six weeks, the group has been meeting every Tuesday night at the Camden Farmers Market Building in Dallas. On any given Tuesday, 20 to 30 people show up ready to sweat to P90X.
Nelson has been a devoted practitioner since before it was popular. He started these workouts 6 years ago when it was called Power 90.
"I'd grown up an overweight kid. I maxed out at about 245, about 80 pounds heavier than I am now. And a buddy said hey I'm doing this infomercial and it works."
That infomercial has become a multi-million dollar franchise that includes a variety of fitness DVDs, supplements and gear.
"It is easier to sell someone a dream in 30 minutes than it is in 30 seconds," says SMU professor Dan Howard.
Howard conducts research on infomercials. He says advertising can sell a product, but that alone can't keep the company in business.
"There must be something more to it than just simply an effective commercial or they would not keep customers."
The Dallas Fit Club meets inside a basketball court. It's a pretty raw environment. There are no mirrors, no music, and no attitudes. Just a group of people committed to changing their bodies.
"These people, they walk in the door and they think I might be ok," says Kelly Nelson. She describes how most of these people feel. "I'm going to do a squat tonight, or it might be a push up. Or just showing up and doing my best."
Dallas Fit Club is free, but many of the people here have purchased the set. Jimmy Hays Nelson says this weekly meeting helps hold them accountable to their investment.
"I always try to let them leave thinking 'you know what you made it through this, so tomorrow when we're not meeting you can do this again and you can get through it."
Fit Club Locations:
North Tarrant County Fit Club Thursdays 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The Sunflower Shoppe, The Upstairs Meeting Room 5100 Highway 121 Colleyville, TX Facebook event page:
Fort Worth Fit Club Mondays 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The 26 Wellness Center (of NRH Baptist Church) 6955 Boulevard 26 North Richland Hills, TX
SW DFW Area Fit Club Thursdays 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Lifegate Church - youth room 601 SW Thomas Burleson, TX 76028 http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=124990617523001&index=1
Dallas Fit Club Tuesdays 7p.m. Camden Farmers Market Building (Building on Corner of Canton & Ceasar Chavez) 2210 Canton St. Dallas, TX 75201
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