Sorry – we don’t do drop- ins.
At least once a week, a potential member asks to try out a class at the gym.
Listen, I get it, I really do. I know you want to try a class before you commit. Just like you, I like to test drive my cars before I buy them.
But, the answer is still no.
At SOS, we receive referrals from several physical therapists, physicians, chiropractors and even orthopedic surgeons. We pride ourselves the fact that we can train anyone.
Our Evaluation Process
A huge reason we are successful is due to our evaluation process and movement screen. During your consultation (FREE!) we’ll start to discuss your job, habits, injury history, aches and pains, past training experience, likes/dislikes, concerns and goals. Yes, we actually want to get to know you. Even if you don’t sign up.
Once you sign up, you’ll have a session with a coach where we’ll get to know more about you and your lifestyle, and we’ll use the Functional Movement Screen to measure your movement competency.
Here is why.
Before you dive into an exercise program, we need to know:
- What exercises you should avoid
- What exercises you can do, but need to approach slowly.
- What exercises you can hop right into.
To put it simply, we need to know where we’re starting in order to develop a roadmap for you.
Do No Harm
A significant part of our membership base comes from referrals from medical professionals who trust us to take good care of their patients. We feel it’s unethical to let anyone who wants to hop into an exercise class do so without knowing anything about them.
We strive to keep our clients healthy and truly believe in the famous Hippocratic oath “do no harm.”
[bctt tweet=”Listen, a doctor would never prescribe you medication without meeting you. Any coach/trainer worth one’s salt shouldn’t have you take part in an exercise program without some sort of proper intake process.” username=”skillofstrength”]
But, I know you want to try a class. And you’re “healthy.”
Sorry. We still don’t do that.
Take a quick look at these stats.
- More than 80% of Americans will experience low back pain in their life. That’s approximately 31 million Americans.
- The average America sits for 13 hours a day, and sleeps for 8.
I never want to go as far as saying that sitting is the new smoking, but let’s be honest, no one sits down for a 4-5 hour block, stands up and reacts like this..
It’s more likely you’re tight, stiff and your back probably hurts.
How about about this?
- Approximately 33% of Americans will experience knee pain at some point
- 37% of the US Population will experience pain due to arthritic changes in their joints
- 1 in 2 adults will be affected by some sort of musculoskeletal condition
I think the research is pretty clear. There’s a pretty good chance anyone walking into a gym has some sort of injury history.
This is significant.
If you walk into a gym and get injured in a class, what good does that do anyone?
It’s silly and irresponsible.
Our Members Come First
It’s also worth nothing one more reason we do not do free trial classes. We don’t believe in throwing members into classes and sitting back watching as the workout goes down.
In every class we are coaching the entire time. We’ll help you decide which weights to use, how to adjust when things don’t feel quite right and we’ll push you to be at your best without taking it too far. If we are spending the entire class teaching a drop-in member the lay of the land, how our classes are run and trying to help you decide your starting points on the fly, we won’t be able to give an appropriate amount of time and energy to members in the class.
The SOS Difference
If you want a gym that that specializes in HIIT training, box jumps, tabatas, boot camp beat downs, and tire flips with a gas mask, there are plenty of other options around. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.
We are not that. We are different. We believe in…
- Developing movement quality first.
- Using smart and intelligent programming in all of our training programs.
- Consistency.
- That it’s our job is to teach our members on how to take care of themselves. We don’t just show you how to do things, we teach you why.
And, or course we believe in hard work. This is always room to work smarter AND harder.
It’s simple really.
If you want to move better, feel better and perform better, show up, work hard and be coachable. We will take care of the rest. Strength starts here.