This story originally appeared in the January/February 2017 edition of Living Intown Magazine.
Shutting her office door for privacy, SarahGeorge Durham scrambles to set up her mobile phone camera just right. Then she looks straight into the lens. Wearing a blouse, skirt and heels, the business consultant and web designer whispers to the camera.
“The gym is everywhere,” she says quietly, before squeezing in a set of push-ups on her office floor. Durham then posts the video on her blog at sarahgeorge.net.
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“Gym culture is still very prevalent,” says Jeffrey Tate of Body by Jazz in Marietta, who’s been a personal trainer for the better part of 20 years, “but I don’t think the gym model is for everybody.”
Crowded gyms often mean waiting for a turn to use specific equipment. Privacy can be a concern for the bashful or self-conscious. Some people who don't want to pay for gym memberships opt to train elsewhere — often in their own homes — using apps, instructional videos, or books for suggestions and workout regimens. Depending on the fitness style, equipment can be limited to a few dumbbells, some exercise bands, a pull-up bar and a yoga mat.
Those who’d rather not invest in equipment, and need the accountability of having a coach, can pair up with a personal trainer.
Durham, a mother of five, enhances her workouts with help from personal trainer, Phillip Oliver, who uses boxing-style workouts with clients. After training with Oliver for six months, Durham had her first amateur boxing bout. Later in 2015, she became the National Golden Gloves Women's Novice Champion in the 152-pound weight class.
When Oliver greets a client at his ranch-style home in Decatur, he opens the front door to reveal an unorthodox sight.
Instead of a rug, interlocking foam padding covers the hardwood floor. This would normally be the living room, but there’s no sofa, entertainment center or dinner table. Against a wall, a pair of 25-pound dumbbells sit next to a 20-pound kettlebell, the latter resembling a cannonball with a handle. Baby-blue boxing gloves rest on the ground near a vertical climbing machine.
If the weather was cooperating on this chilly morning, Oliver would be outside right now. “I like training outdoors,” says Oliver, the owner and operator of 48 Fitness. “I feel like when you train outdoors, you get a better rush. Birds are chirping, you can feel the oxygen, the sun is shining, giving you that energy we all need.”
Oliver often devours fitness-related books and cites the historical training grounds for Spartans, Chinese warriors, Zulus and others who typically prepared for combat outside.
At first glance, this morning’s client doesn’t resemble a warrior. Sheila Kozak, a CPA living in Avondale Estates, offers a friendly smile and a warm handshake. Soon, however, she encases her hands in those boxing gloves. In three-minute intervals, Oliver has her throwing a barrage of punches at his padded hands.
Although portions of the one-hour session include strength training and calisthenic exercises, approximately 60 percent of Kozak’s workout focuses on boxing.
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“It’s challenging, which I like,” Kozak says. “I think it’s incredibly fun, so it keeps me coming back.”
Kozak and Oliver have two personal training sessions each week. Sometimes Oliver comes to Kozak’s house, sometimes she visits his. On most Sundays, Oliver gathers his female boxing clients at local parks, setting up a square, ring-like area on the ground with cones in each corner.
Tate often works out with clients in public parks as well. When Tate meets clients at a park, he often brings his tools of the trade: kettlebells, jump ropes, exercise bands, light dumbbells and other easily portable items. For using larger pieces like a Roman chair, which specializes in the lower back, gluteal, hamstring and abdominal muscles, Tate invites clients to his apartment, where he keeps equipment on the back deck.
Tate refers to time as the one commodity we “won’t get back again,” and applies time management to exercise. He prefers working out at home and tackling it early. First thing in the morning, Tate puts on his exercise clothes and begins planking, lunging, squatting and swinging kettlebells.
“I like the convenience of having everything nearby,” Tate says.
After working on defense, power and speed in his home gym, Oliver tells Kozak to remove the gloves. “Time for some squats,” he informs her.
“Great,” she says sarcastically with a laugh. “You’ve saved that for last now that I’m tired.”
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When her workout comes to a close, she gets encouragement from Oliver for a job well done.
“When I workout in a gym,” Kozak says, “I can get overwhelmed with all of the different things I can do. … There’s no way I could challenge myself like the way (Oliver) does. I surprise myself all the time.”
Insider tip
Bodyweight exercises can be done just about anywhere, including backyards and hotel rooms. Classic and simple examples, performed without any equipment, include push-ups, squats, lunges and bear crawls.
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