FIGHTFIT
Using innovation to combine things has lead to some spectacular discoveries (plant seeds plus hot water… hello coffee!), and exercise is no exception! Jason Watson looked around his gym and asked himself what he could do with Wavemaster heavy bags, plus his knowledge of fitness programs, plus his multiple martial arts black belts. What he came up with was the FightFit Fitness program!
How did your martial arts background play a role in creating FightFit?
I have run a martial arts gym for over 20 years, and am a 6th degree black belt in taekwondo and 5th degree in hapkido. The martial arts have a huge benefit for everyone, but not everyone wants to train in a traditional art. I wanted something to draw those people in, and I also wanted to add more variety to my gym and add a new revenue stream, to go beyond my martial arts classes. I was watching new fitness programs and boot camps take off and I had even done a few them. I wasn’t completely satisfied with any of the programs and I felt like I could do better.
When did you start the program?
I started the original program in 2005 with some of my adult martial arts students and then began marketing it to the parents of some of my current members. With the help of certified personal trainers, we added more exercises and began utilizing more fitness equipment, constantly adding new workouts. In 2009, the retail space next to our martial arts facility became available so we decided to open a stand-alone FightFit facility to offer more class time slots. Both the school and FightFit grew steadily, so in 2014 I purchased some land and opened a new facility with separate spaces for martial arts and for FightFit Fitness.
What kind of equipment does FightFit use?
We have 100+ workouts, so the equipment varies. However, our core pieces of equipment are heavy bags, plyo boxes, medicine balls and dumbbells.
What makes your program unique?
We derive our large workout selection from over 200 exercises, all of which have been refined over time. There is just no other fitness program out there that offers the structure, variety and effectiveness of our workouts.
What is FightFit’s mission?
Our slogan is “Fight the Ordinary.” We bring fun, challenging workouts that work for “every body and everybody.” The point is that the workouts should be adaptable for athletes and couch-potatoes alike, while still fresh and interesting for long-time members. We have members in our classes who have been with me for 10+ years. Folks have lots of fitness options so if we don’t keep it interesting, we won’t keep them.
How do you impact your members?
FightFit Fitness has stood the test of time. Now, we now have generations of members working out together. Parents who started with the program years ago when their kids were learning martial arts, now have their grown kids joining them in FightFit classes. Several of the parents have said that it has created a unique bonding opportunity with their kids. We have had the same reaction from spouses - we have many husband/wife teams who work out together and love the shared experience. We have received numerous emails from members sharing with us success stories from how they are now in the “best shape of their lives.” One member even told us that because of her improved health due to FightFit, her doctor was able to take her off her cholesterol medication. That we were able to help her is amazing to me!
