Frequently Asked Questions

For personal training, your first time at Rocky's will be a consultation where you sit down with a trainer for 20-30 minutes to discuss your goals, ambitions, history, athletic background, and lifestyle. Based on that information we match you up with the personal trainer that best matches these items.

For group exercise, your first class is complementary to see if it's something you would like.  If it is something you want to continue, we strongly encourage you to go through a functional movement screen so we can assess whether you're ready to be in a group exercise setting, or whether there are any underlying issues we need to address.  We determine if there are reasons for referring you to a medical professional such as a physical therapist or sports doctor or if we can mainstream you into a group.

This depends on what kind of results we're talking about.

• More energy? It could be within a matter of hours or a few days.
• Increased strength and actual muscle size? This takes 6-8 weeks.
• Overall feeling of goodness, a feeling that you're doing something good, and a sense of better strength? Could be a matter of just a few weeks.

For the big box gyms, the group exercise classes are usually led by a minimum wage worker with little to no experience, who may or may not be certified. The programs are most likely outdated because the drive and determination of employees at big box gyms are usually not the same as certified fitness professionals.

The difference with Rocky's is that every class is led by a certified personal trainer, is designed using the latest scientific techniques and information, and is created with more than just a better looking body in mind. We deal with how the body moves, and how it functions. We have the ability to modify exercises for almost any limitation.

The benefits are multi-fold.

• Energy - you'll have more energy through your day because of the exercise you'll be doing.
• You'll feel better about yourself because you're committing to something better for yourself.
• Living a healthier lifestyle you'll start to make better choices throughout the day.
• Over the course of time you'll start to feel yourself getting stronger.
• You'll achieve better balance and your reaction time to certain events will improve.
• You general feeling of potential malaise will be overwhelmed and overcome by more euphoria and a sense of purpose, strength and determination.

If you ask most people why they stick with this group structure, you'll hear that it's because we never do the same workout twice. We might repeat some exercises over time and their might be some favorites ones for each trainer, but we've been doing this for a long time. Over the course of tens of thousands of classes in the years we've been doing this, I doubt if there's been one time where each workout is exactly the same as the other. Therefore, you're going always be on your toes wondering what else is coming down the pike. If you feel like you've just conquered one exercise, think again, because there's a way we can tweak it in order to create a new demand for you.

It's always changing, it's always new. We have a fun bunch of toys that we don't always pull out, but we have a big toy box and that makes our variety and choice of exercise quite wide.

It depends on how fast you want to see results, how you enjoy it and how much you really want to come in. We recommend at least two times a week. That will keep you motivated and in touch with what's going on. It's at least a maintenance program.

If you want to see physical improvement - physiological change - then 3-5 times would be ideal.

That's a loaded question. Maybe, if that's a goal you have, but exercise alone will probably not do it. It's a simple equation - burn more calories than you take in - but it's a complex solution. If you think that you can simply workout and eat anything you want, then you're going to have a harder time losing weight.  However, if you have the right mindset, some good nutritional guidance, some discipline when needed and the right follow through, then this could be one element in the recipe for success.

Any movement you do consumes calories.  Typically, the more intense the exercise or movement, the higher the caloric demand.  By combining strength training with cardiovascular or aerobic training you get the best of both worlds.  One is you're burning some amount of fat during the workout, but with strength training, the repair and recovery time demands a lot of aerobic energy - which is oxygen and fat - so we often find that your post exercise energy and oxygen consumption is greater after exercise. So exercising frequently through the week - similar to eating small meals throughout the day - will give you more opportunities to raise your metabolism, thereby burning more calories.

• Bring to class an attitude of 110% commitment.
• Bring exercise apparel that you feel comfortable in.
• Don't worry about proper footwear.  You can workout barefoot if you need to - we have no shoes policies here.  We want you to be comfortable and feel the earth around you.
• We supply you with workout towels.
• Bring a water bottle, but we have those for sale if you need one.
• Bring a friend, because it's always a fun time to share in the misery of success, whatever your mindset is.

• Certification by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• Certification by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• Certification by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)

If you're new to exercise and you haven't had a history of sports growing up, you're going to be a bit more challenged neurologically.  Your body has not grown accustomed to certain movements.  Not to say you can't perform these exercises, just know that you may be a little more challenged by certain exercises, but you will be successful.

If you're out of shape, well, isn't that why you're here to begin with?  To change the lifestyle that has gotten you out of shape?  By incorporating regular exercise into this lifestyle, your body will start to reflect that and that out of shape will start getting into shape.

The only way to really find out is to try it and see if you like it. It's important to try more than one, because some people have a greater affinity for a certain style of personal trainer and training. Some people like the variety of trainers, but some work well with just one type. You really never know until you try it.

If you don't find a Group Exercise Class that meets your needs, then we do offer 1:1 individual personal training.

This is always a question we're asked.  Cross fit can be a fantastic program for the people that like that style of training.  We differ from cross fit in the fact that we pride ourselves on screening individuals prior to working out.  We are corrective exercise specialists so we have the ability to find ways of improving motion and form.  We are more about the quality of movement than the quantity of movement.  That's not to say that cross fit is all about high volume work, but that is common point in some of their program design.

I am friends with the person who created cross fit.  I think the world of him and the empire that has become cross fit. I'm very grateful for what he has done to thousands of people that otherwise would not be moving and would remain out of shape, but we are not cross fit.

Traditional strength training often isolates muscles in a non-practical, non-lifestyle type of setting.  For example, the leg extension or bicep curl machine.  They move around one joint and very rarely you'll find yourself moving around a single joint when you're going through your day to day activities.  We try to condition the body to be better at every movement you can do. Traditional strength training isolates and breaks down the body in non-functional manners.

We do throw in cardio components, but often they're short bursts.  They're not long durations and we use them as just another element to our conditioning.  We encourage people on the off days to get cardiovascular activity or seek out a yoga class to improve their flexibility depending on their needs and goals, but it's not something that we throw at somebody or put into our program for group training, because honestly, it's mindless.  To get on a treadmill and not get anywhere or get on a bike spinning your wheels - maybe for a few minutes, but after that it's boring.  So we try to the energy alive and the excitement at the highest point we can keep it.