From Classes to Content, F45 Is All-In on Wellness & Recovery
Partnership
Sponsored By F45 Training
F45 Training knows wellness and recovery are here to stay, launching new brands and establishing education programs based on the modalities
F45 Training, the fitness brand known for group-based, functional and efficient workouts, isn’t hiding its interest in wellness.
The brand recently launched FS8 and VAURA, which feature innovative approaches and hybridizations of Pilates, tone, and yoga. It’s added new longevity-boosting elements to its current programming as well.
Still, that’s just scratching the surface. F45 is just getting started on its wellness campaign, with Recovery Expert and F45 Training Athlete Cristina Chan helping to lead the charge.
“My role with F45 as an athlete and recovery expert has evolved over the last few years as we continue to deliver the most useful information and resources to the community,” Chan explained. “What began as movements on the screen and in the app has grown into influencing an all-encompassing approach to fitness.”
“Whether it’s writing educational articles, creating video demos, or providing face-to-face coaching around the world, the goal is to help people achieve their greatest potential through a holistic approach to health and fitness, including recovery,” Chan added.
Top-Notch Education
Countless fitness brands are riding the wellness wave right now but few are doing so with the gusto of F45 Training. With Chan and other individuals aboard, the brand has endless access to expert wellness intel. That’s a pivotal attribute given its high demand.
“What sets F45 apart from other forms of group fitness is the ability to use innovative technology and resources to diversify the way members receive instruction,” said Chan. “Our athletics team is stacked with educators who strive to create a well-rounded program that focuses on strength training, cardiovascular health, and recovery. I’ve had the privilege to be involved in the brainstorming behind these movements and can proudly say we continue to expand the way we program for members to move their bodies.”
F45’s on-demand, recovery workouts, available for members via the brand’s app, is a popular product stemming from these labors. The brand just added new mobility movements to its warm-ups, programmed post-workout arrangements, cool-downs to every class in the studio and introduced “Flow” yoga, which emphasizes mobility.
Mobility is arguably the most important element of wellness to maintain, Chan argues.
“If you lack range of motion, no amount of muscle strength will power you through that restricted movement, at least not without serious repercussions like injury and pain,” Chan said. “Restricted movements will force the body to compensate, creating further dysfunction. Additionally, if a muscle cannot achieve its optimal length, it cannot generate sufficient force. Good mobility is a basic requirement of quality, safe, and efficient human performance.”
Outside of the app and in its studios, F45 also makes educational articles and recovery-themed pillars during challenges available for members to fully round out its wellness experience.
Wellness Is No Fad
F45 and Chan are highly confident the brand’s investment in wellness and recovery is a wise one.
“It may be a new buzzword in many fitness circles, but recovery is far from a fad,” said Chan. “In fact, physical therapists have been behind the movement to focus on mobility as part of injury rehabilitation and prevention as well as elevating quality of life for much longer than it’s been considered trendy.”
F45’s commitment to wellness is a financial one as well: the brand recently announced plans to launch FS8 studios in South Korea as well as several key cities in Europe. This comes on the heels of FS8 opening its Austin, Texas, flagship location and additional domestic sites in Weston Lakes, Florida, Royal Oak, Michigan, and Foxborough and Dedham, Massachusetts.
Beginning of the Wellness Wave
For Chan, F45’s wellness and recovery efforts put it ahead of other fitness brands as wellness and recovery become increasingly accepted by the masses.
“I see the present and future state of fitness recovery changing from a nice afterthought to a necessary part of optimal health,” she said. “Fitness trends have already been evolving to be more mindful of the recovery process. It’s now less about pushing our body to the brink of injury and more about finding a healthy balance in the mind and body.”
There’s some evidence that this evolution is already underway. Post-exercise and injury-prevention treatments, and products and apps for mental wellness, nutrition and stress reduction, are outperforming many other modalities and channels in the fitness and wellness industry today.
“Whether it’s mindful rest, monitoring/improving sleep, cryotherapy, cold plunges, or heat therapy, recovery tools are becoming much more mainstream,” noted Chan. “People are exercising and recovering smarter and will continue to seek new ways that work for them to stay healthy.”
“I’m excited that the masses are taking on this awareness and we can create more education and accessibility to these methods for our members,” she added.