CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — When BJ and Nicole Hoaldridge moved to St. George in 2018, they were looking for a change. BJ Hoaldridge had undergone several back surgeries, and despite significant weight loss, he now needed a new hip. Nicole Hoaldridge wanted to stay busy and connect with the community. F45 Training quickly became the answer they were looking for.
F45 is a fitness franchise that started in Australia in 2012 and has since spread throughout the world. Using an innovative blend of HIIT, weight training, and technology, F45 provides full-body functional workouts in 45 minutes.
The Hoaldridges opened St. George’s first F45 studio in Dino Crossing plaza in March 2020 and closed it a week later.
“The pandemic hit us hard, like all companies,” said BJ Hoaldridge. “But we could see from the response that people were looking for something like this.”
And when F45 reopened in May 2020, he said they “instantly had a gym full of people.”
In October 2020, the couple and their business partner opened a second F45 location on Brigham Road in St. George. Hoaldridge has since had his hip replaced and continues to lose weight.
“At my heaviest, I was 375 pounds,” he said. “It was difficult to move my body. Now I can jump and lift a lot of weight, and I eat more than before!”
F45 has grown rapidly because it is time efficient and effective.
“We offer a seven-day free trial,” Hoaldridge said. “That allows people to get a sense of what the F45 is and how it works.”
They don’t require a credit card, so there are no strings attached.
At F45, the workouts are different every day and can be modified for any body size or age. Participants do each exercise for a short interval, so there is less risk of overuse injury. The workouts are designed from a database of more than 13,000 movements, making each day different.
“We have college athletes working alongside members in their 70s,” said Nicole Hoaldridge.
Classes follow a group training format and are led by one or two personal trainers, known as coaches. A HIIT session on Monday is followed by a strength day on Tuesday and then cardio on Wednesday. Variability eliminates boredom and variety is constantly challenging.
Members love the community of F45 and the fact that there are no mirrors in the room.
“I love not seeing myself work out,” said member Shelise Thompson. “I can focus on training and not be shy.”
Another member, Jared West, agreed.
“I love being a part of the F45 family,” he said. “The coaches are phenomenal, the energy is positive, and the training is great, regardless of your skill level or knowledge.”
In addition to daily classes, F45 hosts eight-week lifestyle challenges throughout the year. The next challenge starts on January 31st and will run until March 26th. The challenges are available to F45 members or non-members and includes nutritional support, personal goals and guidance from F45 coaches.
As owners, the Hoaldridges do not require members to sign a contract.
“Our memberships are month to month,” said BJ Hoaldridge. “We want the members to be here because they love it, not because they’re being held hostage to a contract.”
So how many members stay long term? “Most,” said Nicole Hoaldridge. “A large percentage of our members have been with us from the beginning.”
In fact, Kristen Nelson, his current business partner, originally started out as a member of F45, later worked as a trainer, and now runs the Brigham Road location. Nelson is a certified personal trainer and is currently completing her master’s degree in exercise physiology and sports nutrition.
“I have been fit for a long time and F45 ticks all the boxes,” he said. “But what makes it unique is the community. People appear a little intimidated, but after a class or two, everyone cheers each other up.”
BJ Hoaldridge agreed.
“If a guy with a bad back and a hip replacement can do this, anybody can do it,” he said. “People love the F45 because it works.”
• SPONSORED CONTENT •
Means
- f45 Saint George | Address: 446 S. Mall Drive, St. George or 922 E. Brigham Road, St. George | Telephone: 435-375-8180 | Website.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘222763128183309’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
