Learn More About Infinity
Cory
Hey, we're here with Brian Oberther, one of the owners of Infinity Athletics. I'm just going to ask him some quick questions just to kind of clear the air, to figure out what exactly Infinity Athletics is, you know, what we're about, what we stand for, and you know, we'll kind of just dive right into it. So, Brian, you ready?
Brian
Yes, sir.
Cory
Okay, so first question, what exactly is Infinity Athletic?
Brian
Yeah, this is a question we get quite a bit. There are so many different iterations of gyms these days. And in Infinity Athletics, we view it as way more than a gym. First off, it is a personal training studio. And while many of you probably know what that is by now, just to give a little bit of detail on what a personal training studio does and what it can do for you.
Basically, we break down fitness into an individual level that any gym bigger than a training studio has a hard time doing. So we start each client off with an assessment and a consultation, and that allows us to develop a relationship with that client and get an idea of exactly what they need. And then we develop from scratch a program for them that will include both strength and conditioning exercises in a well-templated plan and also some corrective exercises.
to not only help people with injury after an injury, but try to make each client more resilient and stave off injury.
So it's often easy to say what something is and it's almost better to say what it isn't. And what Infinity Athletics isn't, is it's not an open gym where people pay a membership and come in and work out on their own. It's not a class studio where people come in and they follow a cycling instructor led type of class.
It's not CrossFit where you are doing a “workout of the day,” a one size fits all cookie cutter workout. Um, you know, and beyond that, one of the things that we've really tried to do over the years is build a strong community. So, um, beyond a fitness facility, we view ourselves as almost a social club where we get together regularly with our clients and whether it's a potluck or an outing of some sort, um, we've really been fortunate to develop a really good community within our doors.
Cory
Love it. It's amazing. Next question, what separates Infinity Athletics from other gyms in the Capital District area?
Brian
Well in, in the capital district area, we have one location and then in Ithaca, we have another, and within both of those communities, there is no shortage of other gyms and trainers in the area. What I think separates us is first off, it starts with the trainers. Every single trainer that wears the Infinity Athletics coach shirt has put in a tremendous amount of effort to ensure that they can deliver the best client, the best client, I guess, experience.
But also beyond that, they are highly educated, they're certified, they take their job very seriously, but they are also very welcoming and nonjudgmental. One of the things that we're often told by clients who have been with us for a long time is that they're surprised at just how welcoming of an environment we've created.
And we take great pride in that because we believe that there should be no gatekeepers to fitness. And a lot of times people are intimidated when they walk into a typical commercial gym or maybe a CrossFit gym. Um, and you know, we understand that. So we really put a great amount of effort into rising above the judgment and allowing everyone to feel comfortable and at home. Um, the other thing is we've developed quite a good relationship with, uh, other community members (particularly in the medical field). So we have a good enough relationship to send them referrals when, you know, if we have a client with an injury that's beyond our scope, we have a good network of people that can take care of that person. And likewise, we often will receive referrals from physical therapists and occupational therapists and chiropractors because we're trusted members of the community.
And we can help people not only with fat loss and getting stronger and faster, but we can also help them after an injury and get out of, and to get out of pain.
Cory
Love it. Now you mentioned the trainers and some of the stuff that they have to go through and the hours that they put in. Can you tell me a little bit about the trainers at the studio?
Brian
Yeah, like I said, each one of the trainers has been highly vetted. There are many applicants that have come through over the years and we're, we're very selective in who we end up hiring and it is a very difficult process, but basically what that means is we trust them completely to train our own clients as if, you know, if I was going to send my mom through a trainer, I would trust 100% of the Infinity trainers. to be able to deliver not only a good session, but a very safe one, and to be able to understand the limitations of each individual client.
Each of the trainers is CPPS certified. It's one of the most rigorous certifications in the fitness industry. And it gives each of the trainers the tools to be able to do an assessment, develop a corrective exercise plan, develop a solid programming template.We always talk about, it's not the workout, it's the program. You know, anyone could deliver a good workout. You could come through the doors and get tired and, you know, do a lot of reps of specific exercises. But, um, that's like playing one note in a song, you know, programming to us is like composing a beautiful song, um, with many moving parts. So each of the trainers, uh, you know, has, has really shown to us that they have both the capability and the desire to rise to that occasion.
Cory
Okay, that's great. I love the programming point there. Now, speaking of programming, does Infinity have any programming for someone with injuries or any kind of medical issues, anything like that?
Brian
Yep. That's one of the things we get asked quite a bit on our initial consultation is, is this a good place for someone with special needs?
And the answer to that is yes.
Because we are a training studio and we work with clients individually or in a small group setting, we have the ability to tailor a program based around their injuries, their limitations, their goals. So it's not uncommon for many of our clients to come in wanting to lose weight, wanting to look better. And you know, lose a little bit of body fat, but also have an old nagging injury or some low back pain or some chronic neck tension and all of those things we don't only avoid, we actually try to improve.
We believe that we play a critical role in the health and fitness and even medical community in that we are trying to restore function to the human body, you know, whether it's our occupation or recreational sports that we've played over the years. Oftentimes people come in with very predictable patterns of dysfunction. And we take great pleasure in helping draw awareness to those dysfunctions and also educating the clients and leading them through a plan to help them overcome it. So, you know, not only is it not an inconvenience, but we actually really enjoy.playing a small role in the process of helping people with special needs.
Cory
Yeah, it's awesome. Now on top of special needs, what are the typical goals of a client that comes in the door?
Brian
Yeah, a lot of times people come in and they think that they have to have a specific goal or they think that they have to have some sort of experience with fitness and they're embarrassed if they, um, you know, are inexperienced and have never, um, learned some of the movement patterns and they feel like they have let themselves down. And there's a lot of shame around our initial conversations with clients. And one of the things that we try to debunk right from the start is that, uh, you know, we are nonjudgmental as I mentioned before, and we're also very “positive goal” oriented. So a lot of times we try to take that negativity, the judgment, the shame that clients come in with, and we try to flip the script on it and really try to lay out a positive goal. So whether it's, instead of removing a negative like, man, I really don’t look good, we'll set a positive goal of, hey, let's see if we can get stronger within three months and maybe do five pull ups and increase the amount of goblet squats you can do in 60 seconds. And with that comes the positive effect of looking better, losing body fat percentage, without the negative connotation of trying to remove a negative. So a lot of the clients we do work with, we work closely on their relationship with fitness, just as much as we do their physical aspect.
We get a whole wide spectrum of goals. We have Ironman triathletes. We have people fresh out of ACL reconstruction. We have elderly clients that are just looking to, uh, slow the aging process, regain function. We have people that are interested in improving their physique. Um, any type of goal you can imagine we've dealt with it and we've had great success with those types of clients.
Cory
That's great. Well, there you have it folks.
Brian
Yeah, thanks for asking me those questions, Cory. And if anyone has any questions, the best way to get in touch with us is through the websites, so if you're an Ithaca, the infinityIthaca.com website will put you directly in touch with us. And similarly in Albany, it's infinityAlbany.com. And the best thing you can do is request a consultation.
I just want to say also: put down the fear, if it's something you've always known you wanted to do and take control of your health and hire a professional to help you along with that process. We're here for you and we'd be happy to help.
Cory
Awesome. Great.