Ellen Latham on Strength, Struggle, & Starting Over

Ep120 – Ellen Latham

[00:00:00]

Ellen’s Philosophy on Health and Fitness

Ellen: Everything for me is based around, you know, being healthy again, which is exercise, your food, your sleep, all of those things. If you don’t have those things going on for you, you’re gonna struggle more to push through anything in your life. There was a weight room and back in that day, no women lifted weights.

Well, Ellen lifted weights. It’s so much believing in your potential. You don’t have to figure out how you’re gonna get there. You don’t have to figure out, you know. Reaching Oz. You just have to get on the yellow brick road, if you know what I mean.

Introduction to Ellen Latham, Founder of Orange Theory Fitness

Rob: Hey, and welcome to the Live and Richly podcast. Uh. Yeah, Wendy and I are on today, and I think, uh, we’re pretty excited. Uh, we have the opportunity to have someone here with us today that has really made an incredible impact in our life while, or at least the fruits of what she’s done has [00:01:00] made a pretty incredible impact in our lives and so much of who we are.

Ellen, you are here. Ellen Latham, who is the founder of Orange Theory Fitness, the, uh, gym in which Wendy and I met, uh, we got engaged there, we got married there. We, our whole lives are wrapped up in this, uh, this orange.

Wendy: Right. And he’s still trying to perfect his tricep pushups, but we’re, we’re getting there we’re,

Rob: I’m not quite, I’m not quite where the head coach is.

Wendy: We’re working on the coaching on that. Yeah.

Rob: So, Ellen, welcome. So great to have you here.

Ellen: My pleasure. So excited and especially being that you’re such a fabulous story in regard to the two of you finding all this orange love.

Rob: We even had orange flowers at the wedding just to, I love it. Just to celebrate that.

And, uh, but let’s, we, we, we really wanna get to know you and have our audience get a chance to get to know you because you’ve got an incredible story and a story that fits so beautifully into the message of living richly, of living your [00:02:00] best life. So, uh, we know this, that, or. Theory Fitness is, it’s been, uh, continually rated one of the top franchises, top gyms.

Uh, you’ve done some incredible things there in building that out, but, but let’s talk about Ellen Preor theory. So who was Ellen before Orange Theory existed?

Ellen’s Early Years and Background in Physical Education

Ellen: Well, okay, so my father was a phys ed teacher and football coach at my local high school. So I grew up with the whole thought process of physicality and sports and movement being, you know, something that all, I’m one of four children, all four of us, you know, indulged in in a PO positive way.

And, uh, so I, my father, what did they say? The first man you fall in love with in your life is your father. Well, that absolutely happened with me. So I wanted, he was just my mentor, my everything and I wanted to do what he did. [00:03:00] So when I graduated from high school, I went and got my bachelor’s degree in physical education and my master’s in Exercise physiology at the State University of Buffalo in New York.

And, um, I. Thought that that’s what I was gonna do. What he did was teach phys ed and coach on the side ’cause he coached football and track on the side. I started in that, but when I graduated from college, that’s when everyone was going into teaching as a profession. So jobs weren’t a plentiful. So I struggled with getting a full-time job.

Breaking Ground as First Female YMCA Director

Ellen: So I ended up working at A-Y-M-C-A. And I actually became the first female director of that YMCA. I mean, this was where the top floors like men lived. This was, you know, kind of crazy. And I loved it. I absolutely loved working in that kind of fitness sector. And now mind you, we’re going [00:04:00] back the many a decades, and this is when fitness isn’t what it is today.

Um, but funny enough, there was a weight room and back in that day. No women lifted weights. Well, Ellen lifted weights, so I laugh now with everything about strength and weight training and is this something new? And I’m laughing ’cause I’m going, gee, I’ve been doing it for four and a half decades. I feel like this is nothing new.

It’s an important aspect of training, which is an important aspect of our workouts.

Rob: So it’s always just been in my life. What was that like for you, um, when you became the director there? To your point, this was, this was, you were breaking, uh, uh, in ground there. Uh, what was the response or the feedback from your peers and others were, were they looking at you saying, way to go Ellen, or were they looking at you going, why is there a woman in this, in this role?

And how did you respond to whichever, how they, they were, yeah. [00:05:00]

Ellen: Now. Mind you, women did come to, it wasn’t just men that came to the YMCA. So what I ended up doing is bringing a whole women, women population to this. And I was teaching aerobics and you know, that’s when, I guess we called it slim gymnastics and all kinds of workouts we were doing with groups of women.

And I built this. Pretty darn good women population at this YMCA. So as far as my boss and the Ariel YMCA directors, they kind of loved it because it was like, whoa, she’s bringing something to this. Yeah. You had to, you know, build a pretty thick skin walking around there because you are getting looks from these guys who are playing racquetball and, you know, you’re, they’re in their, you’re in their weightlifting space, but.

You know, that was good thick skin that I started Nice and early.

Wendy: I love that. I love that. As you kind of, you know, worked through that, Ellen, would you say, um, [00:06:00] where, when was that kind of moment in your life when you just felt connected to the idea of helping people transform and, and living their best life?

The Power of Group Fitness and Transformation

Ellen: I have always loved group fitness. That has just always been my forte. I’d love to take a group and mainly it was women, and really see them not just physical changes, but emotional, mental, uh, you know, when you talk about spiritual changes that they really. Found something that made them feel better about themself, and they talked to me about that and it helped them get through things in life.

And I said, wow, this is so gratifying. This like filled my soul, filled my heart, and I said, this is what I wanna do.

Rob: Moving forward a little bit, you’re, you’re, you’re in your forties, which is often a time when people are kind of looking and wondering and guessing, uh, and, and wrestling with who their identity and [00:07:00] who they are.

Uh, you, you’re, you’re, you’re quite successful and the rug gets pulled out from under you, um, for, for a lot of people that could have broken them.

Career Setback and Pivotal Moment

Ellen: Yeah, so I, at that time I had moved to Florida and I was working in Miami Beach at the top. I mean, I had built little by little up to working as the exercise physiologist, spa director at the top spa.

I was doing fitness tips on the news. I was writing for the Miami Herald Fox News would come in and do special features with me, um, New York City. Um. Soap opera stars would come down for a week of boot camps with me and my staff. I mean, I was flying, I was just like, you know, let her fly free and she’s gonna take off.

And these environments allowed me to do that. And this was a private ownership, this property, and they were looking to, you know, make some shifts. [00:08:00] And I had gotten to a point that I was making very, very good money there. And, um. I wanted to flat my wings more and they wanted to keep my wings very tight to my side.

And so there was this little kind of struggle going on and they basically said We need to part ways. I wasn’t expecting that. Um, but. This is a perfect example for everyone. It was the best thing that ever happened in my life. Not at the moment being I was a single parent of a nine-year-old son, and I really was challenged the next morning on what my next move was going to be, but.

Of course, you look back now, you know, those scary moments, those uncomfortable moments, like we even talk about in our workout, can be the best moments that you know have happened to you.

Wendy: Yeah, and I think for anyone, uh, who’s. Been on that side of the table, having lost their job. I come from a, um, [00:09:00] human resources background on the people and labor relations side, and I, I remember same thing.

I, I felt like, oh, this is everything I’ve known. And but hindsight, I look back and, you know. I used to hate the, uh, everything happens for a reason, but then when you look forward, that’s how I ended up moving into, into the fitness space, right? It was truly the best thing that happened to me. So I think a lot of people will absolutely resonate with, with what you’ve said and what you’ve shared.

And Ellen, if you, if you think about. That version of you at that time, so many years ago that got let go and just the feelings and the emotions. When you got, when you did um, uh, get let go from that job, what would you tell yourself in that moment?

Ellen: Yeah. Uh, that it will all work out. And to believe in your potential so you don’t have to figure out how to get there.

But in that moment, I had built a lot of potential from way back at the YMCA days that [00:10:00] were much previous to that, moving to Florida, working these jobs, developing these types of programs. But again, in a moment of distress, you’re not. You know, seeing clearly of where that road is going. So my advice always to people is in those moments that it’s scary business wise, personally, whatever the case may be.

Sit and take a moment and believe in the potential of in here. You. And really I was very fortunate ’cause my father, he had this, um, old school mentality. It’s called momentum shifting up. It’s a sports psychology MO mentality. So what happens if sports psychologists instruct coaches when your team is losing, when you are in feeling like, how do I get this out of my players, my employees?

Focus on what you [00:11:00] have, not what you don’t have. Remind the players of why they were drafted in the first place. What we can do as a business. We’ve proven that and focus on that as opposed to the distress that you might be in in that moment. So luckily I had that father who, that’s how he coached athletics, and he reminded me at that time.

The Importance of Believing in Your Potential

Ellen: To believe in my potential. Ellen, focus on what you have, not what you don’t have. You have a lot to build off of.

Rob: So you’re sitting there, like you said, uh uh, a single mother lost her job. You’re kind of sitting in the kitchen. What were those things you said, Hey, Ellen, you’ve got what?

Ellen: Yeah. So I had gone, and I, for some reason in my field, being a visionary has always come easy to me.

So I went and got a Pilates certification. It didn’t exist. We’re going back 20, 22 years. It didn’t. [00:12:00] Now it’s, you know, Pilates, it’s, it didn’t exist. I went and got this Pilate certification and I said. There’s something to this work. It’s not metabolic work. It’s more stabilizing core-based work your inside muscle work.

But there’s some good stuff to this. And you know, I think I could add my expertise to this. So I ended up going and buying a machine and putting in a spare room in my house. I went to the local Gold’s Gym down the street. And I knew the owner. I would go in there and train sometimes and I said, look, this was, again, I brought spinning to that spa in Miami.

It didn’t exist anywhere else. It was only in that spa. And I went to Gold’s Gym and I said, how about we go in business together? We buy some bikes together. We’ll start a little spinning program. He didn’t wanna do it. I said, okay, I’m gonna borrow some money and I’ll buy the bikes and then we’ll do a little program.

Well, it exploded. I hear this [00:13:00] ridiculous little spinning program in this Gold’s Gym. I was doing Pilates out of a spare room in my house where I got so busy where. That I squeezed a second machine in there, and some days from six in the morning to 9:00 PM at night, I had two women pulling in my driveway with their exercise outfits, two women pulling outta my driveway.

I have no idea what the neighbors thought, what kind of business I had going on, and that’s how I started to become an entrepreneur.

Wendy: I, a lot of it is, you know, I, I loved what you said about focus on what you have and that, just that abundance mindset and really taking that abundance and focusing on, well, what can I do?

Who can I speak to? How can I touch more lives? Uh, I think, I think that’s amazing.

Rob: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, is it, uh, Stephen Covey and, uh, seven Habits of Highly Effective People talks about focusing in on what’s within your control. Uh, versus what’s outside your control. Right? And it fits very much along the lines of what you’re talking about.

Love that. Talk [00:14:00] about, uh, so again, I, I, I wanna, I, I’m, we we’re gonna get into what you’ve built, but in those moments, it, there must have been some doubt, uh, some self-doubt, or maybe there wasn’t. But I’m gonna assume that for most of us, right? You, you’re, you are, you’re focusing on all this what you have.

But there must have been some, some scripts or stories or something going on in. Side, what were some of the, what were some of the demons you were wrestling with in those moments?

Ellen: Oh yeah. That gut punch lasted a couple months. I’d wake up every morning with that feeling in my gut, um, what is un and just totally has to take place when that’s going on as your light is support.

Support from my family, support from people who love me and I love them. And that’s the time that you lean into that. [00:15:00] Incredibly friends, family, whatever the case may be. So in those moments of doubt, in those moments of great excruciating pain, you’re having those conversations. And remember what I said, it’s so much believing in your potential.

You don’t have to figure out how you’re gonna get there. You don’t have to figure out, you know. Reaching Oz. You just have to get on the yellow brick road, if you know what I mean. And by having that support, it got me through another day, got me through another day. Let me continue to believe in the potential that I had and I just kept building.

But oh yes, you’re in that. That doesn’t go away very quick. So that’s why I, you know, suggest that you, you wanna have a strong team of support around you.

Rob: I love that you’re bringing up community because it is one of the core principles on which we’ve built with this podcast. We talk to people all the time that, uh, there are seasons when you need to go at it, [00:16:00] at it go at it alone.

Um, but to sustain any kind of. Personal development and growth and, and become the best version of yourself. There is a, you need to find that community and surround yourself with the right people. It’s a core value. It’s certainly a core value I hold to personally, uh, but it is, and it’s core value we hold to as a couple, but recognizing the power of community to lift you up and to be able to allow you to achieve the things you want to achieve.

Ellen: Yeah, and I contribute a lot of that to my father. I keep going back to that because he was just someone who, again, coached team sports and he, he was just loved. I mean, if I tell you that at his funeral, the amount of players from his past and coaches that showed up and just said. You know, he was, he made you accountable, this guy, but he was so caring and so loving [00:17:00] and gave us that, and I was just very fortunate that I was parented by that.

Wendy: I love that. Which, it’s interesting that we’re just talking about community and having the right people in your circle. Did you find as you were going through, um. You know, kind of that evolution of growth that your circle shifted a little bit. Um, you know, we talk a lot about making sure that you have the right people in your corner.

’cause not everybody’s gonna cheer you on, especially when you are doing something a little different from everyone else. Did you find that your circle shifted at all? Or that you had to kind of let go of some people that maybe weren’t, um, you know, maybe in your life at the right time in that season of growth?

Building the Right Support System

Ellen: I think they end up fading away because, you know, just like I don’t e it, uh, I’m pretty like my father.

You know, I, I know what I want. I know how [00:18:00] to, you know, go after it. I, I don’t fear working hard and I need those kind of people around me. Uh, I was very fortunate, and I’m sure we’ll, you know, talk about it, is to find Jerome and Dave who are my partners in Orange Theory, because we’re the three of us. Were the perfect storm, the absolute perfect storm.

From what I hear, I don’t know. ’cause I’ve never had partners. That isn’t always the case when you get into business or in a marriage or whatever the case may be, and you’re developing partnership. So, uh, you know, maybe. There was some insight in looking for certain things from people that were important, which is caring, you know, being authentic, uh, working as hard as I wanted to work into something.

Um, so I think those are important types of things as you’re going through, who’s gonna be in your corner? And like I said, I think maybe some of those other [00:19:00] individuals just ended up fading away because you don’t keep up. Yeah.

Rob: Yeah. Yeah, you’re not willing to compromise. And so eventually they go, Hey, you’ve changed the dance.

We don’t like the dance. You’re, you’re, uh, that you’re performing now. So I think, we’ll, we’ll head off somewhere else and Yeah, you’re right. Uh, I, I know that in my day job when I’m coaching, uh, clients, one of the number one issues that I work with many businesses are around the partnerships and how they.

Manage and work and, and do that together. And it’s such a critical for a business to be successful, to have the right people in place. Um, and, and we’ll get into, I, of course, we’ve had the experience of being at the Grove, being able to experience the team there. Floored. I, I, I’m always watching people through my business lens and very impressed with the team that you built.

But I don’t wanna get too far ahead, even though I, you know, he’s excited. I’ll Well, you’re, you’re at this point now where you’ve got the, you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re doing these spin classes with all these muscle heads [00:20:00] looking around at you, these, uh, uh, golds Gym you’re doing, you’ve got the women coming to the house and doing that.

Uh, how did that become Orange Theory?

Ellen: Well, I got so busy at the house, I was just like, this is crazy. I gotta, you know, so I went and found like an 1100 square foot space and I bought 11 of these Pilate machines. And again, this is way before you even knew what Pilates was. And I said, I could do this in a group, I could figure this out.

And I created my own group format in Pilates way back in the day. And that. Really took off. I mean, there was, you know, it was new, it was different. Uh, you know, I was educating these women on the stabilizer muscles they own that you don’t really work out in the gym setting. And what happened was. Got to a point, maybe a couple years into it, and this is where it’s so important, you listen.

You listen as a business owner, you listen in a relationship. You listen as a parent [00:21:00] and you really listen. And I heard my members saying to me, we love what you are doing here with us, Ellen, but there’s no. Metabolic work to it. There’s no fat burning work to it. We’re running around the park jogging.

We’re working with personal trainers. We’re taking spin classes and we’re still not real jived as to, you know, the kind of metabolic work that could truly change this body. Can you come up with something and that. Is why I created the foundation of Orange Dairy Fitness. It was not to be the next big thing in fitness, it was to solve a problem for my Pilates women population.

So I went and found a space three times the size of that Pilates studio, three times the rent of that Pilate studio. And boy was I nervous, and I, you know, I couldn’t even pilot the program. It was in my head. It was on paper I was running. Around the [00:22:00] outside with base, push it all out, and I went and leased this equipment.

Treadmills, rowers, tear X straps, weights, and I crossed everything known to man that when I opened those doors, people would come. Now, I did have my Pilate women that I knew, ’cause I had the Pilates studio in that. Workout space that I moved to. So I knew at least I had them that would be flowing around that floor and doing the workout.

But, um, it really was a start of something special.

Wendy: Oh. And it’s just been, you know, for, for Rob and I, I mean, not just our personal story, but now, you know, as owners of three of the studios in Ottawa and just. Seeing the impact that it’s had on so many people’s lives and, and you know, just tying it back to community.

I just, I love what you, what you said about listening to your members, right. And it’s, uh, you know, our ears are always open, you know, when we’re in our studios and, [00:23:00] you know, um, how can we create more impact and, and really just be the best part of someone’s day when they walk through those studio doors.

And, you know, I, I think. If that just will never, ever die ’cause we’re so passionate about it. I

Ellen: love you saying that, and this is very important with a franchise. ’cause sometimes it’s like, well we got constraints. We gotta do this, we gotta do that. You’d be surprised at in your four walls if you talk to your members, listen to them, hear conversation.

There’s all kinds of things within the constraints of the franchise that you can make it so rich and plentiful to them that they maybe wanna get together a little bit more outside of the studio that they wanna be, just have a little bit more of a sounding force. I used to have a member advisory committee that I changed every four months in my studio.

Things that really. I can, you [00:24:00] know, make them feel like they’re really connected to what’s going on in those four walls. I see some people do it fantastic. And others we’re working on.

Rob: Such an emphasis within, and, and it makes sense as you describe even, uh, your transformation from, from Preor theory and, uh, you know, uh, when you were let go from, from that other place.

And into that, the importance of community, because I know that it is something that we emphasize to the point that we will have cross, uh, regionals or, or members that come. Uh, we have a number of American, uh, uh, uh, people who come up to Canada from time to time, and they always come to the gym. And the overall, uh, uh, it’s, it, it seems to be so common where they’ll say, man, there’s something about the vibe here.

There’s something about the energy here, uh, that they don’t even see at their home. Uh, location. It’s because it’s been so deliberate, [00:25:00] uh, this notion of of of the, the community. At our wedding, we had a number of members that attended the wedding. Why? Because we built such a relationship with them. It goes beyond the workout to building a connection with people who care about the things that we care about.

Ellen: It is such the key to our business, people will not leave you because of the cost, because of the, uh, whatever. Uh, there’s a new coach, uh, you know, the older college coach maybe went to school or went away and there’s a new person in the position. It’s none of that. It’s all of the, when you are so connected and they really are sticky in that studio, they’re not leaving.

Rob: You have heard so many stories of lives changing, uh, probably tens of thousands of people, uh, through these gyms that have now literally they’re around the world. Uh, what have you learned about human potential [00:26:00] as a result of the stories you’ve heard?

Ellen: Yeah, I. Believe that’s why I think I took to group fitness so much.

There’s something so special about people in a group, in an uncomfortable situation, which may be someone new to working out, someone pushing themself a little harder than they’re used to. These uncomfortable moments when you’ve cultivated and that coach is so great to keep that group, uh, you know, just.

Feeling so great that I’m next to Joe, who’s running at 10 miles an hour, and I’m never gonna be that. But boy do I love Joe’s energy to the left of me and all of this kind of, uh, dynamics that a group of people, if a coach and an owner knows how to cultivate that so well. It, it’s just. Uh, uh, incredible.

What happens with that person physically, like I said, [00:27:00] mentally, emotionally. Where can you get all of that tapped into within an hour?

Rob: What has Ellen learned about herself over the last, let’s say, 10, 15 years? You know, uh, orange theory now going successful, your course, continuing to reinvent yourself and to do even more.

What have you learned about yourself and your potential?

Ellen: Yeah. You know, it’s very interesting. I grew up in the, you know, I was born in 56, I’m gonna be at 69 years old in a couple months. You know, I grew up in a different, you know, time for women and, you know, I, I think that what I’ve. Really learned about myself is that, you know, I had a lot more than maybe I believed in myself.

It’s this whole power of believing in yourself and maybe a man can’t really relate to this in the sense of you grow up differently, especially if you’re a little later. Maybe it’s different now from my [00:28:00] grand daughters, but from where I was coming from in the late fifties, sixties, seventies, and. You know, to be able to, uh, get into big business, to do big things, to, uh, have this creative sense in my brain that I created something that really is clicking for people in the sense of their.

Physical fitness, finding a home, finding hope with putting fitness in their life. You know, these are big, big things that if you would’ve asked me way, way back, I would’ve felt insecure. That I don’t think, you know, uh, I don’t know, but no, I know I have a master’s degree. I know I’ve done this. I know I’ve every certification known to man because that’s just what I do.

But there’s still that kind of thread of, I dunno. So I think. Where I sit now gonna be climbing into my seventies soon. Is that, uh, you know. Okay, [00:29:00] girl, we’re good. We’re good. And I think I still have some more to go, so hopefully I’m doing everything correct. And, you know, anti-aging that I can still carry on ’cause I’ve got things I still have to do.

Rob: I’m 57 and I, and I just pray, hope, whatever I, that I can have 10% the energy that you have when I, you know, in another 13 years from now. Yeah,

Wendy: yeah, yeah. I love it. Um. Ellen, we, we, we’ve talked a lot about, uh, just seeing, you know, the people that walk through our doors in the studios, you know, globally. Um, have you seen, uh, and you know, it might be hard to narrow it down to just one ’cause I’m sure you’ve seen a lot, but have you seen a moment in a studio where someone’s transformation wasn’t just physical, but something deeper?

Like, is there a specific story that sticks with you?

Ellen: Yeah, I mean in the, for, [00:30:00] I’ve had many, I mean, personally, I’m not in the space, but I’m contacted by owners, by coaches. Ellen, this happened that happened, uh, everything from a lot of cancer that people have found the community support and continued on through treatment.

And now are, you know, kind of. A plateau with that and working their way through having to live with that. I probably, one of the most interesting stories were two women that were in the 5:30 AM class for a long period of time, knew each other as acquaintances of, oh, hey Betty five 30, you know, I didn’t see you last Friday.

You know, this kind of thing. Well, one of them ends up needing a kidney and conversation starts and none of her family matched and this member gave her a kidney. So I, I mean that when they contact me on that, the [00:31:00] coaches, I was like, what? So, uh, you know, listen. Um, so that is an example. Of community, of how people need people.

How in the world today with the wonderful technology going into ai, we have, you have less of that happening that you don’t need people around for a lot of stuff, but our community. And working out will never be replaced. ’cause you can’t plug our bodies into anything that’s going to give it fitness. You are gonna need to walk in with this thing called a body and you are going to need to move it and push it and cardiovascular pump the heart and make the muscles overload.

That’s not gonna change even through all the technology that’s happening. So what I get excited about is. We will continue to be able to [00:32:00] give something to people that is never gonna go outta style.

Wendy: Yeah.

Rob: Yeah. And, and. Today, every single day, literally, you know, thousands, tens of thousands of people, uh, go into a gym.

They do a workout, the same workout around the world, um, all based on a, um, um, a model that you created. You’re the face of this, you know, again, global enterprise. How the hell do you stay grounded?

Ellen: Oh God. Are you kidding? I’m old. I’m I, I, you know, listen, don’t forget, I started Orange Theory with Dave and Jerome.

I was 54 years old, so I lived 54 years being very grounded in the sense of, you know, I mean. I think I made $20,000 a year for like three decades. Okay. But I wasn’t gonna get out of fitness ’cause this was my passion. This is what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna [00:33:00] figure out a way to make a living at it, pay my bills, so on and so forth.

So, you know, I don’t know. I, I, I. I don’t even think that way. I absolutely am in great gratitude every single day of, you know what’s happened with Orange Theory, but what makes and fills me the most is the individuals that I know. I know. Are living a healthier existence might add on a few years at the end because of this, because as we know, VO two max is what you get from cardio intervals is the number one indicator of longevity.

VO two max. That’s why when you go to your doctor, they do a stress test on a treadmill because it’s an indicator of longevity. Muscle work is an indicator of how well you’re gonna live. Okay? I don’t wanna live real well and I can’t bend over and get off the floor and I can’t pick up something ’cause I have no muscle strength.

The two of those [00:34:00] together creates the best life, and that’s what we do.

Rob: Yeah, I love, I love how, uh, everything, uh, you know, everything old is new again. And the notion of the buzzwords in fitness, the fitness world now around metabolic conditioning has been the theme and the message of, of the orange theory style workout since day one.

And there’s been a lot of. Fads and a lot of other th things that have come and gone since then. And here we are back with science and medical and everyone saying if you wanna live a long and healthy and uh, uh, you know, good life metabolic conditioning, and it’s like, yep.

Ellen: Yeah. That’s why I love the multivitamin, you know, and I use that all the time When I’m talking to people in interviews or people, what exactly is your workout?

I cut to the chase. You know, you take a multivitamin, it’s got everything you need. That’s what this workout’s going to give you. Now you wanna. [00:35:00] Some more flexibility. You added a yoga class, you want a little bit more bulk. You add a low cost gym and you go lift heavy. You wanna add more core work, stabilizer muscles.

Then you take a Pilates class. Those are individual vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin K, just like how we take an individual vitamin additionally to the multi if we need it. But what we have. Is the multivitamin.

Wendy: And I love that language. It’s funny you you said that ’cause that was gonna be my next thing is that’s, that’s what we say in our studios when we have members that come in for the first time and they’re, they’re nervous about coming in for the first time.

They don’t know what to expect. Like as humans, we’re so conditioned to be comfortable with the space that we’re in and, and, and you know, we. We resist change. So, you know, when people walk into the doors for the first time, they don’t know what to expect. And the way, you know, I hear our staff say it, you know, we say it all the time, it’s you just say you’re multivitamin.

Two, [00:36:00] living a more vibrant life and adding more life to

Ellen: your days. And you know what I do when I get, I could I, ’cause I could sense a very fearful person and maybe they didn’t walk into the space, but I’m talking to them out in public or whatever. I don’t think that’s for me. I tell them, you know what?

You just come in 10 minutes and lead. Do not, you do not even even have to stay the whole hour. You could. No one’s come in and stay 10 minutes. I say come in 10, 15 minutes and if you feel that’s enough for you, come another day. 10, 15 minutes. And if you feel. I can’t even tell you how many people I’ve said that to over the last 15 years, and I’ve been contacted back and said, Ellen, I went in and I told the coach and the desk person, like you told them, Ellen said, I can stay 15 minutes, and I stayed the whole hour, Ellen and I joined.

You know, you gotta cut to the chase with this fear [00:37:00] aspect ’cause it’s real.

Rob: Uh, I wanna get back to a part of how you kind of just, your life is, and, and the things that you do. We we’re big believers in, uh, daily rituals, uh, whatever those might be. They, they’re different for different people. But, uh, try to staying grounded within our values, uh, when things get really noisy or overwhelming for you, and I can only imagine it must.

Uh, the, the demands on your time and your energy, how do you, uh, stay connected to your values?

Daily Rituals and Staying Balanced

Ellen: Well, listen, I, it’s about balance. It’s about balance. It’s balanced with my partner, it’s balanced with my friends, and it’s balanced with my son and my grandchildren. And then it’s balanced with various health practices that I practice as a woman menopausal.

Going into be 69 hormone replacement therapy is very important for me. It’s made a huge difference in my life. [00:38:00] I have a functional doctor and I have a regular doctor, and my functional doctor basically just deals with. All of the things with anti-aging and hormone replacement and measures those statistics in my body.

And then when I started that about 10, 12 years ago, it made a world of difference. And this is a woman thing, maybe a man thing too, but a woman thing in the sense of how you get through perimenopause and menopause and how do you stay as energetic and as. You know, pull together as you can. I do infrared sauna on a regular basis.

I do red light therapy and cold plunge. Cold plunge is not something that I’m real thrilled about, so that’s, that’s not as regular as I’d like it to be, but I know when I do it. Anything anxiety based is gone. After I’m in there for two minutes, I’m calm. My sleep is a thousand percent [00:39:00] better. So I, I have these rituals, I have these practices that I’ve put into my life.

Wendy: I’m gonna come home tomorrow. There’s gonna be a cold plunge in my backyard and Rob’s gonna be like, says go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, let’s, uh, just kind of, you know, shift a little bit and talk about, uh, maybe just some kind of fast like soul questions. Um, you know, I’d rapid fire. Yeah. I would love your thoughts on this.

So what would you say, Ellen? What’s one belief that maybe you had in your thirties that you’ve totally let go of?

Ellen: Uh, that you had to push as hard as you had to push physically. In my thirties, I’m doing triathlons. I’m doing 10 K runs every week. I am like, you know, into this hole, push harder, push harder, push harder, uh, more time in the weight room, more time cardiovascular, and it was necessarily needed.

And as I became more educated and went through the decades, you know, [00:40:00] this is what. Everyone has to pay attention to 35 to 45 is the pivotal years. These are the years that if you do not have a regular exercise program, your fifties, sixties, and seventies are gonna be very tough. That’s why I talk about the multivitamin of our workout, and this is what I talk about with people and, uh, it’s tough when you’re 35 to 45, you’re raising families, you’re maybe in your careers, so come in two to three times a week.

But I’m gonna tell you right now, if you’re not doing anything and you are already hitting 45 and up and you have not a regular fitness program, you are gonna be battling a lot that I know in regard to metabolism and metabolic syndrome. Uh, so I would say Ellen. You didn’t probably need to push as much, but that will, that will balance out which it did during those later years.

Rob: I appreciate, uh, uh, Peter Ella’s book, outlive. Uh, I don’t know if you’re familiar [00:41:00] with it, but he talks about, uh, he’s a longevity. A guy, a doctor, and, uh, this fascinating book, but he talks about that. Uh, if you wanna figure out where you need to be fitness wise today, figure out what you want when you’re 90 or when you’re 80, and then, and then backtrack it.

And it’ll, it, it’s a much more effective way of seeing that because you are right. Listen, I’m, I’m 57 and if I’m sitting on a rower and beside me is some 26-year-old punk, I’m like, determined I’m gonna beat that guy on the 500 meter row, right? Uh, and, and now I’m a tall guy, so I might come close, but the reality is, is that if I’m trying to compete against him with all of what he has, uh, I’m, I’m setting myself up for, for failure.

I’ve gotta compete against myself. Which is why I love, uh, I, you know, but it is around, uh, what the fitness stuff I’m doing today at 57. I’m doing it so that when we [00:42:00] are 80, when we are 85, that we are still going for hikes and we’re still doing the things then, and the mobility and everything else. So I I love that.

And that’s how you see that. Um, what, what this is the kind of what is strength when no one is watching?

Ellen: What a strength when no one is watching. Uh, I would think that when sometimes the roof is falling in, that could be with family, with sickness, with all kinds of things that. You kind of are able to go inside and because you’re somewhat healthy and you’ve been keeping yourself healthy in all food, sleep, exercise, that you can manage that.

My partner, I mean we’ve been together 25 years, so we, I guess we call each other husband and wife. So my husband Nick, uh, found out he had cancer last August [00:43:00] and. The roof kind of falls in and we just, I just, I just pull up the bootstraps and thank God I was healthy enough, fit enough to push through the challenge of someone that close and someone that you love that much, going through a life or death experience, luckily.

He’s come out of it great. He’s clear as a whistle right now. Of course, we have to continue to monitor that over the next years, but that’s a perfect example. If I was unhealthy and something tragic happens in your life, how are you gonna be there for someone else?

Rob: Yep. Yeah. Well, I’m so glad to hear that he is, that he is doing well.

And, uh, that is, uh, you’re right, that, that, that’s a wonderful way to describe strength, uh, when no one is watching. [00:44:00] Um, we’re, we’re, we’re almost near the end of our time. Uh, it’s amazing how it, it flies by here. Um, what’s next for a. I know you’re right. You’re in the, you’re in the beginning. Uh, you’ve written a book, you’ve already got a, a book.

We’ll put the link in the, uh, in the show notes for those that want to, uh, order a copy of it. But you’ve written a book, which is really your story. Uh, but what’s next for Ellen?

What’s Next: New Book on Ethical Leadership

Ellen: So a couple of months ago I was approached by a university professor in Miami who, uh, teaches Master’s students in business administration.

He was a client from way back at my Pilate studio, continued on with them when I created the Ultimate Workout, which was the foundation of Orange Theory Fitness. And he approached me and said, listen, I love how you lead group fitness. I see how you led your employees at your studio. I’ve been asked to write a leadership book through the university.

Would you co-author this with me using your principles of how you led groups through [00:45:00] fitness? Hmm. Okay. So then. We have a psychiatrist friend who is just brilliant. He’s written a couple books and so we start talking to him. So what’s happened now is the three of us. Uh, what do you do when you put a psychiatrist, a creator of a a, a world brand workout and a university professor of business together in a room?

It sounds like a joke. And, uh, write a, a book on. Ethical leadership, and that’s really what we’re driving is mind, body, and soul. He teaches ethical leadership at the university. You’ve got the psychiatrist who knows how the human brain works and creates mental clarity for you to become a great leader.

And then just my experience leading. Individuals in successful fitness and in business. So we’re already starting the wheels turning real excited about it. Think we have a little different approach. You know, as you know what you’re doing in leadership, no one [00:46:00] becomes a great leader by just osmosis. Okay?

You don’t really, all of a sudden you’re managing people. You own a business or you’re a parent. You’re leading people. When you parent.

Conceptual information of how to do that unless you’re like me. Then I got 50 books with the word leadership in my library at home. So we just feel there’s some interesting things we could put together with the three of our thought processes at putting this together. So we’re kind of excited

Wendy: about it.

Oh, we can’t wait to to, uh, to read that. Yeah. And uh, and see that when it comes out. How exciting. Um. Ellen, just to wrap up, I think this has just been a tremendous conversation and we have just absolutely loved, uh, hearing your story and I just, you know, we think you just have so many words of wisdom that our listeners certainly, um, and, and I know many of our members at our studios are very [00:47:00] excited to, to listen to this episode when it drops for.

Someone listening today that feels stuck, tired, feel like they’ve missed their chance. We hear that often, especially in the 40 plus group, like I feel like I’m too late. I’ve missed my chance. What would you leave them with today?

Final Words of Wisdom and Encouragement

Ellen: Look it. Everything for me is based around, you know, being healthy again, which is exercise, your food, your sleep, all of those things.

If you don’t have those things going on for you, you’re gonna struggle more to push through anything in your life. So at first, it’s gonna come down to are you taking care of yourself with those things? And then, like I said, just believe in your potential. You don’t have to believe that. How am I gonna get there?

I have no money. I just got divorced. I, um, you know, didn’t finish my degree. You don’t have to figure out the end [00:48:00] yet. You just have to say, have I prepped enough in the work? Mind, body and soul that we just talked about, as well as whatever that challenge is, you wanna go for owning a business, uh, you know, rising the ranks in your job.

If you got, you’ve worked on the potential, you’ve put the work in, just keep grinding. Do not take your foot off the pedal. This is where I see people get sidetracked. The world hit COVID. Businesses went away. Things shift. Things happen. Never take your foot off the pedal as soon as you start even off the pedal.

Don’t be confused when the car stalls out.

Rob: I love that. Yeah. That’s so good. I know that, uh, listen, we say, Wendy says it all the time on the mic. Uh, in, in the gym, the hardest part is just walking through the door. And, uh, [00:49:00] for a lot of people, the hardest part is just getting started. Whether you’re in your forties or fifties, it doesn’t matter.

The hardest part, whatever it is that you’re facing, it’s having that difficult conversation with somebody. It’s, it’s making a decision about your career. It’s, uh, deciding to focus in on your health and wellness. The hardest part is that first step. And, and, and to your point, getting the momentum started, uh, uh, it doesn’t matter.

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to have the end goal. All of that comes later. First step is just taking that first step.

Ellen: Absolutely. And for anyone who’s not. Exercising regularly. My message to you is please feel that you’re worthwhile enough to create the financial and time investment in yourself, because if you don’t do that for yourself, no one else is

Rob: a wonderful message.

Yeah, yeah. I love that. Oh, this has been so good. Thank you so much. Uh, we just so appreciate [00:50:00] you taking the time out of your busy schedule to be with us and to have this conversation. Uh, to those of you that are watching, we want to thank you again for taking the time to, to tune into another episode. We wanna encourage you just like we do each and every week, uh, to share out this episode with those that you want, that you feel really could hear and listen to Ellen’s message.

Make sure you share that out to them. We’ve got our private Facebook group. We’re over, I think, 900 members now. Uh, in that Facebook group want to encourage you to join that it is a community of people who are cheering, uh, one another on and encouraging one another. Uh, you can get the link as well at our website for the, uh, 15 day life Vision challenge.

All of that can be found@livingrichlead.me. So we encourage you to check that out. Uh, until next time. Get out there and live your best [00:51:00] life.

 

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