Optimize Fitness and Performance

07/14/2023

EDIT: Open House CANCELLED.
A buyer came forward to buy the entire gym.
This will save me dozens of hours of work as I prepare to go to law school. I'm sorry for the last minute notice.

If you are looking for equipment still, please DM me and I'm happy to make recommendations based on your goals, budget, and space.
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Hey guys, it's Devin.

Big news: I'm closing OFP to go to law school!

More coming on that decision soon, but for now. I'm selling *everything* in the gym before I leave.

There will be a Gym Open House this Sunday at 10AM.
Come by 33 Forge Hill Road, #1, in Franklin to check it out.

Literally everything is for sale.

Specifically for sale:

Squat racks for $400-500

Adjustable benches for $300-400

Dumbbells for $1.80 per lb. Ergo grip Dumbbells from Perform Better.

Kettlebells for $1.80 per lb, both cast iron & competition from First Place / Perform Better

Powertec 45 degree hip extension / dual extension for $400
Titan Chest Supported Row for $275
Titan Wall-Mounted Cable Column for $250

Rubber Stall Mats:
Full 4'x6' for $30
Medium sections for $20
Small sections for $10

Storage:
Metal shelves, plastic shelves, a big plastic cabinet for your garage, a filing cabinet

Desk, folding chairs, box fans, industrial fans, a futon

10/11/2022

is doing very cool things today for World Mental Health Day, and that inspired me to pitch in from the fitness world.

This could easily be an hourlong seminar, but it’s so important to protect your mental health as you become stronger and healthier.

My social media is curated overall, but especially when it comes to fitness.

I don’t follow accounts that I find upsetting.

I don’t listen to people who moralize food choices, or preach the superiority of a particular diet, or who rely on being polarizing to drive clicks and gain attention.

Part of that shift comes from you. Changing how you think about and talk about your food can be a powerful tool for your mental health.

And safeguarding, and subtly improving, the mental health of my clients is an important part of my job as a personal trainer and coach. I’m always mindful of my words and the impact that they have on my clients.

Some other tips:

💡 Reframe how you talk about food. It’s not “bad” - it’s processed, or high-calorie, or high-energy - or just delicious and worth enjoying

💡 Take pride in your progress and achievements in the gym. Progressive overload is the beautiful thing about strength training. Celebrating the process of becoming stronger is powerful for your self esteem. It was for me.

💡 Zoom out on your training and nutrition. I use the analogy of in-season / post-season / off-season with my clients and their goals all the time. Breaks, even unplanned ones, or periods with less frequency and intensity are normal.

Training 1-2x a week always beats not training for 3 months - and plenty of clients get strong as hell on 2x/week.

💡 I know way too much about nutrition. My new superpower is that I can rationalize or justify just about any “bad” decision you’ve made and find a silver lining. (Maybe skip the heart attack burger, mm’kay?)

Yeah - the “don’t be a d*ck to yourself in the gym” seminar might become a real thing. It dovetails well with the “BS!” nutrition workshop I teach semi-annually.

02/20/2022

Coach Devin's February, 2022 Update #1:

I haven't used Facebook for business much, but I'm going to try posting more regularly going forward.

You can follow me personally on Instagram .fitness.

The best way to learn more about personal training is to get started with a free, 15-minute call at https://www.optimizefp.com/apply/

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A few new things in the gym:

1 - I added a Dual Hip Extension from PowerTec. This is a great machine that lets you strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and crucially your lower back with bodyweight resistance.

It's great for helping rehab lower backs, as well as building strong glutes. I've been excited to use it (even if my clients aren't as enthused with the burn and the soreness!)

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#2 - There's a new Chest Supported T-Bar Row machine from Titan Fitness on the way.

We do a TON of rows with TRX and Incline Chest Supported Rows with Kettlebells, but both can be difficult to overload after a while.

The chest supported t-bar row is perfect because it's simple to add weight to, while still protecting the lower back as compared to a traditional barbell bent over row. Perfect for isolating the pulling muscles of the back.

It's my favorite machine of all time, and I personally can't wait to use it.

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#3 - Did you know that you can save up to 35% on vitamins from Thorne Health?! For free!

Simply visit www.thorne.com/u/optimize. That's my own personal Thorne shop - full of supplements that I use and that I recommend.

Anybody who signs up through that link - for free - gets an ongoing 10% discount.

If you sign up for a monthly subscription, you can save an additional 10-20% on subsequent months.

AND - if you e-mail me at [email protected] after your FIRST order, I'll bump up your ongoing discount to 15%.

(Personal training clients save 20% on all products)

This is an ongoing, save-on-every-order discount.
I make a small commission of each sale, and you save 10-35% off of retail prices. (Compare VS Amazon).

03/12/2021

Coach Devin here.

Last year, I taught an online webinar on nutrition for fat loss called:
"BS!: Fat Loss, Debunked"
(credit to Penn & Teller)

Basically, there's a whole lot of BS that people pick up from TV, social media, twitter, fad diets, and weird books.

Things like:

- You must always eat breakfast.
- You can't eat after 8PM, or you'll get fat.
- Intermittent fasting is the best and "mOsT NAtuRaL" way to lose fat (but wait, what happened to breakfast?)
- Keto is the best thing for fat loss
- 6 small meals a day is the best thing for fat loss (zone)
- No carbs, but lots of fat (keto)
- No fat, but lots of carbs (high carb, low fat)
- etc. etc. etc.

Very confusing. Fortunately, it doesn't gotta be like that.

So, I created a seminar to help my clients sort through all the BS and get to the bottom of what really works - everytime.

(Hint: Calories matter most, protein really matters, carbs and fat DON'T really matter, and it absolutely does not matter when you eat. Except for sleep, some people don't sleep well if they've eaten recently.)

The webinar is free*, for-ev-er, and you can check it out here:
https://optimizefitness.ck.page/free-nutrition-webinar
*AKA for the low, low price of your e-mail address.

(Also, full disclosure, I'm saving up for little things like rent and health insurance in law school. If I can build my online supplement sales, I can focus fully on my studies.

SO! I'm giving anybody and everybody an ongoing, 10% discount on vitamins from Thorne. Save 10% on your first order and 15% on every order after that by checking out HTTP://www.thorne.com/u/optimize)

03/10/2021

Hey, Coach Devin here.

Optimize has been open for personal training since June, 2020. Since then, I've personally coached 1,200+ training sessions.

We've had 0 cases of COVID-19 traced to the gym and 0 exposures.

Fortunately, our gym is perfect for training in during COVID-10:

- We train up to 3 people at a time, since we have 3 squat racks. Clients are 10' apart, and often much further apart than that.

- Masks are mandatory

- We're an "indoor-outdoor" gym with a full-width garage door. Our doors have been open, even during the winter, to provide constant fresh air.

- We use an Aranet4 CO2 monitor, pictured, to measure the air quality and ventilation in the gym. The CDC recently recommended that gyms improve their ventilation systems. We've been monitoring our air since December, 2020. A number in the 400's is comparable to the fresh air outdoors. With 2+ doors open, we're often in the 400's.

- All sessions are scheduled in advance and there is a 15-minute time gap between sessions to allow for additional cleaning and ventilation.

The gym is rapidly picking back up and I've been adding several new clients each week. Business is finally back to pre-pandemic levels. There is still availability for training in the morning, afternoon, and evening - but it's filling up fast.

If you want to get back into shape, get started with a free phone consultation at:
https://calendly.com/optimizefp/free-phone-consultation?month=2021-03

(PS - I rarely post on Facebook these days because they changed their business algorithms to more of a "pay-for-play" structure. My engagement plummeted, and so many of us business owners stopped using our pages. I mostly post important updates here, but trust me - Optimize Fitness & Performance is alive and kicking)

07/21/2020

Coach Devin Gray here! I filmed a series of how-to videos on Squats for Radiate Fitness with Kara Soucy.

Check out this in-depth video on how to use your feet while you squat. It's not a topic that gets a lot of attention, but it's one of the most common technique fixes that I use with my clients.

I go over:

- Why squatting barefoot can help you master your squat
- How to use the muscles in your feet to help you squat lower
- How to set up for a squat
- Using a heel lift to improve your flexibility

All in just over 2 minutes. Check it out and please like, comment, and share. 👌

06/21/2020

Optimize Fitness and Performance in Franklin, MA is officially open tomorrow with the start of Phase 2, Step 2! As an "indoor-outdoor" gym, it's the safest place to get back to lifting and training hard.

Our full safety & sanitization policies can be found at http://www.optimizefp.com/covid-gym-policies/

I'll be taking on new clients, as well as offering private, one-on-one coaching for the first time in 6 years. One-on-one sessions are $80 per hour.

For more affordable options, I'm still offering semi-private sessions, as well as virtual personal training, starting at $199 per month. All my clients receive a customized training plan, updated monthly, through the TrueCoach training app.

If you're interested, sign up at the link included or just send me a message for more information. 💪

http://www.optimizefp.com/covid-gym-policies/

All of my clients received virtual personal training for the past 3 months and they saw some great results at-home.

- Coach Devin

COVID-19 Gym Policies for Personal Training Sessions Optimize Fitness & Performance is open for business! As of June 22nd, MA moved into Phase 2, Step 2 – meaning we are open for personal training! We are accepting new clients for both in-person training and online coaching. If you’re chomping a...

04/07/2020

Thanks to Xpression Prints, Inc. for setting up Optimize Fitness and Performance with these $20 community support shirts! (Picture in comments)

$10 of each & every purchase goes to support my gym.

Xpression Prints has made these shirts available for 70+ small businesses in my town of Franklin, MA. It's a great gesture for our small businesses and one I'm grateful for.

I'm working with them to make some regular OFP gear, as well. Going to have some new workout clothes when this is all over 💪

11/08/2019

Calling all Moms!!

You don't want to miss this workshop.

Pelvic floor "stuff" is one of the most neglected topics in health and fitness, but it affects everything. I've seen many of my clients struggle in the gym because of pelvic floor issues, and often they (and I) don't even know it.

It can affect your knees, back, and hips. Incontinence during exercise is another common problem that can be embarrassing to talk about. If you want to learn more, including some possible solutions, please attend this workshop.

A pelvic floor physical therapist, Caryn Phillips, DPT, is giving a workshop at my gym this coming Tuesday, at 7PM. Tickets are $20 and limited. I kept the link private for only my clients until now.

If you're at all curious, please attend.

Join physical therapist, Caryn Phillips, of MomLife Health and Wellness, to learn exercises for pelvic floor health