Today we’d like to introduce you to A.J. Morton.
A.J., can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I began personal training at the University of Iowa in the Recreation Department in 2008 with my certifications from both the National Academy of Sports Medicine and The American Council on Exercise. I decided to work with regular population clients, as opposed to athletes, because I recognized a great need for improvement in nutrition and movement among normal people, and to me, that was going to be a lot more fulfilling than working with multimillion dollar athletes; I really wanted to make an impact! When I moved back to Chicago, I spent a few years trying to find the right place to build my business. I landed at Equinox Fitness Clubs, got my Health/ Nutrition Coaching Certification through Precision Nutrition, and after 5 successful years and even meeting my wife, Melanie,, I decided to set out on my own and launch Next Level Fitness Chicago. Not long after that, Melanie had our first son and I got an up close and personal view of what women go through when their bodies change, their minds change, and the struggles that come with being a woman in a society so focused on unrealistic aesthetics and perfection. With that in mind, I launched my Women’s Program with the idea of empowering women to feel strong and confident! I was blown away by the number of women that would come in and tell me stories about their body image issues, battles with eating disorders or negative relationships with food, and an overall sense of putting their health low on their list of priorities in life. I knew I had found an opportunity to help and hopefully make the big impact I’d been looking to make. I created this program to empower the WHOLE woman: providing an education in aspects of health like strength training and nutrition coaching, but also diving into the other aspects of life like sleep management, time management and stress management, all of which help women perform better in the gym and in life!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Launching the Women’s Program at NLFC has been really challenging but also very rewarding. My first few months were incredibly busy, and I couldn’t really keep up with the amount of women coming to see me. I was spread so thin, I absolutely dropped the ball on following up with a lot of incoming clients, though at the same time there was so much to help people with, I really wanted to be there for them and provide as much help as I could. I was a one-man show for a while until I made my first hire, Josh Maness, and that’s really helped me keep up with demand as well as continue to provide quality help for current clients.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Next Level Fitness Chicago – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Next Level Fitness Chicago specializes in empowering women to feel like the badasses that they are! We bridge the gap between cardio-based boutique workouts and CrossFit; we teach women how to strength train in a safe, progressive and effective manner, because that’s what gets results! We run our 45 minute sessions in small groups of up to 6 people, and that allows us to provide a high level of modification for each client’s needs. Women are realizing that they really don’t bulk up when they lift weights like men do. In fact, they get leaner, stronger, have less pain, and feel amazing! What sets NLFC apart is that we really focus on building a community of support. We have an incredible group, and we plan Hangouts just about every month to build that community. As a company, I’m most proud of the transformations we’ve seen with the unconventional methods we use: Improving women’s relationships with their bodies starts with a mindset shift, one of those shifts is getting them away from using 3-5lb weights for their workouts. The truth is that women should be lifting weights like guys, and the fact that I have to differentiate between the two ideas, is why there is so much need for a program like this.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For the future, we’re looking to continue to reach and help as many women as we can in more areas around Chicago. In addition, we’re looking to launch on online-based coaching platform, to deliver the same results to women all over the world!
Contact Info:
- Address: 820 N Orleans St.
- Website: facebook.com/nextlevelfitnesschicago
- Phone: 847-530-8896
- Email: aj@nextlevelfitnesschicago.com
- Instagram: aj_nextlevelfitness
- Facebook: facebook.com/nextlevelfitnesschicago
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/next-level-fitness-chicago-chicago?uid=nCVq8jvAbupU4hGimwXG2Q&utm_medium=s_nb_i_mgb&utm_source=ishare
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