Cross Roads Podcast
Nichole & Ashley Share What Cross Roads Club Pilates Offers Our Community
Meet two sisters who started an amazing Pilates club right here in Cross Roads and what wonderful benefits their club has to offer our community.
Meet two sisters who started an amazing Pilates club right here in Cross Roads and what wonderful benefits their club has to offer our community.
Cross Roads podcast for those who want to be in the know Good morning Cross Roads. This is your host, Steven Killfoil. And on the show today are my two favorite sisters, Nicole and Ashley with the Cross Roads Club Pilates, and they are going to be giving you some fantastic health tips. We will start with you, Nicole, tell our listeners a little about yourself and how you wound up starting Club Pilates right here in Cross Roads.
Nichole:Well, thank you so much for having us on here today. My name is Nicole. And we're really excited to be here with you today. And just to give you a little bit of background about myself, I come from a long line of health and wellness and fitness. You know, I always grew up being, you know, playing sports and kind of being in that in that in that world. And so I'd love to sit here and tell you that Pilates was one of those, those things that I had a deep desire and passion for. But it actually kind of started out as a business opportunity. We had my sister and I, we had a partner that came to us and said, Hey, we've got a business opportunity, we would love for you to be a part of it. And so we said, Sure, let's go ahead and try it. And so we actually signed the dotted line to open up the four Pilates studios before we had ever even taken a Pilates class. So it's kind of a funny story about that. But when we finally came to do our first Pilates class, I, the day after I was just I was blown away, I originally had this stereotype of what Pilates was, Pilates was for a bunch of old women that just wanted to pretend like they were working out, you know, everybody thinks that Pilates is this easy kind of, you know, go with the flow kind of exercise. And you know, even though it has very low impact, it is a killer workout man. And so we just got super lucky into into the type of fitness that we have. And then you know, we opened our first club and within three months, we saw so many health benefits of what Pilates does for the body, the mind the soul to realign, and to rebalance, and to keep your health and wellness kind of up and going that my sister and I actually even went and got our own Pilates certifications to teach the classes.
Steven Killfoil:Wow, that is amazing. And to answer you. Yeah, it's not just for little ways. And yeah, it is a very demanding workout. I am still sore from that introduction class. I got some good news. Oh, man, I dropped three pounds. Since I took the class. I just went to the doctor where we're having red light and different deal with the transformation. 360. And she took my numbers and they're looking great. So yeah, and I'm still sore. I'm still a little tender.
Nichole:It's a really cool type of workout man.
Steven Killfoil:Yeah. Now how about you, Ashley, what got you involved with helping your sister with the business here in crossroads? And when did your journey began?
Ashley:Well, I'm laughing because there's so many things that Nicole left out. Like we had been talking for at least five years about opening our own business in the health and wellness industry. So when this partner did come to us and ask us to get involved, it almost was just fate it was meant to be and I think it's obviously been something that we've both enjoyed being involved in now myself. I graduated from Texas Tech with a Kinesiology degree in Exercise Sports Science. I've always been into sports and interested in health and wellness. And I was a personal trainer for many years at different big box gyms, country clubs. I ran programs that were designed for overweight and obese children, some funded by the government some just programs trying to promote positive self awareness and working with those kids. So I've kind of had my career in this for as long as I can remember my heart's been in this industry. I left for a little while where I worked at AT&T and did my kind of corporate job for about eight years and realized I love that company. But that just wasn't where my heart was. And when we had this opportunity, like we, like I said, we have been talking about doing this for like five years, we were like, We're gonna find a way we're gonna find something, we're gonna figure it out, because we're both very active. And that's what we love. And so when we got to do Pilates, it really was a life changing moment, and that I enjoyed being able to dig in, because like she said, we got our own certification. Because we can't just stand on the side, it's like, Put me in coach, like, we see all the amazing things that we're getting to experience with people that, like you just, you know, take the first step, just start somewhere in the class, and then you're like, man, okay, I'm feeling that I like that. Let's keep growing with that. So since we opened our first one, in Denton, that was in 2018, this year will be five years, and we have four locations. And Cross Roads was our third location that we opened. And that one was a challenge to open, because that was the year 2020, dun, dun dun, of COVID. Where's your sound of eggs here? That was the year of COVID. But when we open that in 2020, we had an overwhelmingly positive response from the community here about just being appreciative that we were here, being appreciative that we were pushing forward, we were making modifications to open the business and still allow them to start their health and wellness journey. And I Cross Roads has been amazing community since we've opened and still is.
Steven Killfoil:Excellent, excellent. Well, physical fitness is very important for maintaining one's health. Would you share with us how a person should pursue this? What to do if you're just starting out? And what is available for those who are very active?
Nichole:Wow. Well, that's actually a really, really great question. And I think that there, there's no way that a fitness plan should look, there just isn't everybody's everybody's body is different. And everybody's health and wellness journey is vastly different. And that's one of the greatest things that clip Pilates really has done. A truly great job about kind of differentiating is that no matter where you come from, no matter where you are, in your journey, we have a place for you to start, whether you are just getting into it, you know, we have our introductory level classes, we have level one classes, you know, whether you've been working out for years, and you're extremely active and very fit, we've got level two and a half classes that are mastery advanced, you know. So the great thing about Pilates is that we always say this is not camp gladiator Orangetheory, don't kill yourself, burn yourself, sweat, don't don't die, you know, it's not the the mentality of bigger, better, faster, stronger, it's a very mindful practice, it is do the best you can until you can do better. And we truly believe that movement is medicine. And just if just starting out to move your body is where you start, do that. And we're going to be there, we're going to support you along the way with that. A lot of our moves in Pilates come with modifications. So if a particular move is a little bit too challenging, at that point, we have a way to make it healthy and safe for your body. Because your body is different than my body which is different than her body, which is different than his body. And so one of the best parts about being involved with Pilates is that we take the person into account during every exercise in every class, meaning if you, for example, maybe have a hip replacement, your exercises are going to look different than the person who doesn't. And so everything that we do is very customizable at the studio. So that's what's really great is we have a bunch of health specialists and professionals at the front desk, that kind of talk you through what your best options are, depending on where you are in your journey. So depending on where you are, that's where they're going to help guide you. So I think it's really awesome that Pilates can offer you a range of anywhere between very, very beginner and very, very advanced.
Steven Killfoil:What's your take,
Ashley:I will say just get started with thinking about it. The thing that I just I hate to hear the most is I'm gonna get ready to start my workout journey. I'm going to start walking first and then when I can walk a mile then I'm going to do Pilates. There's just no right time to start except for now. And like Nicole said we have nine different class types and four different levels at Club Pilates. Some are going to be stretch focused and working through lengthening the muscle and getting your body ready, which I think is where some people start and some are going to be more cardio boot camp a little faster paced all of those with foundational levels to advanced in between. So if you're considering or nervous, just get started. And the wonderful thing about clip Pilates that we offer here in Cross Roads is your first class is free, completely free. Come in, try it out and see if it's something that you can take a tiny step towards achieving some of those fitness goals that you have. So just get started.
Steven Killfoil:I agree 100% 100%. So I understand that you offer memberships as well as individual classes. For those of us with these extremely crazy schedules.
Nichole:Yes, that is absolutely right. We here at our studio, we are open seven days a week, so no excuses. So we're open every single day during the week, we're open as early as 6am, all the way until nine o'clock at night. And then on the weekends, we're open half days. So we open very early. And then we're, we generally have our classes done around two o'clock, which makes it great for your crazy busy schedule that you can go get your workout in in the morning, and then have the rest of the day to go get your grocery shopping, or take your dog to the park or hang out with your family you know. So we have a really wide variety of classes on the schedule. But we even run into the the occasional Hey, Mike, my, my, my schedule is just so crazy. It won't even work with the classes that you have. Great. We've got you there too. We offer private training at our studio, which is any time that you need, we can accommodate your schedule. So if your schedule is just outrageously crazy, then don't worry, we've got you. I actually just last week had a girl that said, Man, my my schedule is so crazy that I can only meet at nine o'clock at night. And we had a we had an instructor who said great, I'll meet you there at nine o'clock. Our instructors are so passionate about genuinely helping you get you healthy from the inside out that they will show up at nine o'clock at night, just to help you get where you need to get in your health and wellness journey. So yeah, whether your schedule is extremely crazy. We we've got you covered, man.
Steven Killfoil:That's great. That's great. Well, tell me what type of nutrition or diet do you recommend that would go along with the Pilates classes.
Ashley:And I think this is probably one of the most infamous questions that we get, you know, people always want to know, how can I balance my exercise and my diet, and there isn't a one size fits all. But the thing that I do love is we have a lot of community networks within crossroads. And we can always recommend a really great partner or somebody a professional that can get you there. Now, of course, we're going to promote a lot of clean, healthy, maybe a little more organic eating, or just a slight change in what you're doing. Because changing just something little is better than changing nothing at all. And if you want to have those conversations, we've got a lot of instructors, including Nikola and I who are really passionate about finding those healthier, cleaner or natural options. And we we really get excited because we bring in partners into the studio to have just like a table day to share their knowledge. Because like I said, one size doesn't fit all. So there may be a solution that really works well for you. And if we can just expose you to that to a different way of thinking and share that with you. And then you can take that on and take what you will from it and then start working on what feels good for your body. What works well for your body. Then we we continue to encourage that. So I don't think there's one size fits all but we have a lot of really great suggestions and ways we can go you know what Nicole's got something she's dying? Oh,
Nichole:Yeah, no, I just I get really excited because like Ashley starts talking about this. And it really is true you when you get around a community like we have in the Pilates community, you get around a lot of like minded people. And so you know, fitness is not just a one stop shop, you can't expect to come in to our Pilates studio workout seven days a week and go eat cheeseburgers at McDonald's and expect to be healthy, you really have to know so you know, when you're around people that genuinely care for their health and their wellness, you know, we've got you know, Leanne over here who's talking about you know, her new diet plan and what she's doing that's going to help her become successful and then you've got you know, Catherine over here saying well, I'm incorporating this into my health and wellness style and then you know, you've got you've got me over here that saying you know I'm starting ice baths and cold plunges and so you start getting a lot better you Yeah, oh man. Let me tell you the benefits. But you know you when you start putting yourself in the health community, you will be so surprised that the doors that started opening in nutrition and health and wellness on organic and an herbalist that kind of like Ashley said, more natural choices. So you will have an infinite amount of support and within the community.
Ashley:And actually, that just happened to me this week. Two days ago, there was a lady saying she had hired a dietician, she had lost 60 pounds, but she had kind of plateaued. I was bored of it. And another lady chimed up and said, Let me tell you what my morning shake looks like. Let me tell you what it consists of. And let me share like maybe a second opinion or somebody for you to just consider like changing how you're working and changing what you're doing. And all of a sudden, before I knew it, all the ladies were sharing their phone numbers, and like committing to this new morning shake, right, which is just something different. But honestly, it sounded really good. It sounds like it tasted good. And it sounded like it probably had some really great content. So yeah, just like that. I mean, literally, as you're saying that I'm like, Yeah, I see that. I just saw that yesterday or two days ago. So to be around,
Steven Killfoil:I can speak to that plateauing. Mady and I have tried many different types of diets. And everything, I call it the diet rollercoaster for a reason, your weight goes up, then goes down, but then goes up. It, the one that we're currently pursuing so far has been the most successful. As far as the Healthy Weight Loss. We're meeting our goals, we're heading towards the end goal. And exercise is going to be a great big part of this. So I'm excited and looking forward to getting with you guys. Again, I probably should do the stretch class, because I'm still sore.
Nichole:A great class.
Steven Killfoil:But yeah, Mady and I we're currently working with a certified natural health practitioner, Dr. And the name of the diet is called transformations 360. It combines it's a it's a Keto type diet with a very specific parameter, we have to weigh our food, both the proteins and the carbohydrates. It seems like a lot of work. But once you get used to the regimen, you're you're able to manage it, I give kudos to my wife. She's the main one who does most of the prep, I help her when I can. But definitely, so you all encourage your members to work with their doctors, of course, as they pursue a healthier choice in the Pilates
Nichole:Without a doubt 100% Whether that is with your your nutrition, or like you said you've been working with, you're seeing HP doctor on your diet, or whether it's with your primary care doctor, you know, a lot of people that are just coming out of shoulder replacements or knee replacements or bulging discs, herniated discs, I mean, we see it all I mean, autoimmune disorders even can affect the way that your fitness plan is going to look like. So yes, I mean, we we never claimed to be medical professionals, right? We're not doctors over here. But we do you know, every single one of our instructors is required to have a minimum of a 500 hour training certification, which is included with college level anatomy classes on how the body works. And most of our instructors who have been in this industry for 20 plus years have multiple certifications. I mean, they're incredibly impressive. And so yeah, we, Oh, yes. The
Steven Killfoil:Iridology Oh, okay. Very cool. We're both certified in that that. Oh,
Ashley:That's wonderful. Yeah. So you know, we definitely encourage you to be asking your doctors, what are the best and safest ways for you, because some exercises that are going to be safe for your body are not going to be safe for my body. And I just have a really funny story about this. Because I've been working with a lot of clients one on one, whether they have osteoporosis and need to learn some different modifications or are struggling, recovering whatever it is, right. And one lady I've been working with, it's probably been about three or four months. And we're figuring out what the root of the imbalances are in her body, right? Physically. Yes. And she went and saw a doctor. That was a jaw, like a orthopedic, non orthopedic orthodontist. Hello. It's a little different. And she asked the doctor, Can I record this and show this to my Pilates instructor? And then the doctor said, Sure, go ahead. She was explaining how they were going to correct and move forward. Some of those were exercises and routines at home and things. And so the lady she brought it to me, she said, Is this just a bunch of mumbo jumbo? Am I getting, you know, like, am I getting one over here? And I said, No. This makes so much sense everything she's saying aligns with what we've been doing. And the things that she's giving you, we can continue to work on here in Pilates, so you can have your stuff at home and we can continue to work. And we can work together. So I was taking the doctor's feedback and recommendation and saying, Oh, absolutely, it makes sense. And I know exactly where we're gonna go with that in our workouts. So I've had quite a few, sometimes even bringing X rays or doctor's notes and recommendations and stuff to us. So that Nicole said, we're not doctors, but we have a really good understanding of the body. And we can build on that and continue to help you move in the same direction instead of push and pull in a couple of different directions. You know?
Steven Killfoil:Absolutely.
Nichole:Yeah, you know, one of the things is that we always like to say where the afterlife of the PT world because you know, after you get your surgeries or you know, you have those kinds of things that you're recovering from the you know, they're always send you to physical therapy, or physical therapy for call it six to nine weeks, and then they dismiss you off into the world and they let you fly on your own. And most of the time, you're not ready to fly. People are like, Well, what do I do now? We'll come see us at Pilates. We will help you and so many times that people come to us from PT say, Oh, I've done this move in PT before. Yeah, like we do a lot of the same integrated moves. So yeah, absolutely.
Steven Killfoil:Cool. Well, what is both of your all's favorite class?
Nichole:Oh, haha. favorite class to teach or to take is very different for me. Okay, yeah. Well, I love to teach the control classes, the control classes are absolutely phenomenal. They're all based on lower body strength and conditioning. So it's our bar base class. So we focus a lot on the lower body. But my favorite class to take 1,000% hands down is our cardio sculpt class. I am that absolute crazy nut that loves the runner's high. I absolutely always love the cardio. But the cool thing about this is that even if you hate cardio, you will love this class. Okay, it's like we put these jump boards on the bottom are in the very end of the reformers. So you're imagine this, you're laying down. And it's like you're jumping on a trampoline laying down. It's fantastic.
Steven Killfoil:Sounds like fun.
Nichole:It's so much fun. It is so much fun. You literally you jump on the machines back and forth, you just lay down you jump, you get your exercise, you get your heart health in, we incorporate heart rate training into those classes, so good for your heart health. And so yeah, those are my two, my favorite class to teach and to take.
Ashley:So I will say Nicole is a runner, she just completed a half marathon a couple of weeks ago, and invited me and I said, I will be cheering for you the whole way. And I probably have one side you Yeah. But with that being said, I do really enjoy the cardio class. So it is a good alternative to cardio work. If you don't enjoy running, like I just do not, it's just boring to me. My favorite class to teach is our CP fit, which means functional interval training. So we get your heart rate up, it's a little bit of hit and some some dynamic, get your heart rate up, kind of slow it down to me, it's a little more bootcamp B, we move a little quicker, I've always been an athlete. So to me, it's like, Let's go it's time you know, but we we do it in a low impact way, you're not going to be doing burpees or jumping up and down. But we do have free weights and about 20 pieces of equipment at each station that you can use. So the classes are always going to be different and a lot of fun. For me to take hands down. I'm with you on that stretch class. We call it our center and balance class. And it's just amazing. Any time of the day, at any point of your workout exercise journey, because it's mentally a little bit relaxing, and physically for your body. When you're done. You just feel great,
Steven Killfoil:Right. Yeah, well, hey, can children or teenagers participate in Pilates?
Ashley:Whoo, I love this question. Because I'm so passionate about working with youth that I didn't know if I was going to be able to do that in this type of work. And absolutely 100% We love having children and kids work with us. You have to be at least 14 to be in the classes with us. And we have your parents come with you if you're a minor, you know, 14 to 17 to make sure that we put you in the right classes, and we're looking out for those kids because their bodies are still growing. But it's a great exercise because there's so much equipment and so many things that it's really engaging. And if you're under 14 and you still want to come into the studio and use the equipment. Absolutely. We just do privates or semi privates. So we've had families of four or five come and do their workouts together or we've had even a couple kids come together that we're training One was doing some athletic sports and some competitive sports on the side. And another one just wanted something to do. It didn't, wasn't very athletic right away, put them together, and they had a wonderful time. So it's really great to having those kids in, in our studio.
Nichole:Yeah. And we highly, highly encourage children to come and participate. You know, I, I, myself have an eight year old son, and he says he's applauded his master, because he loves to come up to the studio and do Pilates, which I think is so cool to teach at a young age, to teach into that Pilates is fun. Health and wellness is fun. But I can also, you know, remember a very specific little girl who came to work with me, at the age of 12. And she was actually a candidate to be getting a full spinal fusion, she had scoliosis, and kyphosis. That was age of 12. I mean, this is such an inspirational story that at the age of 12, they were going to fuse her entire spine together. And thank God for her amazing mother, who said, no, this doesn't feel right. I'm going to I'm going to explore my options, she came to us. And this little girl started working with me once a week for two years. And for two years, she went back to the doctor's every single time, they kept saying you're making so much improvement, you're making so much improvement by the age of 15. She is no longer a candidate for any spinal surgeries at her doctors at all. So I mean, think about like, what a life changing thing that could have been for this little girl to have a total final spinal fusion. But because of Pilates, and her dedication and hard work, because she put in the time and the work to do it, she's going to be able to just function and be a normal little kid and be able to grow up and have a great life. So I highly, highly, highly encourage parents to be looking at other options as their children start to develop.
Steven Killfoil:Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, we see you guys out at the park doing special introductory classes during the summer, fall and winter markets. So do you think you might have some special outdoor classes in the future for people?
Ashley:Absolutely, yes. And we love to partner with the town of Cross Roads that the Easter Eggstravaganza and anniversary bash that we just had, we love to come out there. And host that really fun outdoor class. We try to get out in the community. So if anyone is excited and wants us to come, we would love for you to reach out to us. But also we try to do that also, I don't know, every other month or every month or so we did puppies and Pilates just this last month so everyone got to bring their dog,
Nichole:Which was so much fun. Oh my god. We didn't get a lot of Pilates done because the puppies were playing with everywhere with each other and all over everybody. But it was so much fun.
Steven Killfoil:I bet Well, you heard it today from Nicole and Ashley of the Cross Roads Pilates Club, located across from Walmart on 380 right here in Cross Roads. Make sure to stop by and check out their studio is amazing. And I guarantee you will get a great workout. I speak from experience on this. Now for the local announcements here in crossroads and the area. The town council will be holding their meeting tonight at 6pm at the Cross Roads Police Department meeting center Tuesday October 17. Whether you're an early bird or a late night exerciser club Pilates class classes, starting at 630 in the morning and running all the way to 7:30pm. Stop by the studio and sign up. If you have an itch to learn a new stitch then yarn Buddies is for you from 11am to 12pm at the pilot Point Community Library 324 South Washington Street, Wednesday, October 18. Again, get with the call or Ashley and sculpt your body. Crossroads Pilates offers classes taught by amazing instructors starting at 6am. And they run all day to the
last class at 7:30pm. Stop by and sign up today. Bring out your pipes for karaoke night at lowbrow saloon. 200 South Washington Street and pilot point Thursday October 19. Ah, go again. Cross Roads Pilates classes offers reformer flow center plus balanced Classes Make sure to stop by and sign up. Every Thursday is game night at pilot point coffee house on 110 Main Street from 6pm to 10pm Challenge Jimerson to a game of chess. October 20. If you miss karaoke night at low browse, then come on out to Vaughn Walling, American Legion Post 550 905 Foundation drive and pilot point from 7:30pm to
11:30pm and sing your favorite tunes. October 21 Crossroads is having their holiday market from 9am to two 2pm Come on out for some amazing deals. If Pickleball is your forte, then from 9am to 11am at the Allen Graff Park on 1514 North Washington Street pilot point, join in the fun. All levels are welcome. Later on, go to the Western Sun distillery tour from 1pm to 2pm. Purchase your tickets in advance at https colon. www Western Sun distillery.com. In the evening up at pilot point Coffee House at eight o'clock see Jefferson Smith Hart in concert Tuesday October 24. coffeehouse session starting at 6pm Bring out your fiddle bring out your Bose strike up some tunes with the rest of the local musicians for a night of fun and jam. And don't forget Thursday October 26 at the coffee house game night again, bring out the family for a fun night a good old board gaming. Remember to stop by and see Nicole or Ashley at the crossroad club Pilates located at 11650 us 380 suite 150 in the Crossroads center across from Walmart. You can call them at 940-600-4112 to book your class. Stay tuned in for new and exciting guests. Until next week. We'll see you at the top