Adam Torres and Elwyn Hutter discuss fitness.
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Show Notes:
What mindset change is beneficial for people trying to get and stay strong? In this episode, Adam Torres and Elwyn Hutter, Owner at Link Fitness, explore what it takes to reach and maintain fitness goals.
About Elwyn Hutter
Gym owner. Nutrition Coach. I believe that understanding what motivates a person is the key to plotting the course to a healthy lifestyle. I have taken the journey from obese to fit and understand how challenging it can be. And how rewarding. Fitness and health is a constantly evolving journey – embrace that evolution.
About Link Fitness
Located right on 290 their facility is equipped with all new equipment and an InBody machine so they can track all aspects of your fitness journey.
Their philosophy is simple – they want to meet you where you are in that journey. Their ownership and staff have combined decades of experience and have helped thousands of people. Wherever you and and whatever your concerns, they are confident is knowing that you are not alone. Come talk to us and let us help you level up your fitness.
Their staff has decades of experience working with all types of people. They are also highly diverse and enjoy meeting new people and helping them feel at home in our gym.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest on the show, just head on over to missionmatters. com and click on Be Our Guest to Apply. All right, so today’s guest is Elwin Hutter, and he is owner over at Link Fitness.
Elwin, welcome to the show. Thanks Adam, glad to be here. Oh man, I’m excited to have you on the show. I know I had , your wife, Lisa on the show previously, and we had some fun and she’s like, man, you need to talk to my husband. He’s got a fitness organization and some other things. And I’m like, oh man, get him on another entrepreneur.
Let’s do it. So. Great to have you on. And just to get us kicked off here, I’ll start this episode with our Mission Matters Minute. So, Elwin at Mission Matters, our aim and our goal is to amplify stories for entrepreneurs and experts. That’s what we do. Elwin, what Mission Matters to you? , I think , it’s evolved over the years, but I find myself at 49 years old owning a gym.
Really focus on the mission of helping people in my age range find a way to Become healthy and strong and fit so that they can live a long and healthy life and accomplish everything they want to do, not just now, but decades into the future. Awesome. great having you on the show. And I guess just picking up on that, like, what came first entrepreneurship or the, or getting into the health industry?
Like, were you always a health nut or , what came first? No I mean, I, I think I have the benefit of coming from a family of entrepreneurs, but so you kind of raised in that? I was, but I, sort of went a different way. And then when I was 32, right about the same time that my wife Lisa was pregnant with our oldest daughter I also found out that I had colon cancer.
Hmm. So , it was all things, you know, relative. It was something that was addressed pretty quickly. It was not a huge scare. Other people have had much, much worse situations, but it got me focused a little bit more on Staying healthy and , how long is I going to be around? Yeah, so from there, I started turning to my own health first and after a couple years Decided to try out a small gym as a business.
Wow. What was that like like when you’re opening up the gym with that was that was new for you, right? And so you’re in fitness and otherwise to people and I do people around you think? What do they think about that? Like, you’re gonna start a gym? Like, huh? How?
Why? And I ask that question because a lot of entrepreneurs listening and especially if you’re getting out there starting your venture, maybe not everybody understands what you’re doing. Yeah, it’s interesting. I don’t know if I took the time to recognize what people around me were thinking. I had the support of Lisa and my family.
Of course, of course. And, These types of gyms, it’s kind of a CrossFit style gym. So it’s not a Gold’s gym, which brings the cost down , to open the, this type of gym is not. Incredibly expensive. Any type of business is expensive, but you know, I think they were all really supportive and gave me advice from their own experience, but it was very much.
I learned by doing that’s kind of, you know, I make mistakes, but I try really hard not to make the same one twice. Yeah, that’s interesting in the way, and the reason I kind of think about this and like, when you’re first starting your first business is Sarah, maybe this wasn’t your first business, but your first gym, I should say.
This is, it’s kind of like, you don’t know what you don’t know. And as in many things I could look back at what we started this company and to think that, I mean, I didn’t know anything about media, right? We were just, We were just building and we started as a book publishing company of all things.
So it evolved over time. The brand grew other things, but it’s, it’s interesting to see the evolution and then to kind of also look back and think about, huh, what I’ve done this different or this or that, and I know it’s all part of the journey, but there’s definitely like ups and downs and learning moments.
If you could look back at like your, let’s just go back to the early days of kind of starting the gym and other things like that , was there anything you would have done different? Like in, in getting everything going? I don’t know if there is, you know, the, the gym link fitness that I have now is actually the third gym that I’ve opened.
We had one in New York before we moved to Texas and then when we moved to Texas, I purchased the gym that I was a member at. You were already, you were already. kind of in the business. Then by the time link business came around, you were three gyms in our two gyms in that this be a third. So you already knew, you know, had a context.
Yeah. And the big difference with this one is this is the first time that I did it without a business partner. And I think that’s right in there is probably the answer to your question. I would not have opened either of the first two without a partner. I think I needed the it. The assistance and we needed, I have strengths and weaknesses, and I tried to find a partner that had complimentary strength to mine, but with this one, I think I was able to say, no, I think I can handle it all.
And I prefer to have 100 percent of the decision making power. I don’t want to have to sell a partner on an idea. If I’ve thought it through, I just want to be able to go with it. And that’s been an important change, which I enjoy. And that’s interesting. thank you for sharing that.
That’s great., I want to switch it up a bit here, Alvin. Let’s get a little bit , into , the fitness and the mindset side of things. So here, here you are, and, and, and correct me if I’m off on this. So are you, you’re helping individuals in kind of like, like, what’s the demographic, I guess I should say, that you’re helping, like that you’re working with?
And of course, anybody can go to the gym, I’m guessing, but what are some of the demographics that you’re working with? Sure. We’re in Dripping Springs, Texas, which is a small suburb of Austin that’s growing very, very quickly. The demographic is young families to established families, often two working parents, kids in school.
They’ve moved to Dripping Springs with the idea of staying there for 15, 20 years. Good schools, nice town good community. So that puts my demographic in the 35. Up to 65 is my oldest member but similar life stages for most of them. Tell me a little bit more about your process and like how when, new members are coming into the gym and otherwise,, like how you’re helping them, like talk about your process a little bit.
Yeah, I think the first thing, and this has actually been something that I, it took me a while to learn, is to I really trust my own judgment about when I analyze their current fitness state, how well do they move, how strong are they how worried are they about certain injuries or how movements might hurt them and balancing all of that in order to provide them with the best workout.
Oftentimes people are they overestimate perhaps where they are if they’ve been out of the gym for some time, and that’s My most common new member case is someone who’s been out of the gym for a few years. You know, if you go back to what the demographic is, a lot of times people were working out, they were healthy and fit, they met their spouse, they got married, find the jobs, have kids, and all of a sudden, they’re three, four, five, six years out of the gym.
When they come back, they’re measuring themselves against what they used to be able to do. Hmm. Age wise, weight wise, like strength wise, everything, because mentally it was just the other day, right? Life happened pretty fast for them, right? And then they go back in and they’re like, oh yeah, ready to get going.
It’s like, wait a minute, my body’s not doing what it used to do even five years ago. What’s going on? Do I have it right, Owen? Yeah, you have it exactly right. And the thing that happens then is it becomes demoralizing. You know, people, some people have, have a good mindset and they recognize that it’s going to take time and that it doesn’t matter what they used to be able to do five years ago.
But for some other folks, they, it’s difficult to accept that it’s going to be more than two or three months. And that’s where I think my experience, my age at 49 and, You know, now 13, 14 years doing this, I don’t push the physical side too hard where it’s going to knock them out. I, I try to really make them think, really make them understand that they’re not alone, that what they’re feeling, the frustration is something that everybody has to deal with.
And even if you get a little hurt and you have to take a couple months where you’re dialing things back, even that shorter layoff can get in your head when you, when you come back and realize, Oh, I’ve got work to do. So, addressing that mindset really straight on, and being very up front with folks, but also trying to help them understand that this feeling they have is not unique to them, nor is it strange, nor is it bad or unusual.
It’s just something that needs to be addressed. And that’s it.
I think that’s interesting that you bring up mindset and I’d like to go a little bit further along that path, because I feel like not too long ago, the way that I would argue most looked at at fitness in general was just too much. So like, , physically as I’m getting older and all these other things, like my body’s supposed to break down and this, and this is a natural part of life, but I don’t think, I think it was very recently that we’re just all talking about, well, it’s mindset.
Like , even how we approach the tasks that we’re doing and how we stay consistent or what that means. And like, as an individual, maybe not comparing yourself to others, like all these other things that play into it, depending on the person, right. But like, , what are your, thoughts on, on just mindset in general, , and maybe a change that would, that would benefit some people that are trying to get and stay strong?
Yeah, I think it’s a great question. The, the thing about staying consistent with probably anything, but my experience in the gym is most workouts, most times you go to the gym, you’re probably not psyched to go. You’re probably tired. If you’re an early morning person, maybe you didn’t have a good night’s sleep.
If it’s the end of the day, work has got you down. Maybe it’s just a hundred degrees out in Texas, and you don’t want to go to a gym that doesn’t have air conditioning, you know? So I kind of look at it where if you’re working out in my gym, let’s say four times a week, 50 weeks a year, that’s 200 workouts.
I think for most people, 150 of them fall into that, man, it was just hard to get here., and it’s my job to know that and to work with that and to recognize that that person has already done the hardest part of their workout, 150 of the 200 times I’m going to see him. Yeah. And once I get them warmed up and going, they’re going to be fine.
But , I have to hold their hand a little bit through that. Then there comes times when people are feeling great. When they’re hitting PRs , they’re feeling really good. And then it’s like, okay, now I’m going to push pretty hard. I’m going to take advantage of that tailwind as their coach.
And see if we can Really make advancements, , I remember a couple of years ago. I was coaching a noon class in Texas It’s 105 And this guy came in and he was like man I don’t even know what i’m doing here. I don’t want to be here I think i’m just gonna like really walk through this workout and i was like so I said, okay Cool, no problem Let’s get Let’s go over everything and we’ll see what happens and there were six or seven people in the class And I remember before I started I asked the class.
Hey raise your hand If you don’t really want to be here today. If, if just getting here was a struggle. That sounds risky to me, man. That’s a risky question, Owen. That’s awesome. Go ahead, continue. You didn’t, you didn’t, you didn’t raise your hand, right? No. Okay, go ahead. No, of course not. I know. Go ahead, please continue.
I like where this is going. Yeah, but I knew, , because I know everybody in the class, I knew two thirds of them were going to raise their hand. And what I wanted to do was show them that this feeling that they feel is unique to them is pressing on them alone. And, and you look around and you’re like, well, everybody else is here and they, they look fine. I’m the only one that’s struggling getting here. What I wanted to show was that’s not true. That, that struggle is shared and don’t feel bad about it. Recognize, hey, it’s hard for me to do this today. That’s okay. I have to do it anyway. And I think when you’re trying to stay consistent with anything, recognizing that most of the time you do it, , it’s not gonna be awesome.
I mean, how much chicken breast can you eat before you stop getting excited about chicken breast? Mm hmm. But you should still eat it. Because it’s good for you. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, my day to day battle with my Fitbit. I already know love hate relationship. It’s all good
Oh man, I love this Jump it around a little bit here. So chased by a bear what is the chased by a bear principle? So This does not hold up under any sort of scientific scrutiny, but That’s my favorite. I love fake news. What should I be saying over here? Go ahead. This is scientific fact, what I’m saying.
Let me read. We’re going to cut that. No, we’re not cutting anything out. Go ahead. So, , a lot of times when people are talking to me before class and say, I don’t want to do this. I don’t feel comfortable doing this movement. , I sort of say, well, is this going to help you if you’re being chased by a bear?
, is a handstand push up going to help you? This is so scientific. I love this. It’s kind of It’s absolute fact. Test it. Go find a bear and get chased. a handstand push up. If you’re being chased by a bear, that’s not going to help you. But you should have pressing strength. You should have, you should be strong.
You should be able to, perhaps, lift something up over your head in order to clear an obstacle. So, let’s build shoulder strength in some other way that that person is comfortable with. And if it’s not going to help you if you’re being chased by a bear, let’s find some suitable alternative to it so that we keep getting strong.
And there are certain movements where if someone says to me, well, I don’t want to squat. Oh, okay, we have to squat. So let’s work around that. Let’s ask some more questions. But, , for some of the stuff that’s a little more sort of Instagram worthy, that chased by a bear question is like, meh. So it’ll help you if you’re being chased by a bear know what’s the point of this exercise.
Let’s find another exercise that accomplishes the same thing where my member is more comfortable doing it. Hmm, that’s fair, too. And it makes a lot of sense from the standpoint of if somebody doesn’t feel confident in a motion or a movement, like forcing them to do it or anything else, I mean, that could lead to injury, that could lead to a whole lot of things that aren’t the intended consequence.
So, sounds to me like your approach is really, really customized for your clientele, too. Am I off on that? No, I think I actually Just the other day one of my members who’s been with me for a while was talking to a new member and He said something that made me feel, Really good. You know, he, he said, Elvin knows what every one of his members can do and he knows how to, you know, how to sort of push them.
And that’s something that I want from myself and my coaches. You know, we should know after you’ve been working with someone for a couple months, where they are and what they can do so that I can go around the room in a class of 10 people and say, Hey, Hey, you’re going to attack this workout this way, you’re going to do it this way and, you know, person, you know, next person, why don’t we do this weight instead of the other way?
And that gives each person the knowledge that the coach is, is paying attention to them, that they have the eye of the person in charge of the room. It’s not just starting a clock and saying, go, there’s much, much more to it with me and with my coaches at link. that makes so much sense.
And you said this is a CrossFit like workout or approach. Can you maybe delve into that just a little bit further for those that are not maybe , even familiar with CrossFit, like it works? Yeah. So , the methodology of CrossFit is one that blends weightlifting with, Cardio type movements like running, rowing jumping rope with gymnastics movements like pulling, pushing pull ups, push ups into pretty short, pretty high intensity workouts.
It’s done in a group setting and because a well run CrossFit, the coach can adjust and modify any movement for any member. In other words, if you can’t do pull ups, that’s okay. We can get you to a movement that will help you build strength towards pull ups while you’re still doing the same workout as everybody else.
So the workout itself is a shared experience. It’s highly, highly effective at building strength and cardiovascular fitness and overall fitness. So My first couple of gyms were purely CrossFit. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve switched to a little more of a strength bias. So right now, two workouts a week are just strength work and accessory work.
And three workouts a week have that really high intensity conditioning piece in them. Because in, in your 40s, I don’t know If you can do really high intensity cardio stuff every day, my experience is people start to grind down and injury risk increases, but getting strong and being strong is incredibly important as we get older in life.
And it’s been really interesting in the last year to see that principle be talked about more in the health and fitness sort of podcast sphere. Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. Like I’ve, I’ve noticed that, and it makes sense too when you think of it, especially when you think about, and I’m not claiming I’m the scientist here by any means, but just what I’ve listened to and heard, like it makes sense as you think about aging, like you want to be stronger, especially when you go, you know, past middle age, and you’re thinking about just like functionality, right?
Can I sit up? Can I stand up? Can I, Lift my groceries. Can I just like literal functionality, like things like you don’t wanna be, , de deteriorating and the longer you can stay, in my opinion, not being hurt like at some point in our lives, just through aging and progression, like an aim. Of course you wanna be healthy, but like just as important is just like not being hurt.
a big part of being healthy and not being hurt ’cause you’re not gonna necessarily heal as fast. So, , some of the things you did when you were maybe earlier, you don’t, don’t necessarily make as much sense to do when you’re in your, what you did in your twenties, maybe going for that crazy max out bench press like this, that you really care about that in your forties?
Probably not. I don’t know. Unless that’s your business and that’s how you make your money. Right. If you’re an influencer in that niche or if that’s your business, okay, that’s one, like Type of person. Okay. I get that. But like for the rest of us yeah, I don’t know. It’s not, it’s not putting any dollars in my pocket.
, the more plates I got on that thing. I just got to make sure I’m not hurting. I’m healthy and I’m strong. I’m good. Yeah. And I think what you kind of hit at the simplicity. this truth is like, hey, if I want to be active when I’m older, I need muscle mass. , I need the muscle mass to be able to pick up my grandkids or go on a hike or travel , and move bags around airports and airplanes , and walk around cities in Europe or hike , and, South America.
You need muscle mass and strength to do that. Or run from bears. Don’t forget about running from bears, I’ll let you on that. Or run from bears. Exactly. Yeah, forget about that. You might be taking the grandkids out there and you’re camping and I mean, run from that bear, man. That, that would make me the coolest grandpa in the world.
Grandpa took on a bear.
Oh, man. And, oh, , well, Owen, man, this has been really a lot of fun having you on the show today. If somebody’s listening to this or watching this and they want to connect, follow your journey, learn more about link fitness, how do they do that? Yeah, the best way to sort of see what we’re doing is to follow us on Instagram where you Link Fitness Dripping Springs.
And, you know, we try to post some content about the importance of staying strong, keeping strong, and fun that our kids class and our adults classes are all having. And then they can reach me directly. , I’m the one behind that account anyway. So they can, they can reach me directly through there.
Amazing. And for everybody listening, we’ll put, we’ll put those links into the show notes, so you can just click on them and head right on over. And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters or listening to an episode, we’re all about bringing on business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives and having them share their mission, their story their inspiration, the reason behind what they do.
And so we can all learn and grow and follow them on their journey as well.,, and be on that path. If that sound. interesting to you, then we encourage you hit that subscribe button or that follow button, whatever button it is, that’s going to give you the notification because this is a daily show.
Each and every single day, we’re bringing you new episodes, new content. Don’t want you to miss a thing. Again, hit that subscribe button. And Elwin, again, thank you so much for, coming on the show. It’s been a lot of fun. Thank you, Adam. Pleasure was mine.