QC Fitness Changing The Local Health And Fitness Scene
Blake Selby is changing the local fitness and diet scene one text at a time.
The man behind the new Quad Cities Fitness, 325 16th St, Bettendorf, Iowa, isn’t just a man of words, or actions, he’s also a man of text, and his clients are reaping the benefits, one phone message per day.
“I like to not only say we’re a full-service organization, I like to prove it to my clients, that’s important to me,” Selby says. “All the clients get that personal touch, and that includes texting them every night, to monitor their diets and their exercise programs.”
“The clients will text me everything they did and everything they ate during that day, and I’ll text them back with encouragement and feedback and will offer suggestions for healthier choices if needed,” Selby said. “By and large clients follow what we tell them and get great results. We have a great exercise and diet plan and we have private training so clients don’t have to be in front of anyone else, that’s very attractive to a lot of people as they get into a program and want that individual attention. Our goal, always, is to keep them going and keep them on the right track for fitness.”
Selby has been on the right track for fitness since his early days growing up in Lansing, Michigan. “I didn’t have a problem being overweight, I had a problem being underweight, I was a bean pole,” Selby laughed. “I wanted to bulk up so I got into natural body building and competition and put on 150 pounds the right way, through diet and the right kind of weightlifting and exercise.
“I’m past my competing days but it was good experience to do that, to go through that, and I train myself and apply a lot of the same principles from my competing days in my personal training and my life,” Selby said.
Selby went on to major in Kinesiology and Exercise Science at Michigan State University, then he made his way to the Quad-Cities after a lot of research looking for the right market.
“Back in Michigan I was looking for a good area to open a studio, and the Quad-Cities looked like a great option, so I came out here and loved the area and decided to make it our home,” Selby said. “I think it’s a little more health conscious than most areas, with Palmer Chiropractic College here and a lot of corporations where there are a lot of people working hard who don’t always have time to get to the gym.”
There are various challenges to starting and continuing a fitness program, Selby said.
“The biggest challenge for clients is accountability and the time factor,” he said. “You have to have someone right there to tell them how to do it and to keep them accountable to the program, keep them going. That’s really important, and I think that’s why this works as opposed to other fitness regimens. We’re always there for our clients, it’s very attentive. There aren’t a whole lot of programs out there that can say they’re texting their clients every night and giving them feedback and encouraging them on that daily basis, while also offering the privacy and individual attention to your specific plan the way we do.”
All personal training clients of Selby’s get a free membership to QC Fitness as part of their program. Other clients can join the gym aside from any personal training for a separate fee and enjoy its various amenities, which include weightlifting on machines and free weights, cardio work and other perks.
Of course, one of those perks is being given various information on health and fitness from Selby.
“It’s important to connect with people and be positive and give them encouragement,” he said. “It’s difficult and important to have the will power to stick with the ups and downs of a training program. I know clients are going to have ups and downs, are going to have times when it’s really tough, and that’s why I stick by them and help them. I know there are going to be days that are harder than others, and that the mental part of it is such a big factor, that’s why we address that so much with our clients.
“We have a complete custom designed program,” he said. “We don’t subscribe to any one philosophy on diet or exercise. For diet we go strong on the vegetables and protein, lay off the carbs unless they’re from vegetables and we go strong on the weights and cardio. I think sometimes females are afraid to get into a weightlifting program because they think they’re going to get too bulked up and look like those Arnold Schwarzenegger women they see in magazines, but we quickly reassure them that that’s not going to be the case.
“I think for the average middle-aged woman looking to get in shape, which is about our average client, since about 90 percent of our clients are middle-aged women, we use great techniques, a great mix of things to bring back your figure and keep you on the right path to a healthy lifestyle.”
So, aside from contacting Selby at Quad Cities Fitness, what else should prospective clients do or consider before looking at getting into a fitness plan?
“The first thing we tell people is to ask us questions, ask whatever you want, don’t assume anything, because we want to make sure you have all your questions answered and you feel comfortable with your plan,” Selby said. “We’re constantly researching new things, and we always tailor our plans to our individual clients, so that they’re eating foods that they enjoy eating that are good for them, and doing exercises they enjoy doing so they’ll continue doing them and like not only the way they look and the way they feel but the good time they’re having exercising.”
It all adds up to a winning formula that makes the client – and the trainer – happy.
“I like that I can really make a massive difference in people’s lives as a personal trainer,” Selby says. “With everything rolled up into one – exercise, fitness and diet – and not limited by insurance companies as a physical therapist, it’s great. I’ve had people who were about to quit their jobs, who had really bad health problems, who were really depressed and down about their lot in life, and it’s been great to turn them around. It’s very motivating for me to help clients succeed and to see them succeed and be happy in their lives.
“I put in 12-13 hour days every day and I feel good about what I’m doing because I’m doing what I love,” Selby said. “I could’ve gone on to med school, I had the grades to do it, but I enjoyed the idea of going into personal training, of coming up with training plans for people and helping them improve their lives, because it always feels good to help someone change their lives for the better.
To contact Blake Selby and QC Fitness, call (231) 590-5918 or email QuadCitiesFitness@gmail.com.
