Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cara Slade. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cara, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I love being a business owner, but it comes with ups and downs. When your business is dipping a little you are constantly thinking of ways to fill the pipeline. Trying to think of more creative ways to bring in business, thinking of current trends or motivations. It’s a constant haul to keep the “ship” moving forward and it never turns off. The thought of working a “regular” job has crossed my mind and sounds like a breath of fresh air, in regards to not having to worry about the business in its entirety. Also, turning it off at the end of the day seems nice as well. Now don’t get me wrong I make sure to create a healthy balance of work and life, but there is that ” what if” thought that comes to mind at times. I have worked for corporations and I know it’s not for me. I love the creative freedom, building the dream team to work with, and changing direction to better the client. It also challenges me to be ambitious, think outside of the box, and continue to be a better coach for my clients and for my employees.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In my 20’s I struggled with body image. I could never find consistency in my workouts or my eating. It was always one extreme or the other. At one point, I was even feeling guilty about eating at all! I was feeling so many outside pressures of having a “perfect body” and was developing a poor relationship with exercise and food. I was tired of beating myself up about not having the perfect body and that is when I decided to enter into my first fitness competition. I wanted to learn what it really took to have the body I had been obsessing about for so long. After my fitness competitions, I learned that when I looked my best, I felt my worst. I didn’t have much of a life that I enjoyed and knew it was not worth maintaining my “perfect” body.

Being in my early 30’s at the time, and competing against girls that were in their 20’s, I saw that there was a gap in assisting adults on how to find a balance between enjoying life and incorporating a form of exercise that was actually enjoyable. I realized that people needed to learn how to find a sustainable balance between healthy eating, enjoying indulgences in life, and working out. This realization was what sparked the creation of Slade Fit Club.

The problem I see in my industry is that people lack patience and they want instant gratification or the quick fix. The reality is, that in order to reverse years of poor eating habits and living a more sedentary lifestyle, there is no end to your fitness journey if you want your results to last. The quick fix is not always the best fix and often the quicker the “fix” the quicker you go back to your previous poor habits. It must become a lifestyle and not an event. It must be a lifestyle that is sustainable for you! This means being consistent and finding a form of exercise that is enjoyable. It means having a community of individuals around you that motivate and encourage you to do your best, wherever you are at the moment.

The fitness industry markets towards the younger demographic who don’t have physical limitations. They tend to focus more on getting 6-pack abs or thin legs and arms instead of being able to maintain the activities that people enjoy doing like playing with their kids, traveling, and hiking. Because of this, there are many individuals that come to us who are intimidated by big gyms or large classes because these places tend to have a younger demographic, and feel they are not being seen or helped.

Enter Slade Fit Club! Slade Fit Club is a boutique studio that offers only personal training or small group training with classes capped at 6 people per session. This allows us to truly train our members based on their current fitness level. We strive to train the individual and not the masses by customizing every movement based on the client’s current fitness ability. This includes altering movements due to current or previous injuries, slowing things down to assure our members are using proper form, and supervising weight training for a gradual build of muscle. We have also taken into consideration the design of our studio so it doesn’t feel intimidating when you walk in. Our gym design allows you to feel comfortable and not on display.

Slade Fit Club is known for three things: accountability, adaptability, and community. Because we only see clients 2 or 3 hours out of a 168-hour week, knowing how to best hold each client accountable, is imperative in helping them achieve their goals. With that in mind, we designed a small group environment where each client is not only accountable to us but also to their classmates. Slade Fit Club’s trainers are educated, experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate about training. They have experience with program design to quickly change an exercise to meet a client’s physical limitation and to deliver a great workout no matter the goal.

The term “community” is thrown around a lot in the fitness world, but we truly mean it and strive to create a bond with each client. We are passionately driven to help each individual that comes to us, live their best life. Movement is life and we are living longer. It is our goal to help you live these extra years better & stronger.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that a majority of what you see on fitness magazines or social media, is not for the masses. In my 10+ years of coaching, and the thousands of clients I have trained, most people are not aware of how to move their body properly or understand how to activate muscles that assist in the movement. This is what leads to injuries, and imbalances in the body, that end up creating joint, tendon, or muscle ailments. On a weekly basis, I teach my clients how to properly bend so they can relieve pressure from their knees. Activate their back muscles and not shrug their shoulders. Release hip tension and strengthen glutes to relieve back pain.

As a business owner, I have to try and market against what is popular and the “quick fix” because I am more passionate about truly helping people move better with sustainable results. You won’t see that on the front cover of a fitness magazine.
It’s not about selling the quick fix and 6-pack abs and bikini body, it’s about selling longevity and lasting results that take time and consistency, but that’s not an easy sell to the majority of people. However, over my decade of training, I have learned that what sells to our clientele in Lakeway is the ability to continue doing the things they love doing. Playing with grandchildren, hiking, gardening, pickleball, etc.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

We pride ourselves in saying that we are masters of accountability. Because we treat our members like family and not a number, we get to know and understand the personalities of our members which makes being part of Slade Fit Club unique. Our members stay with us 10x longer than the average gym, which goes to show caring, sustainability in what we offer and customer service goes a long way. If we have not seen a member in a while, we make sure to reach out to them and encourage them to attend a class. If one of our personal training clients cannot make their usual training time, we do our best to accommodate them on a different day and time. It’s about going above and beyond when we can to serve our member’s needs. As we grow and adapt we think of what our members need. So, we have made Slade Fit Club a 1 stop shop for your body’s needs. Offering a variety of services from Sports Massage Therapy, Stretch & Mobility classes, to Strength Training, HIIT Training, and Functional Strength/Balance & Fall prevention classes for older adults.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sladefitclub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sladefitclub
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sladefitclub
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/slade-fit-club-lakeway-3