This recording fell apart twice. Thanks, Zoom!
The first time, the call dropped in the middle of Krista’s answer, and a small piece of metal turned up in my bra and we laughed. (I cut that part out of what’s published here.) The second time Zoom dropped, a stranger’s podcast about Medicaid came pouring into the audio while Krista was explaining how ASF works with new clients. We don’t know why, but we couldn’t get it to stop.
Neither of us panicked, though. We’ve known each other for 12 years so we were able to figure out where we left off and kept going.
I’m starting this story with our tech issues because it’s a strong picture of what came from our conversation. In life, and the gym, you’re going to have messy days and it helps to have people who’ll help you pick up where you left off.
Meet Krista Bergeron.
Krista is one of the people in my life who helped me pick up where I left off long before this conversation, so is her gym, Austin Simply Fit (ASF). Thus, I’m not a neutral party here. I’m also a former ASF coach, client, and employee, too. Krista and I have been friends for over a decade and I would not be where I am without Krista, ASF and their incredible community.
Krista is the owner, a personal trainer, and the CFO of Austin Simply Fit. She joined ASF during the first months of its existence, back when it was an 800-square-foot rental studio. Today she runs a legacy gym and training center, with two locations in Austin, Tx and shatters industry norms daily.
On this episode we get into:
Why “I want to feel better” is where transformation starts
What “health drives performance” looks like
Why Krista made her coaches employees in an industry built on contractors
The questions to ask before you hire a coach
ASF’s annual Bench-A-Thon, DJ, and how this fundraiser became a scholarship
Is “Feel Better” a Goal?
Most people who seek out a coach want to feel better. When a coach asks what that means, we usually get a version of less pain, less discomfort. In my experience, that’s because people don’t know what it’s like to feel good in their body. How do you ask for something you’ve never felt?
At Austin Simply Fit, Krista Bergeron’s gym, the coaches don’t just write the goal down and start programming. They ask deeper questions.
“It’s finding out what “feel better” means to that person?” Krista says. Because then you can get to the bottom of what it means you understand the the psychology of how you’re gonna be coaching this person.
Once we know what “feel better” means, ASF coaches look at the whole picture: blood pressure, body comp, health history, sleep, stress. The person who walks in claiming they were a college athlete may now be 45, a mom, and sleeping four and a half hours a night. That person is not going to start their fitness journey where they were as a college athlete. They’re just not. It’s the communication and buy-in for the process that gets them there with confidence.
Health Drives Performance
Krista’s rule - the ASF rule - is “health drives performance.” When a client starts at ASF they go through a full health assessment. If the assessment turns up a problem with blood pressure, that gets dealt with first. Then energy leaks, structural imbalances, and so on. Clients graduate to the next phase by hitting established health metrics along the way.
Krista didn’t always coach this way, and she’s the first to say so. In the early days, everybody at ASF followed a strict powerlifting program, prerequisites or not.
“By the way, it was a blast, and I’m so thankful I didn’t hurt myself,” she told me. She also admits she was guilty of putting “people who shouldn’t have been barbell squatting yet” under the bar.
Fast forward to today, the prescription that gets a client to a barbell again can sound insulting. So, when someone shows up ready to do everything at once, Krista offers a different idea.
“How about walking for five days in a row, every day, 20 minutes? Start there before signing up for the marathon,” she says.
That can be hard for a client to hear. “For a lot of clients, that real start can feel too easy,” she says, especially if they remember being capable of more. I’ve had that conversation, too. With myself and with clients. It’s humbling.
But truthfully, the boring stuff is what gets you to the fun stuff. Krista still preaches strength as “the mother of all qualities,” because getting stronger carries over into everything else. But you have to be able to get there safely, first. This is about the long game, after all.
You Can’t Drink From An Empty Cup
When Krista asked me to name the pitfalls of being a contracted personal trainer, I gave her the list: find your own clients, pay for your space and your insurance, and bring home maybe 25% - 30% of what you charge, with no health insurance or 401(k).
“You are my billboard right now,” she said.
Her argument is simple. Gyms ask coaches to be the givers, to bring the energy, to change how people live, and to know exercise science at a professional level. Then they leave those same coaches burned out, under-resourced, and without time to keep learning. Most trainers are operating from an empty cup.
So ASF hires coaches as employees. New coaches go through 13 weeks of ASF University, then keep going for another 13 until they pass an internal exam. Then they all meet weekly about programming, clients, continuing education, and more. They’re so locked in they share each other’s rosters and can cover each other’s clients because everyone’s speaking the same language.
They also get health insurance, a 401(k), and a W-2 they can take to a mortgage lender.
“Every time one of my coaches buys a home in Austin, Texas, that’s huge for me, huge,” Krista says.
I don’t think that’s separate from client health. If a coach leaves a gym every 60 days, you, the client, never get known, and the gym rarely builds a solid business. But, if your coach stays for years, you - the client - become part of the community and then there’s someone who notices when your shoulder starts moving better, or when your workout quality decreases.
Health requires community, and community requires people sticking around.
How To Shop For A Coach
Most of the Muscle Moments community isn’t in Austin, and I’d venture to guess that your feeds are full of coaches promising that you’re doing it wrong and their way is better. I get those posts and DMs, too. But, seriously, how do they know? They don’t.
So I asked Krista what she recommends someone look for when looking to hire a coach, whether in person or online.
Real bodies. Have they coached actual people, including people like you, or mostly just themselves?
The whys. How do they assess you? How do they build the program? Can they answer your questions?
The basics. Do they build up to advanced movements over time? Do they use periodization and progressive overload; meaning will you see the same or similar exercises repeatedly with measurable progress, or do they throw something different at you every workout?
Their scope. What type of coaching do they do? Just personal training, is nutrition or nervous system or menopause a specialty of theirs? If it’s not and they start to coach you on it, it is a red flag. Great coaches have strong referral sources and aren’t threatened by a conversation with your physical therapist or medical practitioners.
What’s going on inside. Are they curious about what’s happening on the inside of your body? Krista says bloodwork is ideal, and she knows that’s a privileged place to stand. If you can’t get bloodwork, start with symptoms, sleep, stress, and a blood pressure reading at CVS. A good coach will want to know and will help you understand why it matters and how to track.
According to Krista, here’s why these questions matter: “You could be working your butt off, and you’re actually causing yourself more harm than you are helping yourself.” (MIND BLOWN!! But also, guilty.)
I’d add one more question to the list for your potential coach: who are you as a whole person? You’re a whole person and are likely looking for something that helps you become more effective in every aspect of your life, that requires more than a program. You’re looking for your person and your place when shopping for a coach. So ask questions, and keep asking until you find the answers that help you feel comfortable and confident in your choice.
The Logo On The Front Is Bigger Than The Name On The Back
In 2019, ASF held the first Bench-A-Thon to raise money for two people’s medical bills. One was DJ, a former ASF coach and my old boxing coach, who was living with sickle cell anemia. The other was me, on the tail end of five abdominal surgeries in 18 months, including cancer.
DJ died shortly after that first event, and the event has evolved in his legacy.
DJ was the coach who was your hype man. He screamed, he yelled, and he hyped you up to be more, and he loved working with kids. So after one more year of donating to sickle cell causes in 2020, ASF turned the event into a scholarship for Austin public high school seniors headed to university or trade school. (The trade school part was important to Krista, who’s a working-class kid herself.) They’ve raised close to $50,000 in scholarships through this event.
Most of the money doesn’t even come from the bench press competition. It comes from the wider community donating to support Austin students. The day itself is a party, with a DJ, plenty of trash talk, Krista on the mic, and the entire community coming together for a common good.
“You can make a huge impact and have the best time you’ve ever had,” she says.
Don’t Get It Twisted
Lest you think she’s gone soft after 16 years of talking about wellbeing, she hasn’t.
“I still act like a psycho when it comes to any sort of team competition,” Krista says. She’s double the age of most people there and still talking trash constantly. Leading by example, always.
And when it comes to music, if she’s going for a PR, it’s still “Plain Jane” by A$AP Ferg. (Check it out on the Muscle Moments Workout playlist)
Start Where You Are
I asked Krista for practical advice for the training-curious person, and the answer was the opposite of a sales pitch.
“Almost everything you can do that’s healthy for you, it doesn’t cost anything,” she said.
Walk. Get some sun. Drink water. Sleep. Stretch. Have friends. Give back.
She’s right. Starting doesn’t require resources. You already have everything you need. Start where you are, so that you can keep going, and then go find your place and your people. It doesn’t have to be a gym in Austin, and it doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be one person who’ll walk with you and pick you up where you left off.
Your Turn
Krista’s coaches ask every new client the same thing, and I’m asking you: when you say you want to feel better, “what does that mean to you?”
And who’s going to walk with you this week?
ABOUT KRISTA BERGERON
Krista Bergeron is the owner, a personal trainer, and the CFO of Austin Simply Fit, a strength training facility built on inclusive, high-integrity coaching in Austin, Texas.
She got her start in social work and property management before finding her way into fitness, and 16 years ago she joined ASF and helped grow it into a mission-driven business that breaks industry norms daily. She’s also behind ASF’s annual Bench-a-Thon scholarship for high school seniors headed to university or trade school, and sits on the board of directors for DAWA, a non-profit organization that honors, celebrates, and empowers the essential work of BIPOC community frontliners through direct financial support and culturally relevant health-centered programming.
She leads with two simple beliefs: strength is for everyone, and a healthy culture starts with listening, learning, and letting people thrive in their own strengths.
GET IN TOUCH WITH
AUSTIN SIMPLY FIT
Instagram: @AustinSimplyFit
Website: austinsimplyfit.com
