How Jill Thomas is Keeping Up with Workouts at Home

Jill Thomas usually attends 5:00 am classes on the X⁴ side during the school year and ventures onto the CrossFit side from time to time. She’s a mother of two boys (8 and 10) and a high school English teacher. Jill describes herself as a wife who feels apathetic towards any running, as she is married to a track coach who loves sprinting. She has been a member of Nexus since its opening. When the gym closed temporarily due to COVID-19, she was concerned about how she would maintain her routine. Additionally, when her mother became ill, she headed out to California. As many are still dealing with less-than-normal circumstances, we asked Jill to tell us about her experience with at-home Workouts through the pandemic. Read her Q&A below!

Q: When did you first hear about Nexus Fitness?

A: I have been with Nexus since the beginning. I signed up to be a member of the gym when it was still a pile of dirt. Several friends knew Chris from another gym, and when I heard about his plan for Nexus, I quickly followed! 

Jill Thomas working out with her sister.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a Nexus Fitness member? 

A: During the school year I am a faithful 5:00 a.m.-er who started solely on the X⁴ side but since November of 2019, I have grown to really love and enjoy the CrossFit side. Sometimes, I feel like a fish-out-of-water over there but the 5:00 a.m. crew (on both sides) are so welcoming, non-judgmental and incredibly outgoing (even at 5:00 a.m.!). 

Q: What drew you to the Nexus at-home workouts? What did your quarantine look like?

A: The COVID-19 pandemic hit right as I was getting into a consistent CrossFit groove. When gyms closed, I was scared that I would lose any strength I had gained. As soon as Nexus started offering the at-home workouts, Haley, Rob, Ashley and I committed to daily socially-distant workouts together, but as the risk of COVID became more real, we decided to work out on our own to ensure everyone’s health and safety. 

Shortly after, my mom became gravely ill, and I needed to be in California to take care of her. Being able to maintain my workout routine despite all of the uncertainty in my life has been a blessing. Even when I am out in California, or away from my Nexus family, the Nexus at-home workouts provide me a touch of home and normalcy that kept me going during a time of uncertainty. 

Q: How would you describe your experience doing the at-home workouts during quarantine? What did your routine look like?

A: My experience with the at-home workouts has been amazing. At the beginning, we all joined the live workouts as often as possible, but as teaching online began picking up, I began doing the recorded workouts during my lunch break. Hearing the coaches’ voices and feeling like they were working out with me was really motivating and encouraging. I loved all of the workouts the incredible Nexus staff programmed. They were never boring or repetitive. The coaches provided demos and modifications based on varying skill levels and availability of equipment at everyone’s homes. I still felt challenged in the workouts even without the camaraderie of the coaches in the gym telling me to push myself. 

Q: Did you still feel part of the Nexus community during the at-home workouts? 

A: I love that I am still able to feel like a part of the Nexus community even when I’m out in California, and we can’t all be physically together.  It’s so fun to see others posting their workout selfies or at-home gym setups knowing that we are all in it together. 

Plus, the Nexus at-home workouts were something my whole family did with me. When I was still in Hoover, my boys would jump in every workout with me. It was a way to model for them what a healthy lifestyle looks like. Now that I’ve been out in California, I’ve been able to do the workouts with my sister and her daughters! 

Q: Do you have any words of advice for those who cannot go to the gym in person?

A: I hope to be back in the gym one day soon. I miss my people like crazy. In the meantime, with our world as crazy as it is, working out from home still feels like we are together. My biggest piece of advice is to create a routine. If you’re normally an early morning worker-out-er, stick to that! I definitely don’t set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. anymore (thank GOD for that!), but I still get out in the garage and get my workout in before anyone else wakes up and creates distractions. Consistency is key! Also, to create more of a challenge for myself, I will do the written workout and the endurance option. It keeps things interesting, that’s for sure. Finally, do the mobility! That has been a God-send, especially since I’m not on my feet as much as I usually am in my normal classroom setting. 

We are so thankful to have members like Jill staying engaged with us from home! If you are interested in learning more about getting consistent at-home workouts, follow us at @x4_athome on Instagram.