All the right moves
Posted: May 22, 2012
Picture a gym that is no ordinary gym. Colorful kettlebells, medicine balls, and other fitness tools are strategically placed on green artificial turf. Stimulating music streams throughout the space. It is packed with energy and intensity, yet not crowded with machines. For Eric Hughes, MS, ’12, this is his idea of the perfect gym.
Hughes, who has been involved in fitness for many years, was working as a personal trainer at a chain gym when he realized the need for a different type of fitness in his community.
“I saw the need for a movement-based, not machine-based, type of fitness that focused on getting people moving and keeping them active,” says Hughes.
He soon quit the chain gym and began the process of opening his own studio. A year and a half later, in July 2010, he opened Omega Performance Training, a 5,500-square-foot gym in Plano, Texas.
Omega, winner of WFAA A-List’s 2010 Best Gym award, houses multiple programs including CrossFit and CrossFit Kids, boot camp, functional weight training, TRX suspension training, group and private personal training, and more.
CrossFit, one of Omega’s most popular programs, incorporates constantly varied, functional movements executed with maximum intensity. It is designed to improve overall fitness, particularly everyday movements.
“The studio is built around movement,” Hughes says. “We offer a variety of programs; people can choose what fits their personality and goals.”
Hughes, who is himself a CrossFit athlete, has a passion for helping people become fit and keeping them injury free.
“Everything we do is based on best practices and evidence-based research,” says Hughes. “The education I received at ATSU reinforced my passion and beliefs about health and fitness.”
As owner and head trainer at Omega, each week he leads 25-30 classes or group sessions, coaches 20-30 hours of personal training, and teaches kids’ groups and elderly clients. He ensures that all classes have a trainer and are scalable to fit anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. Participants in one of his classes range in age from 18-70.
As for the results: He has witnessed too many success stories to count.
“We have seen some major weight loss successes, but most of our successes are about the little, life-changing things,” says Hughes. “It’s exciting to see people rise to the level of fitness they never thought they could achieve.”
It’s clear that whether he is fulfilling a need in his community, starting a successful business, or physically pushing himself to the limit, Hughes is truly making all the right moves.