Tempo programs are an awesome way to take the guesswork out of your daily fitness routine and get even closer to achieving your fitness goals. Since fitness isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, we have a variety of programs tailored to align with our members’ personal goals, whether that’s putting on muscle mass, leaning out, or getting acquainted with the basics. While we have tons of tailored programs to choose from, a new joint program is about to hit your Move and Studio that you do not want to miss!
Combining both strength and resilience training, Tempo coaches Jeremy and Jonathan have put together a custom program designed to have both strength trainers and yogis alike experience the benefits of a combined practice. We sat down with these two coaches to discuss their approach to this program, what it was like to work with one another, and who would benefit most from trying it out. Read on to learn more!
Can you tell us how the idea of this program came about?
JONATHAN - This has been something I’ve been trying to get done for a while now. I’ve always wanted to do something with Coach Jeremy because I am a big fan of yoga, but we had never actually sat down to iron out all of the details. So, we finally sat down and programmed it all out.
JEREMY - For me, it was wanting to create more “Yoga and..” types of programs for Tempo. I wanted a program that was going to help reshape what people think about yoga on Tempo—especially for the people who think of yoga as this sleepy, slow-recovery-only type of movement. I loved the idea of pairing with Jonathan because the assumption is that yoga and strength training are very different disciplines, but they’re actually not that different.
Who would you say this program is for?
JEREMY - This is for all levels, but it’s also for strength trainers and weight lifters who don’t think yoga has anything to offer them and vice versa. It’s a hard program, for sure. It's going to be a challenge.
JONATHAN - I will say Part Two is a little more advanced than Part One. Part One is mostly full-body work, and Part Two is more singular-muscle-group-focused. So, not only are you working that single muscle with weight, but you're also learning how to do isometric holds with just one muscle group.
How is this program different from other Tempo programs?
JONATHAN - It is literally different from anything we’ve ever done before! We’ve never had two coaches coaching each other. We’ve never had two different modalities being taught at the same time. It's all new for us.
JEREMY - We’ve had two coaches on-screen together, but it’s the first time we’ll have two coaches outside of their disciplines training each other. He’s guiding me through the lifting, and I’m guiding him through the yoga.
JONATHAN - That was one of the really cool parts about teaching this program. Since we are training each other, it gave us a chance to step outside of ourselves—and what we usually do on the mat—and coach users in a different way. I feel like it adds this layer of visibility that helps us coach better.
What was it like working with each other on the mat?
JONATHAN - I hated it!
JEREMY - It was death!
Both laugh.
JONATHAN - No, It was a lot of fun. We have a lot of commonalities in the way we like to teach that we discovered work well on camera. We also have a lot of similarities personality wise, which made the bantar come naturally. We had a lot of fun and there were a ton of jokes.
JEREMY - It was so much fun. We had such a great rapport with one another. It was like we had been friends for years. There was this great balance of playfulness but also pushing each other. We found out we have different working styles early on, but those challenges made things work better for us. For instance, Jonathan is much more of a planner and likes to have everything laid out, whereas I like to kind of go with the flow and figure it out as I go. We learned from one another, and I think it made us both better.
Jonathan, what is something that you were surprised to learn while filming with Jeremy?
JONATHAN - I think I learned how much of a planner I actually am. Working with Jeremy helped me relax a little. It helped me to not worry as much about what exercise was coming up next, or what to say during the next rest, but to just let it flow naturally. Strength training requires a set of rules, but in this program, I learned how to slow it down and just let things flow.
Jeremy, what is something that you were surprised to learn while filming with Jonathan?
JEREMY - I was surprised (but not so surprised) to find out how fun it was working with someone else and doing something other than yoga. That first day was a little challenging figuring out the staging and timing, but after that initial session, it was so much fun.
Can we expect to see some funny moments of you together on-screen throughout this program? Can you recall some funny moments while filming?
Can we expect to see some funny moments of you together on-screen throughout this program? Can you recall some funny moments while filming?
JEREMY - Most definitely. You know, one of the things I realized and enjoyed was the rest periods. For me, in my classes, I never really have that downtime where we aren’t moving, so I don’t usually have that “filling the space'' kind of bantar that takes you away from the workout. I enjoyed having that in this program. That's where your personality really gets to come through, and I really enjoyed those rest periods and the moments they created.
JONATHAN - I agree. I’ve always known that Jeremy was a fun guy, but in working with him so closely over the course of this program, I was able to see how funny Jeremy really is. I never knew where the joke was going to go, and I loved it. I was like, “Okay, I really like this guy!”
JEREMY - I think a lot of the banter back and forth was great because you had those moments where one of us would ask a question, and it would catch the other off guard, and then you just had to go with it. Those moments were really fun and funny. (You can see some of them in the behind-the-scenes post here on Tempo’s Instagram.)
JONATHAN - Honestly, if you are not lifting or working during this program, you’re probably laughing.
What is the main takeaway you hope Tempo users get from this program?
JEREMY - I hope users learn that cross-training is beneficial and that it’s okay to step out of your comfort zone. I know I’ve talked a lot about this as it pertains to strength trainers doing yoga, but I’m also talking to yogis like me: don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and do some strength training. I used to be someone who only lifted weights, and then I dove deep into yoga and stopped doing that type of training. Since joining Tempo, it's been so good to step back into heavy lifting. During this program, I was reminded of how beneficial that style of training is.
JONATHAN - For me, I want our heavy-strength- and very-weight-focused members to not sleep on yoga and recovery because they’re really hard work. Take this program, and hopefully when you're done, you'll dive into a few more of Coach Jeremy’s classes and continue that journey. It's not just about being zen and calm. It can also be a challenge. Jeremy makes the yoga in this program very challenging, and he makes his other classes outside of this program challenging, too. I hope it helps people see that they’re both beneficial in their training.
JEREMY - For strength trainers and power lifters who don't think yoga has a lot to offer, see how tough you are and try this type of cross-training. And for all of my yogis, we don’t always need to stretch it out. We also need to strength train. Try this program out. You’ll be happy you did.
