An Inside Look at the Industry's Top Female Trainers at Performix House

This International Women's Day, we got the low-down on some of the top Performix House trainers on strength, female empowerment, and changing stereotypes. 

Alex Silver Fagan

Why did you get into fitness?
Fitness was the one thing that made me feel strong, and no one else was allowed to have an opinion. My strength was based off of the goals that I set for myself and working hard towards them. I wanted to give the same opportunity to others, and thus started working and teaching and training.

Who or what inspires you through your goals and challenges?
The fact that failure is just life turning you in a different direction. Sometimes your goals are different than you first expected, and you need to move through the journey to find them!

What are you top fitness moves for female empowerment?
DEADLIFT. Nothing feels more badass and feminine (yes feminine, let’s change these stereotypes) than lifting some weight off the ground.

How do you see Performix House making a difference in your life or your clients' lives, versus other locations and communities?
Even though we are all on different journeys, we all support each other. It is truly a family.

Lacee Lazoff

Why did you get into fitness?
Fitness was a bit of a roundabout direction for me. I’ve always loved being active and that’s been a part of my life since childhood. When a former career path shifted, I found myself blending my skill set for coaching and team development in to my passion for movement. Becoming a trainer was a natural progression.

Who or what inspires you through your goals and challenges? 
I’m inspired by creation, art and music. When I see someone relentlessly pursue a craft, I get inspired to be better, learn more, and help others through my own craft.

What are you top fitness moves for female empowerment?
I mean... is there anything more empowering than swinging a giant ball of iron? Heavy, hard-style kettlebell swings and pull ups because they’re so challenging for women.

How do you see Performix House making a difference in your life or your clients' lives, versus other locations and communities?
It’s so great to have a home where my clients feel part of a community and can intermingle with motivated people. I think the openness between trainers and clients makes our space feel special because we all get to know each other vs. typical, big gym environments.

Jess Glazer

Why did you get into fitness?
[I realized that] I never “got into” fitness, rather fitness had just gotten into me. I was the kid who was always using curbs as balance beams, couch cushions to practice flips on, climbing anything and everything possible. I was a total adrenal junkie who was constantly on the go. My parents claim that I started running before I learned to walk. I spent my childhood and teen years as a high level competitive gymnast. Naturally that lead me to coaching gymnastics, working in a local fitness center (daycare room, front desk), and eventually becoming a certified personal trainer/group instructor by age 17. The next step was getting a B.S. in Kinesiology, starting grad school for my Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and then shifting gears and teaching elementary school physical education/health for 8 years. Fitness and moving my body has always been “home.” It’s my happy place, where I feel most comfortable, where I excel, where I feel aligned, and over the years I’ve realized that it’s also my favorite emotional outlet as well. Moving my body makes me feel alive, strength makes me feel empowered, fitness makes me me.

Who or what inspires you through your goals and challenges?
My clients inspire me through my goals. I see the journeys they go on from day one. I’m with them every step of the way and whenever I need a boost or kick into gear, I think of them. I think of how hard they work, how must they trust me/trust the process, and how they just do the work (even when they don’t feel like it). So, when I need some inspiration or motivation, I think of exactly how I would work them through reaching one of their goals. Small steps, small progress, tons of consistency, and hard work. However, when it comes to challenges; I am my own inspiration. The old version of me is what keeps me going. As an eating disorder survivor and someone who has endured multiple surgeries, wheelchair stints, and half a dozen broken bones; I am my own inspiration. When I need a reminder, I just look back to how far I’ve come, the resilience and strength I’ve shown, and I can push myself through any challenge. The current version of me is always proud and inspired by the old version I’ve outgrown.

What are you top fitness moves for female empowerment?
Personally, I think that being able to move your own body is the ultimate empowerment. It’s an incredible feeling to be able to push a heavy sled, throw around some big iron, and squat your own bodyweight with a barbell. But, there is nothing more empowering than literally pulling yourself up, climbing a rope, muscling up/over a bar, jumping onto a box as tall as you, pushing yourself off the ground, holding/walking upside down in a handstand…those are the types of moves that just make you feel unstoppable! Our bodies are meant to move and being able to physically manipulate your body through space is incredible. It’s also a sweet reminder of just how amazing our bodies are and how grateful we should be of our health everyday.

How do you see Performix House making a difference in your life or your clients' lives, versus other locations and communities?
Performix House has made a huge difference in my life and my clients’ lives because of the environment and community it fosters. It’s not just a gym. It’s not just another boutique space. Performix House is our house. We literally call it “the house”. Why? Because it’s a place that feels like home. It’s warm, inviting, and comfortable. It’s a one stop shop from equipment and workouts to recovery and nutrition; it covers all your needs. My absolute favorite part of the house (and one of the biggest perks for my clients as well) is the community of trainers. The amount of knowledge, high performers, experts, and sheer brilliance across all areas of health, wellness, fitness that the trainers bring to the table is unlike any place I’ve ever been. We have the top trainers from the industry working under one roof. The biggest difference that I see at Performix House is the willingness to share and teach one another. Our trainers are so eager and willing to share their knowledge, spread their expertise and talent across the board so that we can all become better, more knowledgable, and more experienced trainers for our clients. Collaboration at the house is unlike anything I’ve ever seen during my 16+ years in the industry. That collaboration creates a community and force unlike anywhere else; the best part is that we ALL benefit!

Performix is excited to have a booth at your upcoming event, The Mind Body Tribe Experience (TMBTE). Could you tell our readers more about the event?
TMBTE is an 8-hour event on April 13th dedicated to providing a space for 200 women to step out of their comfort zones, try new things, get inspired, feel empowered, and of course, connect with other like-minded women. While this appears to be another fitness/wellness event, it actually has a much larger mission. 100% of ticket profits will be going directly into our fundraising pool with Pencils of Promise; helping our greater purpose of building a school in a third world country. TMBTE will be jam-packed with workouts, keynote speakers, a speaker panel, wellness activations, a vendor shopping market, a live DJ, brunch, and more! TMBTE is built around are three main beliefs which include: We believe that all change, transformations, and progress starts in the MIND. We believe that moving/fueling the BODY properly is the most important step towards living a healthy life. We believe that there is power in TRIBE and we know that together we can go so much farther. www.mbtexperience.com