Sky Sport and Spa’s newest trainer is Greg Plitt.  He’s a true veteran of the fitness modeling scene and has appeared in dozens of top selling fitness magazines.

In a recent interview with Express, he talks about the rigors of being a fitness model and the unrealistic extremes it takes to get a cover model look:

» EXPRESS: How did you get into fitness modeling?
» PLITT: I had just come back from Korea and I was stationed in D.C., living in a house off-base. It was a dump in Arlington.

So, my mom called and said she’d found a voucher for a one-night stay at a Marriott and asked if I wanted it. So, my buddies and I are there hanging out by the bar when all of these good-looking men and women came in.

Turns out, it was a modeling industry event. Two weeks later, I did a test shoot, and that landed me the cover of Muscle & Fitness. I read the magazine, so I thought that was really cool.

» EXPRESS: How does one get to look like you?
» PLITT: The better the picture looks, the worse you feel. You get your body fat down to single digits, dehydrate yourself and get rid of carbs — it’s not very healthy. And you need to be ready because the model is the last person hired on a shoot. If you like going to the gym, that’s not a problem. I do a body part a day in a five-day split. I never plan a day off.

» EXPRESS: What do you do after a shoot?
» PLITT: I pig out. The night before is the worst — you never miss the food; you miss the water. I dream that I’m under a waterfall and I’m drinking all of it. The dehydration part’s not fun. My clients, I would never tell them to do that. They want to look like these covers and I tell them, “That’s not real.” And Photoshop is your friend.

» EXPRESS: What’s your favorite workout?
» PLITT: Just getting on a treadmill and running five miles. Or climbing ropes. I’m an athlete and I like moving a lot — being on a machine doesn’t do much for me.

Here’s a video of Greg in action:

Rebecca is one of the most popular fitness trainers on Bravo’s Workout.  She certainly has great abs, on par with Jackie Warner herself.  Her uninhibited personality will certainly make things interesting at Sky Sport & Spa.  Take a look for yourself…

Zen Gray, the friendly, likable trainer on Jackie Warner’s Workout won’t be returning for season 3.  As often happens in these matters you never get a single definitive reason.  So instead we offer the words of Zen herself:

I want to thank everybody that has written me lately with the big questions, “What’s up with Season 3?! Where are you?” And my favorite, “I’m not watching if you’re not on it!”

I want to assure everyone that I’m doing awesome and working on many exciting projects! Even though you won’t be seeing me on Season 3, you will be seeing me! But that’s all I can say for now.

I’m still on great terms with Jackie and all of those awesome trainers and I still have many clients over at Sky, Sport & Spa. I wish Jackie and everyone the best with the next round of WORKOUT!

Best of luck Zen!

Back in early May we posted:

“Workout Season 3. Should Jackie Warner & Sky Sport Spa Trainers Return?”

We asked. You answered… Undeniably YES.

Now hey, we’re not talking a huge sample here – but 33 is what we’ve got to date and there wasn’t a negative in the bunch.

Here’s a few prime comment examples of how badly some want to see Workout Season 3:

• miriam Wed, 16 May 2007 14:41:00 PDT edit
  Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love your show and it needs to come back, pls…u are my motivation..luv u guys and so does my boyfriend i got him hooked on your show..
• april Thu, 17 May 2007 08:09:35 PDT edit
  YES, WE WANT SEASON THREE. its helped me with my battle. i love watching jackie and the other trainers, i am becoming a personnel trainer, so its fun to watch the way they do things. hope to see you back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• JMo Thu, 17 May 2007 13:27:17 PDT edit
  Absolutely!! I’m addicted to Workout! It has inspired me to get into shape and get healthy. Plus the drama is unbeatable. AND . . . Jackie is hot (And I’m straight)!!!
• Michelle Thu, 17 May 2007 19:31:29 PDT edit
  Yes! It really has motivated me as well. I started doing the shakes awhile ago and they work great!
• Jane Sun, 20 May 2007 08:47:37 PDT edit
  Of course yes!!! I wanna see season 3. I love the show. She has great personality and inspiration. She cares about the clients and trainers. She has a nice great body and good shape. I wanna be like her. I follow what she says and does.
• debora Sun, 20 May 2007 11:28:58 PDT edit

Definetly yes, bring the show on….it would be a huge disappointment to alot of viewers and fans.
Workout gave me the willpower to get off the couch and start making changes in my life. I finally got the recipe for her morning shake. And I’m definetly looking forward to checking out her clothing line. Everything about SkySport and all the trainers and of course the beautiful Jackie.
In the finale show Jackie brought up she might leave out her love life…Come on Jackie, thats what heats up the show. It puts the icing on the cake………………..
Looking forward to season three.

• MaryJane K. Randa Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:58:23 PDT edit
  I have been to skysport and Jackie really is the sh**. She knows exactly what she is doing. The show is great. I can’t wait for the 3rd season!!!!!! Keep up the good work everyone…(workout) I have been very motivated since the show and working out there!!!! It really works…
  Thanks Jackie….
  MJ
• Elizabeth Fri, 29 Jun 2007 05:58:10 PDT edit

Definitely, bring that hot bodied show back for another season, or 2, or 3. I could never get to much of Jackie, Erika, Zen, & Brian. They are addictive to watch.

You can view all the comments here.

So what do you say Bravo? Are you going to announce Workout Season 3 soon?

Want to be a personal fitness trainer with the success of Jackie Warner? Well here’s an interesting parallel from the the Boston Globe.

Seems Nicole Ricci may be the East Coast’s answer to Jackie Warner and Sky Sport & Spa.

The Globe says of Ricci:

“The 34-year-old Ricci’s brand of tough love has made the personal trainer a magnet for South Enders and others bent on shaping up and not afraid to sweat. Like Jackie Warner, the entrepreneurial, no-nonsense star of Bravo’s reality hit “Work Out,” Ricci inspires a fervid devotion in many of her clients. One even calls her “mama.”

In 2004, Ricci moved to Washington Street and opened Saldare Body Spa & Private Fitness , a three-story space with massage , body waxing , facial rooms , and a gym. She works 13-hour days, cramming in a catalog of clients that has, at different times, included the members of Blue Man Group and the entire cast of “Stomp.” She’s worked on Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen , professional ice skaters, and dancers. But you don’t have to be famous to score a spot on her exercise mat.”

So if you’re ever in Boston, check out Saldare Body Spa & Private Fitness. Something tells me it’s not going to have the panoramic views of Sky Sport & Spa. But on the bright side you won’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for a personal training session. You can train with Ricci herself for $60.00

Jump to full Boston Globe story here

Many people are eager for detailed exercise advice from Jackie Warner, star of Bravo’s reality show Workout.

Unfortunately she’s not very accessible unless you go to L.A. and drop $400.00 a session (5 session minimum).

There’s a better way to get the information you want from Jackie.
Just read Making The Cut by Jackie Warner’s Business Partner – Jillian Michaels

Jillian Michaels co-owns Skysport & Spa with Jackie Warner. And if you read their interviews and advice in the media you’ll find they have pretty much the same philosophy and approach when it comes to nutrition, exercise and weight loss. This comes as no surprise if they co-own the same gym. But here’s the good part…

Jillian Michaels Advice Is Accessible
She’s produced some great instructional fitness products. She’s got her two best selling fitness books. She’s got her best selling DVD workouts. And she’s got lots of target training and beginner workouts too.

Just in case you’re not familiar with Jillian, here’s a Bio excerpt from a 2005 Washington Post Interview transcript:

Jillian Michaels, the Beverly Hills-based personal trainer who coached her team to victory on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser”… Michaels is co-owner of Sky Sport and Spa, a penthouse fitness facility in Beverly Hills. Her clients include actors such as Amanda Peet and Mark Ruffalo. Among her credentials, she holds a Black Belt in Muay Thai. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

So I think the moral of this story is… The best way to get your Jackie Warner workout my be through Jillian!

But for clothing – that’s another matter. Here you can go straight to the source and get Jackie Warner’s Skylab clothing line.

Season two of Bravo’s Workout saw Jackie Warner do the following:

• Dump her girlfriend
• Kiss 5 women
• Go to therapy
• Conduct therapy (With Skylabber’s)
• Design a clothing line ‘ apparel line
• Make amends with her mother
• Confront the emotion surrounding the death of her father
• Deal with the death of Doug Blasdell
• Hook-up with one of her trainers

Question is: Should Jackie Warner and the Skysport Spa Trainers return for season three? What do you think?

Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when you’re a personal fitness trainer. I’ve noticed those in the professional fitness game have high energy, tend to be more aggressive and seek challenge by default. Is it any wonder Jackie Warner and Mimi are back together…

After Ellen got the scoop:

AE: When I met you in July, Mimi and you were back together. Are you still?
JW: Well, it goes off and on because she’s very angry with the show. She’s very resentful, and I personally can’t argue with her and talk about the show anymore.

AE: What happened as far as getting back together?
JW: We just love each other. We are drawn to each other, and now it’s not about codependency; it’s truly that we both dated other people — and some people seriously. We separated twice in four and a half years for short periods of time, and I gotta tell you, we both just felt so, so off. Now you can analyze that for days — you can say codependency, you can say this, that, but whatever it is, it was very real to us, and it drove us into each other’s arms again. We are doing well right now, but it’s still tricky because of so much resentment with the show. And I’m not willing to change anymore. I’m like, “You’re going to have to deal with it; I’m sorry.â€?

AE: Mimi is younger than you and seems a lot more immature.
JW: Yeah, well she is.

AE: The biting reminds me of a 5-year-old.
JW: A child, sure.

AE: Has she slowed down on the biting?
JW: Yes, she has, she definitely has. And the thing is, this has been a growing experience for both of us.

AE: Do you think there have been benefits to your relationship from this stuff being aired?
JW: Well, yes, of course. I see that I pull away when people react to me and make me feel too much pressure. And that’s something I did a lot. … Of course our relationship has more depth and there’s a more complicated dynamic between us. And I’m not a saint, and I am definitely a jealous person too, and I definitely am a possessive person too, and I like a roller coaster ride. I like high emotions and low emotions — I need it.

AE: One really positive thing is that when you weren’t arguing, you were really affectionate with each other.
JW: Well, we have strong chemistry; we are flabbergasted by it. I’ve had so many serious relationships; I have never had this chemistry with anybody else. And I’ve been … very much in love with beautiful women — women that are gorgeous and their bodies are just, you’re like, “Damn!â€? — and very deeply in love with them and living together, but I’ve never in my life had the chemistry that we have, and we both are like, “Geez, what is this?â€? And I think it does reflect even though we were angry with each other.

AE: It’s like fire and ice.
JW: It is. Even when we were in Mexico, we still can’t keep our hands off each other. We cannot not look at each other and want to touch each other all the time.

AE: You said on the show you met Mimi in a painting class.
JW: I was taking an oil painting class. I was still in my last relationship, a monogamous relationship, and I didn’t really even give it much thought. And then we met a couple of years later after my girlfriend and I had broken up, and we met at the Abbey and she was really cute and kind of came on to me — it was adorable, and a woman that has the guts to come to me is pretty ballsy. And it doesn’t happen often. A lot of women are intimidated by me and will not approach me — it’s always been a mystery to me — lesbians at least.

AE: What do you and Mimi do for fun? They never showed that.
JW: Oh my gosh, we do so much for fun. She and I still go out once to twice a week and booze it up — we have a blast. She’s Brazilian, I’ve got American Indian and Irish in me, so we love to go out and drink with friends. We don’t really like clubs, especially bars, because it’s pretty much a meat market and it can be pretty lecherous, but I love to have dinners, and we love to both combine our friends and have big dinners and have drinks and lots of great wine, and then go out dancing still, we do that.

I just took her to Mexico; we had an amazing time, everyday was like we couldn’t believe how much fun we were having and how amazing it was. And she and I do much better when we’re alone. We have endless, endless conversations when we’re alone. And we’re way more comfortable with each other being alone. And we can sit and polish off a bottle of tequila and have 10 times the fun than if we go to a bar, just by ourselves. So that says a lot.

AE: They never mentioned it on Work Out, but I’ve heard that Mimi is a trainer too.
JW: She’s a trainer at another gym. Yeah, I don’t mix business with pleasure anymore.

AE: Did she used to work in the same gym as you?
JW: Yeah, I hired her ages ago, and I’ve done that with other girlfriends and it never ends up well. A girlfriend, a husband, a wife, a boyfriend should never be writing [their] significant other’s paycheck. Never be signing them. … The power structure is askew and it makes for resentment on both sides.

From an interview with After Ellen:

AE: What are your favorite workouts?
JW: Well, I love doing legs and chest. … All big muscle groups is my favorite workout. I love to lift weights. Lifting weights is still my primary workout and my love; I miss it when I’m away from it for a couple of days.

AE: Do you ever hike any of the trails around L.A.?
JW: I don’t hike; I bike. I mountain bike, so I’ll take the trails with the mountain bike; I’m not so much a hiker. And I love the water. I love to swim, I love to surf, I love to snorkel, I love to dive. I love anything in the ocean.

AE: What’s your personal workout philosophy?
JW: This is my motto: Everything done in moderation is OK, so I’m not a person that tries to take your lifestyle and make it mine. And I do enjoy everything — I enjoy the things that other people like. I enjoy having drinks occasionally, but I make sure and only do it at times not of responsibility and not to excess. And I enjoy having food, and I have my cheat weekends.

Every weekend is a cheat weekend where I have one meal each day that I really love, or ice cream or candy at the movies, but Monday through Friday I am really good — very good. So you just have to know yourself and know that moderation is the key — not excess and not deprivation. It just doesn’t work.

Get all the ingredients for Jackie Warner’s protein shake recipe here.

Bravo’s TV show Workout, portrays Jackie Warner and the Skysport Spa trainers working in a unique environment to create “experiences” with clients. (See review)
This is a key strategy for building profitable fitness service business.

The show offers personal trainers clues to how Jackie Warner built her success.

Below are two of the Skysport best practices. How can you apply these “client experience” building examples to build your own personal training business?

1. Connect Nutrition
Providing clients with solid nutrition information is the backbone of the Sky Sport & Spa approach.  The Skysport trainers provide clients with actionable low-glycemic nutrition information.  Jackie Warner’s Protein Shake Recipe is an example.

She simplifies the client’s nutrition while at the same time making them think about her & Skysport every time they have the shake for breakfast.  Do you have a special nutrition recipe will help your clients stay connected to you away from the gym and allows them to pass along to their friends?  Do you have reputable supplements that you can sell to your clients at great prices to compliment your recipes?
2. Exercise With Style
Skysport Spa is an exclusive gym. Everything about it sells style and fashion. How can you incorporate style into your business? How you dress, the materials you provide clients, your website, business cards, how you talk – it all combines to create an impression. What impression are you making on potential clients?

3. Create Symbols
Perhaps you’ve noticed the necklaces the trainers and clients wear at Skysport. They are nothing more than a washer on tastefully knotted leather. But the circle is symbolic and it’s a nice touch that connects the client to the Skysport brand.

In reality, you can go to a hardware store, buy a washer and leather strip for a dime, replicate the leather knot and you’ve got the official Skysport necklace. If you sell them for $25 like Skysport does – you’ll have a nice supplement to your income.

But just in-case you want an original:

THE SKYSPORT TRAINER NECKLACE

This stylish sports necklace is like the ones worn on WORKOUT by the SKY trainers, but only better! Upgraded with premium black leather for better durability, this necklace has an easy slide knot closure for adjustable length. Each piece is hand-made so no two are exactly alike.Approx

Approx. 20″ in length at longest. Designed specifically for SKYSPORT&SPA byFrancoeurncoeurdesignsbymarquis.comis.com.

Price $25.00