Hidden Gems: Meet Jeff Sidwell of Next Step Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Sidwell.

Hi Jeff, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After suffering a back injury at the age of 19, I got a front-row seat at the limitations in our health and wellness community–particularly in the Physical Therapy world. I was interning at a PT clinic, thru college, and suffered my back injury in that time. I experienced the Physical Therapy world being limited by what the insurance company would pay for, and what it pays for–isn’t much. After they helped all they could, I looked at the Personal Training field, only to find limited knowledge about lingering injuries. Yet, Personal Trainers will WORK you, as if you are injury-free. This often time exacerbates current or prior injuries and sends you back to Physical Therapy.

Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t like (negative) patterns. At the age of 20, I had the vision of breaking the negative cycle of Physical Therapy, to Personal Trainers, which leads back to Physical Therapy. I dreamed at the age of 40, I would create a company called Next Step Fitness–to bridge the gap between Physical Therapy and Bootcamp Personal Trainers. Well, life happened, and I got motivated early at the age of 25-to create Next Step Fitness. It’s been an amazing ride being able to help thousands of people at this point, get “Pain-Free and Fit”.

My health (and a team of medical doctors) also saved my life four years ago when I drown in a free-diving training accident. I have a ‘less than 1% chance of being here as I am, today and they attributed it to my perfect health, their expertise (I was in a coma for 2.5 days), and probably some spiritual assistance too 🙂 That has led me to be even more inspired to help as many people get “Pain-Free and Fit” as possible. And I do that in-person and online.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road! I have a BS in Exercise Science, I was required to take 2…TWO business classes. I left college with a lot of heart and a LOT of nerdy anatomy/physiology knowledge. But I didn’t know a lot about business. In addition to that, I started my company in the 2009 recession. Gratefully, I’m good at what I do. So business grew. But I had a LOT to learn–primarily, just because you have a great service, doesn’t mean you’ll have a successful company. A great service helped me stay in business for the first three years, while I figured out the business side of things. Now, since entering the online world (just before the pandemic), I’ve reentered a massive learning phase because e-commerce is SUCH a different business compared to traditional ‘brick and mortar’ as they used to say 🙂

FOR THE ATTACHED IMAGES–use any of them for me, I found the two with me holding resistance bands after submitting the first one lol

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Next Step Fitness?
My business is unique for combining approaches. The world got too specialized at one point, and especially in the health and wellness world, that was to the detriment of patients and clients. The ‘elbow specialist’ wouldn’t acknowledge that the shoulder contributed to the elbow pain, for a simple example. The patient, as a result, would get hyperfocused care on their elbow, without resolving the problem. I witnessed this beginning at the age of 18 while I interned for 4 years at a Physical Therapy Clinic. It showed me that (almost) every wellness approach has value (I mean, come on, there are gimmicks, as we know) and a person’s body needs a combination of those approaches to truly optimize.

So I combine soft tissue work (mobilizing Thai Massage Techniques), which Facilitated Stretching–which is common to the Physical Therapy world, AND Personal Training. My methodology is simple: Relax, Rewire, ReTrain. We must relax dysfunctional muscles first, rewire them to work correctly, AND THEN build strength in them. Oftentimes, Personal Trainers will just want to build strength to alleviate pain, well, you’re strengthening a dysfunction!

I’m most proud of winning the ‘Best of Award’ in both Indianapolis and Boulder, 7x now. The award comes from my clients, they–without my knowing–submitted testimonials to the award program and then the committee reviews my company and decides if I win the ‘Best of Personal Training’ category. It’s been an honor to receive it in the two cities I’ve operated out of.

The main thing I’d like readers to know is: If you’re in chronic pain, it’s fixable. And it can be resolved in less time than you think. My client, Justin P., had back pain for 20 years, he met me and his back pain was gone within 2 months. Your fitness goals are obtainable. I have a client who has recently lost 22lbs after we reactivated his metabolism and resolved his chronic pain. And he lost that weight in less than 2 months. No gimmicks, no unhealthy diet practices, just the right workouts, some cardio, and the right nutrition.

Also, A true practitioner will want you to be empowered, and independent of them. I teach my clients how to get, and stay, “Pain-Free and Fit” for life, whether they continue to see me or not.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
When you see my picture, I want you to see 1,000 people behind me. I’m a big believer that it takes a village to raise a child. I’ve had mentors since I was 16 and began my career with an amazing company that encouraged me to explore the cutting-edge practices I was developing. My clients make my business–the pandemic was tough, and I put out an S.O.S. saying hey, ‘I may not make it if this continues for another year or two. They rallied and referred friends and family who needed help and I’m stronger than ever now. My parents, of course. I lived with them when I first started my company so I could continually reinvest in brand (and business rent lol). I’m 13 years sober and have had mentors and support through that journey. My life would not be fruitful if it hadn’t been for my 12-step community. And my friends! It’s tough to be self-employed. “Paid Time Off” isn’t a thing, it’s just Time Off, and lost revenue lol. Gratefully, I have amazing friends that help provide the ever-important aspect of life and wellness–laughter.

Pricing:

• 109/session with me
• 30/month for my online program
• $99 “Pain-Free and Fit” kit

Contact Info:

• Website: www.NextStep.fit
• Instagram: @NextStep.fit
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myXTS
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkcud3tahz3tYZ_AKA8x75g

Image Credits
Chad Chisholm for the studio pics