April 7, 2021
When Andy Luaces, founder of Core Fitness Miami, launched his business 13 years ago, he was far from the 5,000-square-foot facility in Downtown Miami where the business is based today. “I founded Core Fitness Miami out of the trunk of my car,” he remembers. “I bought weights, medicine balls, and bands and drove from door to door, handing out flyers and building up a client base.”
“Today, I can connect with clients in Teams and train them directly from the gym. This technology is playing a crucial role in how we continue to offer our services to clients around the world.”
– Andy Luaces: Founder and Owner
Core Fitness Miami
Luaces, who spent the early days of his career working at large membership gyms, was inspired to create a gym with an individualized, client-focused approach. “I wanted to go about fitness in a different way that catered to one-on-one experiences rather than just thinking about numbers,” he says. His vision paid off, and today, Core Fitness Miami includes professional athletes, high-level executives, and local fitness enthusiasts as clients. “Our team has three trainers, four physical therapists, a chiropractor, and one stem cell doctor,” says Luaces. From humble beginnings, Core Fitness Miami has become a fitness destination that encourages everyone to “be limitless.”
Adapting to the unexpected with virtual training sessions in Microsoft Teams
After 13 years of steady growth, the arrival of the COVID-19 health crisis upended normal business operations for Core Fitness Miami. “COVID-19 was revolutionary. It felt like my world was coming down in front of me,” says Luaces, who suddenly faced a major threat to the in-person, highly specialized training sessions on which Core Fitness Miami is based. “We had to adapt the way we do things, and that’s when we decided to give Microsoft Teams a shot.”
Luaces and his team launched virtual training sessions in Teams practically overnight. “It was seamless,” Luaces says. “We just downloaded Teams, and it was easy for everyone to use.” Prior to COVID-19, many of Luaces’s clients, including NBA and NFL players and other professional athletes, would fly to Miami specifically to train at the Core Fitness facility. “Today, I can connect with clients in Teams and train them directly from the gym,” says Luaces. “This technology is playing a crucial role in how we continue to offer our services to clients around the world.”
For one longtime client who is based in France, flying to Miami to train for three months a year at Core Fitness Miami was a standard practice before COVID-19. When travel restrictions made that impossible, the same client met with Luaces and developed personalized workouts using Teams meetings. “This has allowed us to keep that relationship going in spite of the travel restrictions,” says Luaces, who also uses Teams to meet with NBA teams from across the country. “We use Teams to share documents, video workouts, and chat live about what the best off-season training program for a particular player might be.”
Core Fitness Miami employees also use Teams to safely connect with each other. “I use Teams to meet with colleagues virtually,” says Luaces. “In the past, we did most things in person at the facility, but now we can get our work done efficiently using Teams meetings without putting anyone at risk.” The ability to stay connected from afar has been vital for employees who are living with high-risk family members. “Teams allows employees to work remotely without sacrificing safety,” says Luaces.
Expanding the scope of business with virtual training
Because of its success with virtual training sessions, Core Fitness Miami is embracing Teams for the future, and plans to use it to expand the gym’s service offerings. “I have spent my career giving people in-person training, but Teams has opened up my mind as to how I can be more effective,” says Luaces. “Virtual training is going to become a permanent part of our business.”
For a gym that encourages clients to “be limitless,” Teams has emerged as a valuable tool to help bring that motto to life. “Without Teams, my business wouldn’t be open right now,” says Luaces. Using Teams, Core Fitness Miami continues to offer personalized, client-focused services to people around the world—be they rising NBA stars who are working out in their backyards while connected to the gym with Teams, or clients who are meeting with physiotherapists virtually. “During these unprecedented times, Core Fitness Miami team members have learned that we actually are limitless,” says Luaces. “Now, we can offer in-house services from anywhere through a laptop or a phone. It’s been an incredible learning experience.”
Find out more about Core Fitness Miami on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
“Teams has opened up my mind as to how I can be more effective. Virtual training is going to become a permanent part of our business.”
– Andy Luaces: Founder and Owner
Core Fitness Miami
“Without Teams, my business wouldn’t be open right now.”
– Andy Luaces: Founder and Owner
Core Fitness Miami