Former Olympic level archer Tyler Martin is currently a personal trainer and computer scientist. In 2020, he combined his passion for health and fitness with his coding skills to create Session Fit, a virtual fitness class app that brings live classes to your phone. In the past six months, he’s fostered a virtual fitness community on the app to help others stay accountable for their health while staying connected with their friends during the pandemic. Get Session classes here and read on to learn more about Tyler’s story.
Tell us a bit about your work, inspirations and passions.
I’m a former competitive archer. I trained at the Olympic training facility in San Diego with about 10 years ago. Since then, I’ve been in love with health and fitness. In recent years, I earned my PT certificate, and I currently work with individuals and groups. I’m also a computer scientist and spend quite a bit of time working at the computer.
What does a typical day for you look like through the lens of movement?
I have what I call “home poses.” If I’m coding, I prefer not to be standing, so I’ll sit on the Venn Air Chair and shift around a lot. If I’m in thinking mode or taking notes, I will stand up and work on my feet. I sit on the chair about 20% of the time while doing desking work; it helps me as I switch up my positions from standing to sitting. I also like to use my Venn more in daily workouts and especially for balance work. I’ll do plank moves, push-ups or bench presses with shoulders on the ball.
Working from home has been nice because I don’t have to keep shoes on when I’m at my desk. I have pebble mats that I stand on that help to stimulate thought. Typically, I spend a couple of hours in the morning walking around for 20 minutes and thinking.
Most days I teach classes on Session. We have a community of people we've been working out with for about half a year. Because it’s live, other class takers can see what you're doing, and because it’s a small group, it’s very apparent if you’re not there. Having a community helps with accountability around moving your body.
What's something in work or life that you approach differently - philosophically, physically, emotionally- than others?
Management classes teach you about certain management approaches. At the end of the day every person has their own thing going on. I allow for time to delight people during my day and give them time to chat.
When it comes to ergonomics, I consider myself very deliberate when it comes to setting up the spaces to work in. I’m a big fan of personalizing things and that informs how I view ergonomics and fitness. I built my own keyboard and desk that are ergonomic. We tend to balk at spending money on certain things for our workspaces or home but if you think about how much time you spend on these things - it’s important to figure out what works well for you and invest in that.
Download Session Fit for iOS and Android and follow on Instagram @session_fit.