Meet Jourdan Baldwin & Niccole Hendrickson: Owners of KALO Fitness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jourdan Baldwin & Niccole Hendrickson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jourdan Baldwin & Niccole Hendrickson, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?

When most people think about fitness or gyms, they don’t often think about them “changing the world”. However, we’ve always viewed our job, and every person that works in fitness, as a huge contributor to not only changing the world, but making it a better place to be in. When we are healthy and are taking care of ourselves, we treat others better, we treat the world better, we are more likely to be connected to our communities and we have a positive influence on the people we are around. While the fitness industry can sometimes feel and look strictly vanity based, and sometimes feel intimidating, we believe that the future of fitness looks MUCH different than six pack abs and 5% body fat, and are dedicated to closing that gap. At our small group and personal training studio, KALO Fitness, we are on a mission to not only break down the preconceived notions still floating around in the fitness industry, but also to use movement to educate, inspire, empower and truly connect people together. Here are a few things we based our business model around to ensure we are helping our community, and our world, in tangible ways :

– with every new client we get, we take time to actually get to know them and what makes them tick. We learn what drives them and in turn can help keep them in alignment with their values and bigger purpose, which in turn keeps them on track with their fitness goals.

– we teach recovery and how to actually do it. Many people don’t understand how to recover, when to recover, or the signs to look for. We believe in moving every day, but understanding when to push and when to back off to continue to get stronger over time.

– we connect our clients to each other to make collaboration and support easy. When you join our space, you get access to an entire library of our clients (and many other) local businesses.

– we teach proper movement patterns so that our clients feel confident no matter where they go to workout. This is one of the biggest ways we impact our community. So many of our clients come to us and say that they don’t know if their form is correct, We make sure that after the first two sessions, every client feels confident and educated in their movement patterns and can use those skills for life.

– we offer our programming virtually. Our programming is our “special sauce” and we take a lot of pride in it. While we can’t get everyone in our studio for many different reasons, we offer a virtual platform that offers the exact same thing, and that is accessible to anyone across the globe.

– we give back to our communities. 10% of all of our online programs are donated to various different non profit organizations.

While we believe ALL of these things help our community and in turn, our world, we believe the number one thing that leads to true change is simply providing a space for people to show up, exactly as they are, and GROW. From that space, we can encourage them to be the best version of themselves and over time that is more powerful and leads to much better results than any diet or time spent on the treadmill ever could.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

KALO Fitness is a small group and personal training studio in Washington Park (Denver).. While there are a lot of studios that specialize in more personalized training, there are some key aspects that set us apart and make our experience one of a kind.

1) We focus on the whole person. Nutrition and exercise are only one part of the equation when it comes to getting results and this is where we come in to fill the gap. When we take a new client on, we get to know them on a deeper level by diving into their sleep, hormones, stress levels, nervous system regulation, social life, boundaries, habits, and SO much more. This initial consultation opens their eyes to how everything is connected when it comes to their health and instantly puts them on the road to understanding the long term picture versus expecting quick and instant results from fad diets or programs (that will leave them in a worse spot than when they started).

2) Our programming is truly our “special sauce” and we take a lot of pride in it as it’s been built over the course of a decade and we are continually adjusting it based on the latest science and research that comes out. For example, at most gyms and studios, mobility and recovery are greatly overlooked. Most people have no idea how to progressively overload their strength training programs, or are intimidated by weights because they don’t know if they are doing things right. This in turn leads to many resorting to cardio machines, or going much lighter on the weight training side, and they get frustrated because they don’t see results. At KALO, we include mobility, core activation, strength, HIIT, and breath work in EVERY workout to allow our clients to become comfortable with all of the elements we believe are important. In addition, when taking on a new client we spend 2 full sessions going over form and technique before putting them into a group so they feel comfortable and confident. Lastly, we slowly progress weight, set and rep intensity each month with the first 3 weeks building in intensity and the last week backing off. We encourage our clients to also book something relaxing that will aid in recovery on the fourth week of every month so that it doesn’t get put on the back burner. So many times we forget about recovery until we get injured or we are completely burnt out.

3) We created an entire virtual platform that follows our in person studio training. This platform was built not only for our in person clients, but also for clients who live far away or who aren’t quite comfortable returning to our studio yet. KALO Virtual includes a live interactive calendar that has the exact same workouts we do in studio, but with minimal equipment. This sets us apart from other virtual programs because our clients are following an actual scientific plan versus just doing random workouts on instagram. The plan includes specific workouts for each day of the week and users can choose to follow along with us on video, or simply go at their own pace with our exercise demo page. Check it out here: https://virtual.kalofitness.com

4) Our community. Being women entrepreneurs (and many other roles), we naturally attract similar clients who are busy and need a realistic approach to their fitness routines. Because of this, we end up being able to refer out and connect many of our clients to each other. From acupuncturists, to massage therapists to moms with kiddos the same age, to interior designers, we have a huge variety of expertise and commonalities and have watched hundreds of connections be made, women be able to truly support each other and friendships that will last for a lifetime through our KALO community. To make connecting easy, we create an environment where everyone knows each other, especially when in class together, and we also list all of our clients and their businesses in our member directory for everyone to be able to access.

5) Breathwork. This is hands down the number one most overlooked aspect of fitness. If someone doesn’t understand how to breathe right, chances are they won’t see an improvement in their fitness near as quickly as if they did, they will have a greater risk of getting injured (proper breathing stabilizes the spine during weight lifting), and their core is most likely weak and underdeveloped. In addition to these external benefits, breath work allows our clients to work through internal states such as stress and anxiety, and teaches them how to down regulate their nervous systems. This is critical to getting results because long term stress and a heightened nervous system leads to inflammation and hormone imbalances that can greatly affect results.

Our philosophy at KALO has come from years and years of trial and error and we are still learning. We won’t ever stop! We believe that the ability to adapt is the greatest asset of human existence and are grateful to be alive in a rapidly changing world thanks to new technology and scientific discoveries. The model we described in the paragraphs above are based off of what we know NOW which is that there is much more to each person than a “one size fits all” approach, and that getting to know someone on a deeper level is key to seeing the bigger picture of what their fitness routine should look like.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My perfect weekend with a friend would include:

A concert at Red Rocks
A hike at Mt Galbraith or Beaver Creek to Chavez Trail
Drinks at Avanti
Lunch at Denver Central Market
Dinner at Root Down
Shopping in Rino or South Broadway
Workout at Kalo Fitness 
Coffee at Corvus
A night at the Halcyon
Breakfast at Crepes n’ Crepes or the Corner Beat
Yoga at Karma Yoga
A banya massage experience at Izba Spa
A mani and pedi at Prose

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are SO many people that have helped us get to where we are today and we could’ve never done this alone! The most impactful people on this journey have been: 1) Our husbands. They are our rocks. They both have supported us and our dreams from day one and never let us give up no matter how hard it’s gotten. 2) Our clients. We’ve had clients that have been with us literally since the day that we started. This type of loyalty and commitment has given us the confidence to grow and evolve. We couldn’t do it without them. 3) Brene Brown. Her books have taken us to the next level in leadership, vulnerability and teamwork over and over again.

Website: www.kalofitness.com
Instagram: @kalo_fitness @jourdanbaldwinfitness @peak8fitness
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalofitnessdenver

Image Credits
Elizabeth Bettis @ebettisphoto