NIKE WOMEN PRESENTS: MASTER TRAINER MARIE PURVIS
Nike’s quintessential “trainer in your pocket†Marie Purvis launches an all-new NTC workout.
Marie Purvis was a Nike Master Trainer before the title even existed. Over the past seven years, she has helped Nike understand how to best reach female workout enthusiasts, bring fitness to new places and create a training app that would eventually touch millions of people across the globe. She was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Nike+ Training Club (NTC).
“I would definitely say NTC is my biggest accomplishment,†says Purvis. “I still pinch myself. But it’s real. I’m living it.â€
FROM ATHLETE TO TRAINER AND #BETTERFORIT
Purvis excelled as a track athlete in high school. However, when she got to college, she was exhausted, injured and over-trained. She wanted to stay in the world of sports, but made the tough decision to not continue on her college track team. She became depressed, had to overcome issues with self-esteem and felt lost in the world. Then she talked to her father, who had run track himself.
“My dad told me that you make a decision every single day in life and you have to own that decision,†says Purvis. “You can’t dwell and you can’t live with regret. You have to take action.â€
The conversation was a catalyst in Purvis’s journey to be #betterforit. Purvis took her dad’s advice to heart and began working at her college’s athletic training facility. The job blended her passions and her talents: sports, mentoring and exercise physiology. After graduation, she continued down that road, becoming a sports conditioning coach for a competitive soccer league in Oregon. From there, she connected with Nike, where her personal training career led her to designing workout classes that would become the precursor to NTC. Not long after, she helped design the NTC App.
“I wanted to develop tools for people who maybe didn’t have the resources to get a trainer or coach,†she says. “I wanted to educate. I wanted them to have a trainer in their pocket.â€
THE HEART AND MIND OF NTC
Today, Purvis is an NTC Master Trainer based at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., who travels on workout missions all around the world. She divides her time among mentoring new trainers, researching fitness, designing workouts and educating the community. Known for her creative workouts and her ability to inspire the people she trains, Purvis gains energy and drive from helping others get fit and meet their goals.
“That’s what gets me up at 4 a.m. every single morning,†she says. “When people start exercising they get more energy, and that goes so much deeper than just being able to get through the day. Once they feel better inside, they start to shine. They glow. It’s crazy. They come into the gym and they’re smiling.â€
In recent years, Purvis has gotten much of her inspiration from traveling to places around the world where fitness is just catching on and where women are just beginning to learn the many benefits of training.
“I get chills every time I see women embracing sport in a new place,†she says. “It is amazing to see thousands of girls get super excited about working out.â€
MARIE PURVIS’S READY, SET, ZOOM WORKOUT ON NTC
Purvis’s Ready, Set, Zoom workout launches on the NTC App on July 7. The 13-minute workout is the first of six new training sessions that highlight the 12-week Find Your Fast NTC Challenge. Purvis designed it to be dynamic, fast-paced and a starting point for more challenging workouts in the weeks to come.
“This workout is about getting used to footwork and getting used to your body mechanics before the training program progresses,†says Purvis. “This will give you more body awareness as you increase your speed, build power, and develop explosiveness.”
The workout blends quick, powerful movements – like fast feet and split jumps – with full-body moves that showcase balance, poise, and core strength, like side planks and hollow bodies.
“You’re going to be out of breath and you’re going to work on strength,†she says. “The workout really sticks true to the six core moves and lays a foundation down to make you as successful as you can be over the next twelve weeks.â€
To find out more, visit nike.com or follow the Nike Sport Feed in the NTC App.
To stay in touch with Marie, follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
EXCLUSIVE TIPS FROM MASTER TRAINER MARIE PURVIS
• Diversity and consistency are huge if you want to get results. To keep getting better, it’s important to have fun and mix it up.• Everything is so fast-paced and high-strung these days. People are getting injured and over-training. I want people to take a breath, slow down and do a proper warm-up.
• Functional training — training your body for everyday movement — should be your foundation. This is what Nike+ Training Club is all about.
• The NTC App really is a trainer in your pocket. If you’re just starting out, pick a Beginner-level class and follow the coaching in the app. Before you know it, you’ll be advancing to higher levels and longer workouts.
• One of the most powerful motivators I’ve seen in my travels is the power of the community. Whether you’re connecting digitally or in person, find your workout friends and push one another – you’ll go much further than you would alone.
Lead Image via Nike.
