Today we’d like to introduce you to Roy Palmer.
Hi Roy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In-Tension Training was established in 2019 by partners Roy Palmer and Jenesis Fonder as a means to provide quality, comprehensive and affordable training for the people of their city and beyond. Both Roy and Jen grew up very passionate about sports and working out, and were eager to learn more about how they could train to be at their best and help others do the same. They were especially passionate about this mission because they grew up in an underserved community where resources, access and mentorship were scarce. While in college, they studied together and became Certified Personal Trainers before officially launching In-Tension Training and building out their clientele and their community. Since then, In-Tension training has gone through many phases and iterations but the mission remains the same.
Post-college, both Roy and Jen have felt called to use their education and privilege to expand their impact beyond just training. They have both pursued higher education and gone on to work in other fields, namely nursing for Roy and Jen being a prospective law student. Roy still coaches, albeit primary online now, while Jen works behind the scenes. The next phase of In-Tension Training will be focused on marketing our programs, subscriptions and services while looking to expand our impact in our community and beyond. Being primarily online allows us to be even more accessible and affordable, while still offering excellent services. We are excited about where we are at and where we are going, and continue to enjoy the rewarding and valuable work that is coaching.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to where we are now has been far from smooth. Though it has been a great journey there have been many bumps consisting of both tangible and intangible struggles . Some of the tangible struggles involved determining how much to charge in order to be sustainable without being inaccessible, learning how to pay business taxes, and how to scale our business. Some of the intangible struggles have included finding our voice and our niche and sticking with it even when it’s not what’s trending right now, developing boundaries, balancing passion with personal needs and wellbeing, battling burnout, and perfectionism, and being both life partners and business partners.
It feels overwhelming at times, but I am regularly reminded of how blessed we are to be where we are and have the opportunities we have. Even if it has been difficult, and even if it’s not perfect, it is good and I am grateful!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about In-Tension Training?
Roy Palmer is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Psychology. He has extensive experience in both sports performance and personal training. Roy has worked with people of all ages, sports, and backgrounds in 1 on 1, small group, large group, and team settings as well as in an online capacity. He has helped numerous high school athletes earn athletic scholarships, worked with collegiate athletes of all sports, assisted in NFL pro day/combine prep, and even trained NFL, NHL, and professional basketball players. He has also helped people of all ages and backgrounds get out of pain, learn to love to exercise, look, feel and move better, get back to doing what they love, and achieve their personal goals.
Roy understands how difficult and overwhelming it can be to try to sift through all of the information and “experts” online today, and to try to create a sustainable, effective program and habit for yourself. His goal is to take all of the guesswork, overwhelm and insecurity out of the equation and make it easy and enjoyable to improve your health, achieve your goals, and create a sustainable habit.
For Sports Performance Training, Roy analyzes the sport and the individual before utilizing signature mobility and stability, speed and agility, strength and power training, along sport specific movements and sport psychology principles to help athletes reduce risk of injury, improve their performance and achieve their goals.
For Personal Training, Roy provides evidence-based programming that promotes whole person health and helps people achieve their personal goals. He utilizes functional movements and incorporates elements of mobility, stability, strength and conditioning to help people look good, feel good, move well, and enjoy their training. Roy provides resources and support surrounding nutrition, recovery, mindset, goal setting and more. He encourages open communication and active collaboration, and tailors his approach to each individual.
Besides his subject matter expertise and extensive experience, what really sets Roy apart is his ability and effort to connect with and collaborate with each individual he works with. He is also very comprehensive, compassionate, and a life-long learner.
Roy offers online programs for purchase, monthly subscriptions, consultations, 1:1 online coaching, and in person training for individuals/groups by request.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe that risk and reward go hand in hand. I am a strong advocate of the growth mindset, which promotes the idea that your intelligence and abilities are not fixed, and can be developed over time. This mindset empowers you to embrace challenges and see failures as lessons.
I believe that taking risks is necessary to grow, but the risks you take should be calculated and intentional. I think any decision you make, whether risky or not, should be driven by your values. For me, my faith is a huge factor in the decisions I make and the risks I take. Praying for guidance, trusting in God’s plan for me, and believing that he will prepare and empower me to do things I never thought I could do. When I am weak and unsure, he is strong and secure. He comforts me, strengthens me, and guides me. I am also blessed to have an amazing support system that I can always count on. A risk feels less risky when you know that you will be ok no matter how it turns out. It has been important for me to redefine success when it comes to taking risks. While success used to mean achieving outcomes and getting praise and recognition from others, it now means doing my best, learning, enjoying the process, connecting with myself, my God and others. This approach and these resources and lighthouses have guided me through the different phases and iterations of In-Tension Training, each of which has involved some risk.
It was a risk to open a business, knowing that half of all businesses fail in the first five years, not to mention doing so with my then girlfriend and now fiancée. It was then a risk to go full time, betting that I would be able to make it work. That worked until it didn’t anymore, when I took a risk to take a step back from my business to join a larger company. When that wasn’t working for me anymore, I took arguably the biggest risk of all, which was answering the call to pursue a career in nursing and shift my approach to In-Tension Training entirely, shifting most of my business online. I am now taking a risk by hiring staff, including people I have mentored and coached before, and making renewed efforts to put myself and my business out there in order to expand my impact.
Pricing:
- Online programs starting at just $30
- Monthly subscriptions starting at $29/month
- Online coaching starting at $100/month
- In person training starting at $100/session
- Consultations for $50/30 min
Contact Info:
- Website: https://in-tensiontraining.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roypalmer1/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560700619911
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@In-TensionTraining
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@roypalmer1016?lang=en
