Fort Worth, Texas (November 2021) — Body Machine Fitness (BMF) is a nightclub-inspired fitness experience that uses neuroscience and immersion to create an experience that is exhilarating and addictive. The innovative concept is a 45-minute, instructor-led, High-Intensity Interval Training (“HIIT”) workout utilizing alternating rounds of cardio and strength-training intervals in an immersive experience. BMF has truly changed the way we’ve ever thought about fitness by developing a new market category, a first-of-its-kind entertainment fitness brand that has overcome the barriers to working out by creating an experience that is appealing to virtually all ages, genders and fitness levels. BMF recently opened its newest location in Left Bank Fort Worth this November 2021 and won The Dallas Morning News Best in DFW Gold Winner title for both categories - best workout center AND best fitness center in 2021.

“The most common word people use to describe the experience is addictive. There is a reason for this. Your brain has different types of brainwaves, like alpha or beta, and these states shift depending on what you’re thinking, feeling or doing. We leverage this science by using a choreographed sound and light show, in rhythm with group movement, to stimulate neural entrainment or brainwave synchronization,” says Jeremy Soder, visionary BMF CEO and co-founder. “In other words, think of a nightclub where everyone is swaying and dancing to the beat. Everyone is locked into a collective nervous system.”

This sensory-rich environment excites the nervous system, thereby activating the reward and pleasure centers of the brain. In these excited states, the brain releases the feel-good, trust-building neurochemicals: dopamine, endorphins, serotonin and oxytocin.

“Think of those moments when you experience something beautiful, profound or artistic and get chill bumps down your spine. We studied this phenomenon and then created a controllable environment so we could trigger this on command,” he adds.

By activating these neural pathways in the brain, BMF has found a way to hack the brain into associating working out with pleasure and reward, instead of the negative aspects of working out.

“The masses just aren’t that motivated to workout, and it makes perfect sense. It’s not fun. It’s boring, intimidating for many, and inherently uncomfortable,” says Margaux Phoenix, CMO and co-founder. “Plus, most don’t have enough knowledge to develop an effective program. Gamification only goes so far, and then the mind is bored. We wanted to create something unique that could tap into the psyche on a deeper level and activate more of the masses that would otherwise never find the motivation to workout.”

In order to achieve this level of choreography, BMF is the only fitness studio in the world employing an in-house, full-time music producer and lighting designer.

“Music is the biggest performance enhancer, by far … better than any drug, and the lighting system just kicks that into another dimension,” says Eric Davis (aka Tog Bomb), BMF’s resident producer. “I study each workout, minute-by-minute, and create stories around these moments that unfold and drop at just the right time to create an intense emotional response. It’s a meticulous process, but totally worth it in the end when I see nirvana on people’s faces during a workout.”

Tog’s shows are “electrifying” and “hard-hitting,” featuring the world’s biggest artists — perfectly synchronized with the light show to match the workout. No workout is ever the same, so members are in a constant state of surprise with high engagement. The workouts are challenging — but scalable to every fitness level, and modifications are offered for every exercise.

Perhaps even more important are the theatrically trained instructors that lead the group workouts. Think of them as equal parts personal trainer, self-motivational speaker and conductor of the show. They are rockstars and the heartbeat of the brand.

“The sound and light show is so over-the-top big that our trainers need to be even bigger, and that level of perfection requires a huge investment of time and coaching,” says Jennifer Beyer, BMF’s Performance Coach. “I believe we have some of the best trainers in the world. The BMF stage certainly helps, but they are trained in ways you won’t find in any big-box or boutique gym. We really invest heavily in our people because they are the heart of the experience.”

The exercise room is divided into two halves — a stadium-style treadmill studio and a strength-training area featuring a suspension training system, basically an adult playground called a Queenax, the largest installation in the world. Up to 66 people can workout simultaneously — half on the treadmills and half on the floor. Members can see everyone and everything in the room from every vantage point. The workout is broken into rounds, and members swap places multiple times during the 45-minute workout. The treadmills are arranged in three ascending rows, similar to bleachers in a stadium. This approach is the first-of-its-kind in the world, which creates a unique optical and psychological sensation.

“At the heart of the experience is a custom-built technology, audio and lighting platform designed by multiple companies, including a current Disney automation engineer, working together in harmony. Gordon Lights, an Addison, Texas-based theatrical automation company, has taken the lead role in designing this radical system consisting of nearly 1,200 LED tube lights installed in a symmetrical array,-like TV pixels on the ceiling, as well as six 360° moving lights. Also involved in the project is Tagit Pro, a DFW-based audio company owned by Tim Gamble that specializes in large specialty venues like NASCAR and sporting events, as well as concerts where he has worked with some of the top bands in the country.

BMF features a number of high-end offerings, such as infrared saunas that use red-light chromo-therapy, spalike amenities and a state-of-the-art 3-D body scanner that renders three-dimensional models for tracking gains or losses in body fat or muscle mass. Additionally, members can log onto the Body Machine Fitness app prior to class to reserve their spots and choose their starting points on either the treadmills or strength-training stations. Several double-floor options are available for members who prefer to spend the 45-minute class on weight training instead of doing cardio intervals.

BMF Fort Worth studio recently opened its doors to the public in November 2021. The studio is located at 2300 W. 7th Street, Suite 100, Fort Worth, TX 76107.