Our Interview with Pound Fitness Instructor and Blogger Amanda Nyx

amanda nyx pound instructor

We’ve recently added Amanda Nyx as a WeightLiftingGloves.com ambassador and we are stoked to have her on board.  She runs a blog called, Adventures with Fit Nyx where she talks fitness, health and Weight Lifting!!  In this interview we talk to her about wearing weight lifting gloves and her experience learning and teaching Pound Fitness and awesome cardio based drum fitness class.

1)How did you get started in blogging, what made you start? My blog was born of a desire to “pay it forward” in some sense my personal fitness journey had been heavily influenced and inspired by the Chicago Running Bloggers group! Some of the writers had shared so many helpful tips, encouragements, and opportunities that had turned my life around; I thought starting my own blog would be a great way to pay tribute to the people who had inspired me, and in turn pass that inspiration on to the next person. Since then, I’ve found blogging to be a unique sort of challenge that continues to inspire me to try new things, live new adventures (hence Adventures with FitNyx), meet new people, and constantly keep moving forward on my journey.

Pound Fitness Class

A pound fitness class!

2)Tell some of our readers about POUND fitness who might not be familiar with it? How do you become an instructor? POUND is a rock music, drumset inspired workout that fuses cardio and bodyweight resistance into a full body workout. The best part about POUND is that anyone can do it! Every song and routine is easily modifiable to match your fitness level, whether you’re just starting your journey into fitness or you’re an Olympic champion everyone can step into a POUND class, grab a pair of Ripstix, and rockout their workout. My favorite part of participating in POUND alternates between the incredible music selections and, on those days when frustration is about to get the better of me, the ability to take out a tough day by POUNDing my Ripstix to the beat! And becoming an instructor is easy all you need is a passion for fitness, a love of music, and a quick trip to a POUND training camp, which are available all over the country and even overseas!

3)What are the biggest benefits you’ve seen in staying fit and healthy? What keeps you motivated?  Staying fit has given me a lot of benefits over the years, but some of the most notable ones are constantly increasing self confidence, a higher level of physical functionality (especially as I start to get older, eep!), and the ability to not only face challenges, but to meet them head on and, more often than not, crush those challenges into dust! I’ve gone through some phases of my life when fitness was not a priority, but I find that my entire life simply feels better , and definitely more positive, when I’m living a fitness oriented lifestyle which helps keep me going when immediate motivation is difficult to find or when I’m in between goals.

4)How do you protect your hands and wrists at the gym? If you use gym gloves or wrist wraps what kind do you use? I’ve been using Brick Built lifting gloves for a while now, and I love the change it has made in my lifting routines. My hands and my grip feel better on bars, free-weights, and other surfaces, which lets me get more into my workout and maximize my results. Now that I’m doing so much POUND in my group exercise schedule, I’m starting to use NewGrip wrist supports to keep the drumming motions from overtaxing my (admittedly weak) wrists until I can build up a little more endurance!

5)It looks like you are super active on Instagram, is that your social media platform of choice?  How does a social media community keep you motivated as a fitness blogger?? I LOVE Instagram. The world of fitness is VERY visual from muscle definition to body image, from proper exercise execution and form checks to motivation and inspiration, and everything in between, building a repository of imagery that helps you define your fitness lifestyle can be the difference between setting a goal and achieving it. My IG feed is full of inspirational lifters, runners, teachers, yogis, bloggers, nutritionists and every time I scroll through my feed, I know I’m going to find something that helps me augment my practices or shift my perspective for the better. It’s also another way to hold myself accountable. By holding my own posts to the same quality standard I look for when I’m adding to my feed, I challenge myself daily to tweak an exercise here or make a healthier meal there… Whatever it is I’m doing, I ask myself “is this the kind of lifestyle I want people to see me living?” If the answer is no, then chances are it’s not the kind of lifestyle *I* want to be living!