Bezzia has had the opportunity to interview Patry Jordán, one y most influential of the online training with his Virtual Gym channel.
Although today we will focus on her role as a coach, it should be noted that the Patry Jordán route is not limited solely to sport. Su tour has other channels on Youtube -some in English-, several published books and even its own jewelry and accessories store.
Since she was little, Patry has lived surrounded by an environment completely linked to sports. At the age of eighteen he began working in a gym. Since then, With a lot of effort, and thanks to technology, he has been working his way to the top of the online training.
Bezzia – You come from a family completely linked to sports. Were you always clear that you would also take the same path?
Patry Jordan - I have always thought that I would like to dedicate myself to one of my passions and be able to make a living from it. And sport has been and is one of my main passions.
B - Your Gym Virtual YouTube channel has been running for 9 years now. You were one of the pioneers in the online training Here in Spain. How did you get the idea?
P - I love sports and since I was little I have dedicated myself to it. It had always been clear to me that I wanted to open a virtual gym, so I started with YouTube without having any means or knowledge of the platform or technologies.
B - Only in the Gym Virtual channel you have almost ten million followers, they are very many! Did you ever think I'd go this far?
PJ - The truth is that I never considered it. I feel very proud to be able to help so many thousands of people and to be able to bring sport to their homes.
B - During the confinement there has been an exponential growth of views. What does Gym Virtual offer that other channels do not?
PJ - I have been going up routines every week for about 8-9 years without stopping. A content of more than 900 videos has been generated on YouTube, and all of them have good image and sound quality. I think I give them a lot of facilities and they find the content they are looking for easily. I try to create dynamic content and make them take the commitment by approaching everything as a "game", with the training calendars, challenges, etc. It's a way to stay motivated!
B - What are the exercises that your followers demand the most? Are shorter or longer routines more successful?
PJ - The girls ask me for more routines for the lower part and the boys for the upper part. Normally the ones that are most liked are those that are long and complete sessions, although the short ones also use them a lot because they are included in the free monthly training calendar.
B - On your website you offer the 12-week nutrition, training or mixed programs. What is the most requested?
PJ - All are very well accepted, but people bet on the whole. PGV12 is very well structured and is a diet and training guide for you to achieve your goal. In the end it is raised in parallel because the secret is to combine a good diet with physical exercise.
We believe that training, but nutrition has a very important aspect. We can already do a lot of exercise that if we eat badly our health will not be good. You have to find a balance between eating healthy and exercising, all as a built-in lifestyle.
B -And speaking of nutrition, we know that you are vegetarian. When and why did you choose this option? What benefits has it brought you?
PJ - I have been a vegetarian for many years now. It is not a decision that I made deliberately, and I did it little by little, without realizing it because I did not feel comfortable eating it. If I could be vegan it would be, but because of my style and pace of life it is very difficult.
B - During the last years, the sport has taken hold quite a bit. The proof is in the increase your number of subscribers in the Virtual Gym channel. It seems that little by little we are acquiring healthier habits. Even so, there are many people who, due to various factors, lead a very sedentary life. What recommendations could you make to those who do not have time to practice sports?
PJ - That there are no excuses that are worth. We all have even 30 minutes to exercise. And if that day we are more tight on time, we can always do a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) that does not take you more than 10 minutes. In the end, it is to take the commitment and agree with yourself those little moments that you are going to dedicate to the sport, and above all not to be more than 2 days without exercising. You have to find a way to make it easy and sustainable.
B - And a recommendation for those who want to start, but have no background ...
PJ - We have the beginner calendar that is special for people who want to start, but don't dare. With 28 days they will get “ready” to start making the monthly calendar.
B - Many people believe that your job consists solely of facing the camera and giving the class, but we know that it is not like that. Tell us really what's behind the scenes. How much work does it take to record an episode of Virtual Gym?
PJ - Between preparing, recording and editing you can spend about 3-4 hours per video. But apart from this there is generating content for the web and social networks, training calendars, challenges ... there is a lot of work!
B - Something that differentiates you from many coaches is that you offer live content. How do you feel doing when you do these live?
PJ - At first I felt a bit of pressure because it was something new for me and you always depend on technology and you worry about everything going well. But every time I have been feeling more comfortable and I enjoy them a lot. It's like I'm really teaching a class, I feel like they're there with me.
B - Your motto is "I can handle everything", although sometimes it is difficult for us to believe it, we need a little push. What would you say to those people who no longer start out of fear of failure?
PJ - That there is no need to be afraid. Or yes, a little fear is always good, but you don't have to wait until you're not afraid to get started. You have to do it despite being afraid. And if we fall, we get up and we learn. In the end life is trial and error. Nobody is born learned!
B - You reach a lot of people, if you could transmit a message to your followers, what would it be?
PJ - That they accept and love each other because they are the people with whom they will live all their lives.
Patry, we thank you very much for giving us your time. From Bezzia We hope that this interview helps our readers learn a little more about your work.
You will find more information about his work on the website of www.gymvirtual.com and on his YouTube channel GymVirtual.