HOMEBODIES. The Fitness Program You Won’t Want To Miss

It’s 2021 and as per usual, we all make our list of New Year’s resolutions. No matter what it is, it gives us a sense of purpose and direction when embarking on a new chapter of our lives. For many, working out and staying healthy/fit is a big one so what better way to do so with the help of motivating couple and their program, HOMEBODIES? With gyms closed, you should not let that bring you down so with the help of Remi and Nate, you can turn your home into the ultimate workout zone. They spoke with us here at BELLO about their love for fitness, how they came together, and more! Enjoy and make sure to work it, work it!

By Alexandra Bonnet @alexbonnetwrites
@rrayyme and www.teamhomebodies.com

What started your HOMEBODIES program? 

REMI: Believe it or not, HōmeBodies didn’t start as HōmeBodies. The day the governor shut down gyms in California, Nate and I decided to hop on Instagram and share our workouts. We weren’t the only ones who lost access to the gym, and we figured if we were going to find a new routine during this crazy time, we’re going to share it.

Since that day in March, we showed up Monday through Sunday at 9:00 AM without fail — rain or shine on IG LIVE. The workouts were free so all you had to do was get dressed and show up to your mat at the same time daily. Before we knew it, thousands of people all over the world were doing our workouts and sweating with us daily.

It was truly the highlight of our day and the connection and community we created together called Pancake Fam was the best thing that came out of quarantine.

For those first three months on IG LIVE, we only did bodyweight workouts so no one can make any excuses. Then, HōmeBodies was born. We wanted to continue bringing everyone the best possible experience while beginning to incorporate dumbbell movements.

I think what stands out about the program is the realization that our bodies are meant to move every day. Cavemen didn’t just sit in their cave on the weekends and not hunt for food. With the right programming structured to NOT blow your muscles up so you CAN show up every day, we teach you that daily movement IS sustainable, fun, and most of all when you focus on your performance, you WILL see results.

In other words, we made it through quarantine, learned a lot, and realized that not only is this something WE love to share with you, but our community loved being a part of, too!

Now, HōmeBodies is a lifestyle and community for anyone who wants to incorporate fitness into their life for the long run, for their health, and happiness.

Share with us the journey you have had from start until now with creating it. 

REMI: At the start of the lockdowns and the day the governor shut gyms down – Nate and I had prepared a workout for us to do that morning. Instead of doing it on our own, I took a poll on my Instagram stories asking everyone if they would be interested in us doing a LIVE workout instead. We got an overwhelming response of YES’S – so we set the time to 9am PST and hopped on. The rest is history. The Live was SOO much fun, we had sweat dripping down our faces, we were connecting with people from all over the world and decided we wanted to show up every day from that day on. We wanted to make it easy on people to fit our workouts into their schedule- so we stuck to the 9am PT time Monday through Sunday. We also didn’t both with using ANY equipment- all you needed was yourself and a mat. Whether you showed up or not, we were on LIVE doing a workout every day. Quickly people started hopping on the same routine as us, rolled out of bed, got dressed and showed up to their mat to workout with us. It became such a tight knit family we called Pancake Fam- because we would end every stretch in a pancake stretch. Our workouts were interactive and had fun names we became known for like “Punk Pilates” “54 Card Pick up” “Tabata Burn” “ Bootcamp” “Lucky 7’s Sweat” and “Flexy”. We created schedules for everyone at the beginning of the week to hold them accountable to complete the 7 workouts for the week. It was amazing how many thousands of people we were reaching and how we all found a sense of normalcy together during the pandemic. It got us all closer and we have a very special bond! Also, if you couldn’t make the live, we uploaded the video to my IGTV so you could access the 1-hour free workout at any time to catch up with us.

Instagram LIVE started giving us problems though! We were getting flagged for the music we were using during our lives and they shut our lives down often towards the end. Because of that we couldn’t’ save the workouts to IGTV and at this point we decided we needed to move platforms and create a better well rounded experience for our Pancake Fam with an element of COMMUNITY that our IG LIVES didn’t offer.

That’s how HomeBodies was born and our community was there every step of the way- they even helped us come up with the name (which we love!)

Just like it was in the lives, we film a 1 hour follow along video every single day and upload it- we are raw, candid and far from staged. We want our community to feel like they are right there with us sweating together in their living room. We wanted to continue fostering the connection and bond that we built during a difficult time. We start together and finish together. It’s one of our mottos.

What does this program mean to each of you? What do you have your audience will get from it?

NATE: Adapting and overcoming something together is an act that I believe builds a pretty special bond. This program was rolled out by accident. It is literally just the product of showing up and moving our bodies together for an hour every single day. It didn’t matter what your background or fitness level was, we just wanted to inspire movement and build a kick ass community during an uncertain time. We started where we were. We did what we could, with what we had- (knock of quote from Arthur Ashe) … We realized that the worst thing you can do during uncertain times- is focus too much on things that are out of your control. So that hour we all spent getting after it together served as a sort of solitude. I personally believe that fitness is so much more than just “working out.” The very act of spending some purposeful time executing the art of moving your body will make you feel a whole lot better mentally and physically. I would argue it’s the most powerful tool at your disposal to deal with uncertain times. I strive to provide a well-rounded approach to fitness that facilitates better performance for the other 23 hours of the day- because that’s what matters most.

REMI: To me, this program means getting through tough times together and coming out of it, better. It’s all about making do with what we have and showing up daily as a commitment to your own health.

Tell us more about the role fitness has played in your lives.

NATE: My fitness journey has been an absolute roller coaster fueled primarily by trial and error. The only thing that has been consistent is that not one single thing has come easy. I have failed, had gigantic setbacks, near-fatal injuries, lost everything, and gotten last place more times than I can count. But I’ve learned a lot in the process.

It wasn’t until I was on my second deployment in Afghanistan that I realized the utmost importance of being physically fit. Being bigger, faster, stronger, harder to kill is all that mattered — it’s what let you stay alive.

Physical fitness became a way of life and a means of survival. I learned very quickly that abs and beach body goals are insignificant — having the ability to get out of life or death situations by utilizing my body in an efficient manner proved to be a little bit more important than looking good.

After my active duty ended in the Marines, I struggled with finding a sense of purpose. I found a disciplined and regimented structure as a CrossFit competitor that really contributed to my coaching style all around. From 2016-2019, I won a functional fitness world championship, made over 20 podium finishes in the competitive CrossFit circuit, and qualified individually for the CrossFit games West Regional, finishing 160th in the world and 35th fittest individual male in the West region.

From 2015-2019, on a professional level, I trained, programmed, and created nutrition templates for people from all backgrounds— from bikini competitors to collegiate athletes to fighters. I held gymnastics, and nutrition seminars and ran women’s self-defense programs at corporations such as Google.

The broad spectrum of fitness studios and gyms that LA has to offer provided me the opportunity to coach and learn such a wide array of functional fitness. In any given day I could be found coaching anything from Crossfit or weightlifting classes; Instructing boxing and HIITX, I even ran booty blast and TRX classes in a yoga studio.

A near-fatal motorcycle wreck in 2017 pulverized what I thought was the absolute fittest version of myself. I walked away with a concussion, two fractured fingers, a fractured thumb, a broken wrist, a ruptured testicle, a hip/pelvis dislocation, and a torn/strained glute and groin. This incident served as a pivotal point in my fitness journey in more ways than one.

It forced me to start all over again and rebuild everything from the ground up. I did not go to physical therapy or anything — in fact, I bought another motorcycle two days after the wreck and was riding with a brace on my hand because I needed to work, and I couldn’t afford to stay home in bed. I spent the next four-five months doing my own physical therapy on my hip and groin — building myself up stronger than I had been before and learning so much in the process.

The experience also shifted my mindset and gave rise to an “I get to” mentality. “I get to move my body every day” became a huge driving factor behind a lot of success both athletically and professionally.

After rebounding from my injuries, I was able to qualify for the CrossFit games West Regional. After an intense and un-guided eight weeks of competition preparation, I was the only athlete to show up for the competition without a coach. I had just enough money to ride the train to the Del Mar fairgrounds, where I slept in the athlete tents for the weekend. My goal when I started with training was to qualify for this competition and compete against the top athletes in the world. I’ve not touched a heavy barbell since.

All in all- I have learned alot from my successes and defeats as an athlete and a coach. Now, I try to use my diverse training methodologies, and experiences to motivate and inspire others to reach their full potential in their own personal health and fitness journeys. Not just so that they can lead a better life now, but for years and decades to come. It’s why I harp on longevity and sustainability so much. What you do today to improve your fitness and what you do this month for your nutrition can either be of short-term benefit or long-term health success. I am in it for the long game.

REMI: Fitness is my happy drug! Plain and simple, it’s the same reason I drink matcha every day or skate with the dogs- they all give me happiness and more energy!

Remi, what inspired you to create your blog? If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice what would it be?

It all started while I was sitting in night school getting my associates degree in interior design and architecture. I was tired from a long day of work 9-5 and I was just daydreaming about the pretty breakfast bowls I’ve been seeing online. This was at a time when aesthetically pleasing bowl Instagram accounts were few and far in between. I decided to leave class early to make it to Wholefoods before it closed at 10 pm. This was the first time I heard of hemp seeds, chia seeds, spirulina etc. and I wanted to know what the fuss was all about.

I went to sleep and jumped out of bed the next morning to make my first ever yogurt parfait with all the new superfoods that I got. It was like an experiment for me and a chance to funnel my creativity to make them delicious and colorful. The best part of creating one new recipe every day for 2 years straight was the snowball effect it had on me to make healthier choices throughout the day. I started a new workout program, i had more energy than i ever had and i was feeling the most confident i’ve ever been! Blogging was a foreign concept to me and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would turn into a career. It all happened the moment I prioritized myself.

If I could go back in time and give myself some advice it would be “don’t be discouraged if things don’t work out like you had planned, there’s something better in store for you”

Hearing this would have helped me through the ups and downs of my career- being demoted, bullied, pushed out, unemployed- it all had to happen for me to find this path.

Nate, why did you decide to get the right education/certification for working out?

To be honest with you, i have handfuls of certifications that are as good as useless in terms of applying those techniques or methods to my training style- simply because i don’t believe in them…That being said- I’ve always had an odd way of learning things, and never really fit the standard in the ‘fitno-industrial complex.’ Trial and error, and exploring more outside the box movement is what interests me the most.

After a month of anatomy and physiology class, I had finished my textbooks and found Google to be far more informative and time-efficient than going to four-hour lectures. So, I quit showing up to school and instead started working and getting hands-on experience with training people.

Right away I wanted to be learning new components to put into my own toolbox. So, I would frequently sign up for random fitness classes around LA— anything from Pilates, and yoga to rowing studios or versa-climber gyms, and I even joined a swimming club-which wound up being a bunch of elementary school children.

Not only did all of these practices make me more versatile as an athlete, but they allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of fitness in more areas. From the moment that I would step into any of these fitness settings, I would be a sponge- soaking up different coaching cues, techniques, programming, coaching styles, flows, and stretches. All of this information I gathered from these different fitness professionals of various backgrounds allowed me to build a pretty extensive fitness database. I thoroughly believe that my decision to take a more unorthodox approach to fitness is what makes us a little different.

What do each of you bring to the table? How do you find the right balance?

NATE: I am very regimented and disciplined. I come off a little intense and in your face. I’ve got a no bullshit way around everything I do, and I don’t sugar coat things. I have never been one to tell people what they want to hear.

I care about the people I work with and I am dedicated to helping them reach their fitness goals. That doesn’t always come through smiles and telling you what you want to hear. It’s going to come through hard work, grit, and a lot of sacrifice. I seek to provoke individuals in order to tap their fullest potential.

I may be tough, but I’m passionate about what I do and I’m dedicated to helping others reach goals that they didn’t think possible.

… and well, Remi is happy go lucky and carefree, she takes that edge off of me by making me smile and showing who I really am. She brings a lighthearted and goofy energy into our workouts everyday…We are like the perfect balance- yin and yang. By taking the best pieces of both of our personalities and practices- and blending them together, we bring out a fun way to enjoy health and fitness in a sustainable way.

Growing up, what were some outlets you each used when you needed a “break” from life?

NATE: I grew up in the backwoods river bottoms of Illinois. So, I managed to stay pretty disconnected from normal life by taking care of animals, roaming the woods, hunting and fishing etc.

REMI: I was an only child so I had to get creative with how I played- my favorite was rollerblading down to the closest plaza, getting ice cream, and visiting the pet shop hahah

Share with us your story of how you met. What do you believe makes you stronger as a couple?

NATE: We actually met through Simba. At the time I had been rescuing and boarding/training dogs out of my loft in LA. I had a partner at the time who had been working with Remi and Simba. Remi had a trip and my partner put her in contact with me to board Simba for the weekend. Funny side- her initial first impression of me was that she thought I was a drug addict. I had just had a fight the day or two prior, and I wasn’t exactly sleeping so well at the time. Partially due to the fact that i had like 7 large dogs in my loft at that time i believe. Needless to say- my scuffed up face and bloodshot eyes didn’t provide the best initial meeting, but she let me hang out with Simba. I really loved Simba, and my dog Juno hit it off with him too. When Remi came back to pick him up after a few days, we kept casually talking. I had sent her a video of me skating Simba, and so she decided to go out and buy a pair of roller skates and sent me a video of her skating with Simba…I had mentioned that if she ever wanted to- we could take the dogs out for a hike together. I didn’t actually think that she would take me up on the offer, and i certainly didn’t think that there was any way in hell that she would be interested in me. Turns out, I was wrong about both.

REMI: I think what makes us different as a couple is how opposite we are and how different our upbringings were but at the same time we need each other to balance. I am his light and he is my rock.

Plans for 2021?

Personally, we are itching to travel somewhere warm and sunny! So hopefully we will get the opportunity next year Professionally, to impact more people’s lives for the better and have fun while we’re at it!