Tucked behind the Bryn Mawr post office at the end of an inauspicious driveway is a squat building that looks like a converted garage. Starting at 5:30 a.m. daily, its doors open to a steady stream of the BodyX converted. This is the longtime dream of Killian Riggs and John Daley, the two popular fitness pros who bought BodyX this past March. Riggs is a certified personal trainer and sports massage therapist. Daley is a veteran of Bryn Mawr’s Focus Fitness Main Line.
They’ve stocked their gym with assault bikes, ski and rowing ergs, and a variety of cross-training equipment used for high-intensity strength and conditioning cardio classes that target various parts of the body, great for weight loss or increased athletic performance.
MLT: What are some common fitness mistakes?
KR: Overtraining is a problem. Many people do Solidcore, barre and spin in one week and then say their shoulders hurt. That’s because they went to five classes that all did heavy shoulders.
MLT: What about strength training?
KR: It’s not about building bulk. Muscles burn fat and stabilize the body, which prevents injury. Rest days are also important. Active recovery can actually improve your performance.
MLT: How important is diet?
JD: I would use the word nutrition, and it’s very important. That said, don’t get stuck on one diet, like keto or macros. If you’re so strict about something—unless it’s for a goal like a wedding—you can’t maintain it.
MLT: What should BodyX clients be eating?
JD: We aren’t nutritionists, but the basic advice is to eat fresh, whole foods. Eat from the ground—not from boxes and bags.
MLT: What’s your fitness regimen?
JD: We go to sleep at 8:30 p.m. and wake up at 4:15 a.m. to be at our gym by 4:45 a.m. for our 5:30 class. Every week, we run 15 miles. We do the strength-training workouts that we create for our clients. All of that sounds strict, but I wouldn’t call it a regimen—I’d call it a lifestyle.
Congratulations to BodyX’s Killian Riggs and John Daley for winning our 2019 Critics’ Choice Best Personal Training award! You can read about the rest of this year’s winners in our Best of the Main Line and Western Suburbs 2019 feature.
