Meet Micah Ross

Micah Ross came to Kissing Tree because of Rebecca Rounds, whom he first met when he hired her to work at Orange Theory Fitness many years ago. Years later, Rebecca called Micah when she needed another coach to work in the Kissing Tree Fitness Center. Today, they are still working together, with Rebecca as Executive Director of the Kissing Tree HOA and Micah as our Fitness Manager. We sat down with Micah to find out what he loves about our community and what’s coming up next for the Fitness Center.

KT: What do you do every day as Fitness Manager?

Micah: Good question! It changes every day. A lot of my time is spent managing the schedules: 4 employees, 20+ coaches, 70 classes add up. Probably 5 – 30 times a day residents come in with questions about training, health, or just general fitness (which is my favorite). I’m always looking for new equipment, classes, events, or modalities that we can add to the lineup. I spend some time every day reading research studies and figuring out how to apply it to this community. I also write the programming for a handful of our employees and our intern, so I spend a little time writing workouts and nutrition plans. Also, occasionally when a coach calls out I will sub a class.

KT: Wow, you stay busy! What classes are most popular?

Micah: They all are, really. We have 66 classes on schedule and people are asking for more. I’ve been in the fitness industry since 2016, and we have the highest quality instructors of anywhere I’ve worked.

KT: What do you wish people knew about the Fitness Center?

Micah: We try hard to make this an unintimidating place. If you haven’t participated in group fitness classes before or had a trainer, you might be scared, but everyone is here for you, from your fellow residents to the coaches to the fitness coordinator. We really want to reach out to people who aren’t in the fitness community.

KT: It seems like a really supportive environment.

Micah: It is! A lot of the residents show up because they are expected to show up by other residents. They all take the same class every Tuesday at nine, for example. Most times other residents will tell you if someone is going to miss. They’ve got such a strong community that if someone’s hurt or has surgery, everyone rallies around them. They help each other out — it’s a helpful and beneficial thing.

KT: What are you looking forward to for the Fitness Center?

Micah: We’re trying to make it a wellness hub. We’re trying to find new recovery tools to help for the long term. We’ve recently added some new classes. We’re looking for a Tai Chi instructor, and we just hired an instructor to teach a breathwork class with core work. We’ve also been bringing on other amenities, like Red Light Therapy and body composition therapy. We’re trying to get a sauna in. That’s something that a lot of people ask about.

KT: Oooh what is Red Light Therapy?

Micah: The Red Light Therapy and near infrared therapy have been really successful — people have enjoyed it. It’s nonintrusive and supports recovery and wellness. It’s been around forever, and they’ve done more research in the last 15 years. It’s really good for skin, some people buy masks or a shield to cover their head. It’s an FDA-approved treatment for hair loss. We offer a full body panel where you lay on a massage table; a 20 minute session is $15.

KT: That’s cool! What does the body composition therapy do?

Micah: That’s a really useful tool! A lot of places use inbody scanners — they use bioelectrical impedance to recognize body fat and muscle percentages. Many times, our personal trainers will do a scan on day 1 and then again 6 weeks later to measure progress. We have the SECA brand, which is a medical-grade model. It can get within 2% of an MRI on determining lean muscle mass and body fat percentage. It also gives you a really deep insight into your cellular health. It can tell where you’re holding water, which is a good indicator of inflammation. It lets you see what results you’re getting, which body weight alone doesn’t tell you. No one else between Austin and New Braunfels has the SECA machine!

KT: That’s amazing. It sounds like you have some really unique offerings.

Yes! We also offer cooking classes once a month! Laura and I teach the classes in one of the model homes or in a resident’s home. Every month has a different theme — we’ve done steak night, Mediterranean night, German night. It’s always healthy recipes. We say, if you’re going to eat healthy for every meal, it also needs to be delicious.

Thanks so much, Micah, for all of the information and for keeping our residents healthy. We’re lucky to have you on the team! If you want to join a community that values fun and fitness, find your home at Kissing Tree now. Remember, you can start using the amenities, including the Fitness Center, as soon as you sign your contract.