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Former MLB player turns fitness passion into F45 franchise ownership

"This is exactly how I train and it’s scientifically, one of the best ways to train for longevity, for energy, for health.”

TAMPA, Fla. — Baseball is a longtime passion for Matt Joyce. He started playing as a young kid and eventually made it to the major league, spending part of his career right here at home with the Tampa Bay Rays. 

“I’ve worked with some of the best trainers over the years, you learn a lot,” Joyce says. You don’t make it to the big leagues without dedication to health and fitness, so naturally, when he was ready to retire the bat, Joyce wasn’t totally giving up the game or his routines. 

“I wanted to do my own thing and so I started collecting equipment, I would go to the beach and I would have my friends come work out with me.”

Joyce decided to take that passion for fitness and find another avenue to hit a home run, in business. 

“There wasn’t any other F45 in some of the best markets and so we went up and took a class in Land O’ Lakes and loved it. I was like, this is what I pay trainers a lot of money to do. This is exactly how I train and it’s scientifically, one of the best ways to train for longevity, for energy, for health.” 

F45 Training is 45 minutes of functional training. 

“They’re all low impact, functional movements, just at a higher intensity,” Joyce explains. He and his business partner now have six locations around Tampa Bay. The classes are group focused and interactive, for all fitness levels. 

“You have the TVs on the front of the class, they’ll show you what movement you’re going to do at each station, you have trainers, typically one or two trainers in the class,” Joyce said. Bring a friend, or find a little friendly competition in the class, “you kinda like push each other a little bit,” he says.

Classes rotate from speed, agility and cardio to strength training or a hybrid of both. For more information, visit https://f45training.com/sparkmantampa/home or look for a location near you.

Watch 10 Tampa Bay's exclusive, extended interview with Joyce below.

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