Ron “Boss” Everline has been training clients for years, but he’s never experienced anything quite like the situation the coronavirus pandemic has put so many people in.
The fitness trainer and entrepreneur, who counts A-listers like Kevin Hart among his clients, has taken a foray into virtual training. It’s something he’s never done before, but it’s a method he now swears by to boost both physical and mental wellbeing.
“This wasn’t something that I was doing before, but I’ve fallen back in love with the idea,” Everline says. “I’ve been helping people for 15 years now, but this is giving me a new fire to be able to create even through this social distancing. But we’re not distanced, right? We’re closer than ever, we just can’t physically touch each other.”
He’s been posting plenty on his Instagram, @justtrain, and he’s also teamed up with Michelob Ultra for an installment of the brand’s Michelob Ultra Movement live workouts. He and a celebrity guest will run through a workout, then there’s a happy hour where guests can ask them questions.
Viewers are encouraged to add to a Virtual Tip Jar to support the trainers—or in Everline’s case, local gyms in his hometown of Houston. For each dollar donated, Michelob Ultra and partner Optimum Nutrition will match the donation up to $7,500 per week.
Ahead of his workout, which takes place at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 21, (catch it on Facebook here) we got his take on motivation, fitness in quarantine, and staying mentally healthy.
M&F: How have you changed your approach to social media to motivate people through this tough time?
In this situation, attention isn’t the currency. What I wanted to do is take this opportunity to give people value and give them real substance, not just look, look at me, look at me, look at me.
I wanted to give them creative workouts to do at home. It’s been, something that I think people really count on and need. Right now I think it’s really impacting people and I just have my duty. I just have a job to do and I’m not seeking attention, but to giving the currency of sweat equity that these people could really, really use and make themselves feel better mentally. And just giving them words of affirmation and positivity that we’ll get out of this.
How have you had to change up your training during the lockdown?
We’re virtual training like crazy, nonstop. We’re fortunate enough that everybody wants to continue to move and everybody wants to continue to take care of themselves right now. And I think it’s important to make sure that it’s not about the way you look, right? It’s about the way you feel.
That’s the really cool part about right now. I tell people all the time, we’re not putting in a new motor, we’re just tuning up your engine and making it better. People are motivated like never before and everybody has time on their hands a little bit more.
I mean, movement is movement, and I’m having fun doing this every day. I love lunges, you can never do too many pushups, and I make the best use of everything I have. I’m just having fun making it simple and being creative.
What would you say to people who are hesitant to try virtual training?
It’s accountability, right? So virtual training, whether you’re the client or the trainer, has you set a schedule for your workouts. You have someone holding you accountable to your program. With me and my clients, the only social distancing that we have is that physical touch.
It’s become really great, which is why Michelob I think is doing so much. Even though we can’t be in front of you right now, we’re going to use movement as the main focus, but then we’re going to tell you, look, you can enjoy it. You can sit back and enjoy it with balance, by having a beer.
What keeps you motivated?
I wake up every day knowing that I have the opportunity, and I found the most minimal things to stay motivated. I’m like, Oh man, today’s gonna be a great day. As a trainer, you have to be a motivator and be positive. I have my days, but the pandemic has not put me in a bad place mentally. I always just reassure myself that things will get better.
If you’re looking for this big motivation because you can’t look at the car, you can’t look at the house, you can’t look at the things you want—the shoes, the clothes—you’ve gotta be easily motivated because motivation is like bathing,. We need it every day.
How have you managed to create structure while stuck at home?
Me and my wife went down to my office and we wrote down daily tasks that we wanted to do to hold us accountable. Writing it down, actually seeing it is something that has really helped us out. The mental fitness aspect of keeping people active is important. It’s making sure you’re following through on your daily tasks, making sure you’re holding yourself accountable for the things you say, and you have to write it down.
Keeping people happy is important right now with everything going on, and you gotta do all these things every day to create some structure, just to be happy and to feel accomplished.
Any tips for people who aren’t sure where to start in their fitness journey?
Go for a walk. Right? So, you know, don’t complicate any movement. Move in the smallest way. You can go for a walk, you can do squats in the house, you can start to practice your pushups. Create a structure for your life—just don’t overcomplicate it.
You just gotta get up and if you’re just starting, just go for a walk or just try to run a little bit. If you rock it, then run a mile, but start somewhere. And look at people like me that are truly, truly ready to assist you, help you, and find you some good motivation to continue to course forward.
Mental fitness is super important. My motto is just train the mind and the body will follow. You can continue to lock on to Michelob ultra for their workouts and my workouts. We’re trying to create a lifestyle balance and your physical fitness will follow right up, because when you get your mind right you’ll want to be more motivated and want to be more active and those things just compound and work together.
On Michelob’s Movement Series
I work with so many different people, and we’re just looking to add more movement to people’s lives, but also an understanding of lifestyle balances. So that’s why it’s so exciting to partner with Michelob.
Then there’s the component of the gyms in this event. Every gym in the country has been struggling, and for a company like Michelob to see the importance of helping the small business guys— that touched me and I think it’s touching the rest of the world.
