Looking at Luther and Kathy Freeman now, it’s difficult to picture them as anything other than the dynamic husband and wife duo behind the insanely popular 30 Day Transformation Team Program. These days, celebrities like Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union sing praises of their comprehensive training and nutrition plans, but their success hasn’t come without years of hard work and passion.
Luther, who was known as Mr. 30 Day Transformation for nearly a decade before meeting Kathy, grew up in Pensacola, FL, where being subjected to racism made growing up as a Black man difficult. He also watched as his father struggled with episodes of pain due to sickle cell anemia, but took note as he used nutrition and exercise to self-heal and to nearly double his life expectancy.
After watching his dad utilize diet and exercise to improve his own condition, Luther was inspired to study nutrition and health science in college and embark on a career as a trainer. By the time he kicked off his career, he’d already made it a point to learn how he could help people of all shapes and sizes reach their goals.
“I trained a lot of my classmates just for fun and so I could learn [to train] different body types. Then, I started doing it professionally once I turned 20,” he told M&F. He became known for being able to help virtually anyone reach their fitness goals.
Nine years later, once Kathy got involved, the 30 Day Transformation Team was born. And when Kathy made her own physique transformation, people took notice. She changed her approach to training and eating in 2015, and she’s now gone from 118 pounds to 170 pounds at 5-foot-3.
“When I met Luther, I was a little cardio bunny,” Kathy said. “I just loved cardio. I worked out, I did bootcamp classes. It was my thing—I loved it. I felt amazing … but I never experienced seeing my body transform.”
Their big break came when actors, celebrities, and athletes started shouting them out on social media, and now the power couple and business partners have created a veritable empire. They have close to 2 million Instagram followers between them, and the client transformations they share speak for themselves.
Now more than ever with the coronavirus pandemic changing the way most people live their daily lives, many are looking to get fit and make healthy lifestyle changes.
We tapped the dynamic duo for some tips on reaching goals, supporting your partner, some moves you can do together for a killer workout, and of course, how to help your own relationship survive Covid-19 quarantine.
These days, many have followed in the Freemans’ footsteps and built up training businesses on social media. Some are heavily filtered or aren’t programs their founders live by, but that’s not the case with the 30 Day Transformation Team.
One way they maintain the transparency they built their brand on is by sharing the progress their trainees have made.
“What made it so powerful was staying true to making it about people,” Luther says. “That was the commitment that I made to myself when I started out almost 15 years ago. Instead of making it about me, I made it about people. I would always post people. I would always post before and after pictures, and you never saw before and after pictures side by side 15 years ago.”
And while it’s not about them, both Luther and Kathy are proof that their methods hold water.
“We made the decision early on that we’re going to be very vulnerable, very honest, lead with that type of energy, and we’re going to show our process every step of the way,” Kathy says. “So something common that you see throughout the course of our program is us sharing our journey very candidly. So we’re always going through our transformation program ourselves.”
That includes following nutrition guidelines the same way people doing their program would. Kathy is a fan of meal prepping to keep things simple, and they each have a section of the refrigerator with their respective meals.
“It’s really crucial to seeing changes. When you eat with purpose, your body just gets it,” Kathy says. “If you have a goal in mind and you follow a plan that’s specific to what your goal is, you will literally see the changes week by week to your body.”
It’s great when your goals align with your partner’s, but in many relationships, fitness goals are one thing that will differ. In the Freemans’ case, Luther is 6’1″ man and Kathy is a 5’3″ woman. Their nutrition and training looks different, but they never stop supporting one another’s aspirations.
“We have two totally different goals, so from the beginning, we’ve practiced our own process while supporting one another,” Kathy says. “It’s very important to be respectful of your partner’s process, and something that I’ve learned over the years is how crucial it’s been for me to be an individual in this relationship.”
There are simple ways to be supportive of your partner—not keeping food around that may sabotage their meal plan or getting up early in solidarity with their goal to do so are two that Kathy notes.
Fostering a culture of staying committed to goals is another key to their success that any couple can imitate.
“When I commit to something, I honor my commitment, because if I can’t commit to my goals, then I’m showing I can’t commit to [my partner],” Luther explains. “It’s a representation of the person that I am. If you can’t commit to yourself, you can’t commit to anyone else. So it’s all about identity. This is who I am. And it’s showing Kathy, ‘this is who I am.’”
Open communication is another big component Kathy attributes to the pair’s consistent motivation.
“We communicate—over-communicate almost, on individual things we’re working on. And we invite the input of one another into that space,” Kathy says. “And that seems to kind of keep us both in sync with one another and able to support one another’s goals individually.”
It’s not always easy to get off the couch and get moving in the midst of a global pandemic, but consistency is key if you want to stay fit. If you reframe the situation, though, it could help you in the long run.
“Now we’re stuck in the house, but I believe that many of us have been stuck in our minds most of our lives,” Luther says. “We’re always latched to problems that keep us comfortable by giving us an excuse as to why we can’t do what we want. Quarantine can actually allow you to get unstuck in your mind, because you have no excuses. So what did you do with this time?”
And working on yourself can help your relationship, giving you some direction as an individual so you don’t drive your partner crazy. Then, you can both grow at your own pace, even in trying times.
“In order to not frustrate your partner, you have to show your partner that you’re still trying to grow and evolve as a person,” Luther says. “And you have the discipline to stay committed, to learning and discovering yourself every day.”
Another important aspect of a healthy relationship, quarantine or not, is making sure you have your own outlets for frustration or stress.
“Something I’m a firm believer in is that your partner cannot be everything to you. It’s not realistic,” Kathy says. “Your partner can’t be your lover, your counselor, your punching bag, and everything else. They can be many things and they are, but they’re a dynamic person, same as you are.
She stresses the importance of developing clear goals and outlets to express yourself or relieve stress outside of your relationship. If you utilize your partner as the failsafe for everything you’re feeling, particularly in a time like this, it’s only a matter of time before it gets overwhelming.
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Luther & Kathy Freeman
Luther and Kathy’s Partner Workout Moves
Here are some fun, challenging partner workout moves from the fit couple.
Luther and Kathy like to follow the rule of five. You move through five rounds of five exercises, doing each exercise as many times as you can in one minute.
Watch the video above for demonstrations of the following moves:
1) Stand Ups
2) Lean on me
3) Walkouts
4) Trust Me
5) Back me up
