Get On Our Turf

There's a section of the gym you might not have spent much time on yet. If you were here before the remodel, you'll remember the space was... different. Now it's a land of royal blue turf that's been purpose-built for the kind of training that doesn't belong on a concrete floor or crammed between cable machines. 

We're talking sled work. Loaded carries. Plyometrics. Speed drills. The exercises that build the kind of strength you actually use — picking things up, carrying them somewhere, moving fast when you need to, and not falling apart in the process.

Trainer Coltin has been running clients through turf drills since the section opened, and he had some thoughts on what people should be doing out there. Here are some free exercise tips to get the most out of the space:

Push / Pull the Sled

Sled pushes are one of those exercises that look simple and then rearrange your entire understanding of cardiovascular fitness within about 30 seconds. You load it up, you drive it across the turf, and every major muscle group from your calves to your shoulders gets involved. 

Sled work builds leg drive, core bracing, and conditioning simultaneously, with less muscle soreness than most other exercises that require the same effort. A 2024 study on older adults found that progressive sled pushing was both safe and viable across fitness levels, and great for cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Then flip it around and pull. Rope pulling the sled back works your posterior chain — back, lats, biceps, grip — in a way that complements the push perfectly. Two directions, full body, one piece of equipment.

Farmer's Carry

If you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life, loaded carries would be a solid choice. Farmer's carries hit grip, core, shoulders, traps, and legs — all while forcing you to stabilize and walk in a straight line under load. 

As we've brought up before, grip strength is now considered a biomarker for overall health. The landmark PURE study — 140,000 people across 17 countries — found that grip strength was a stronger predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality than blood pressure. Every 5 kg drop in grip strength correlated with a 16% increase in mortality risk. Another review confirmed the pattern: higher grip strength is associated with a 28% reduction in mortality risk.

Picking up heavy things and walking with them isn't just a workout. It's longevity training that your body recognizes as useful because it is useful — carrying groceries, moving furniture, picking up your kid. The hex bar makes loading heavier weight more accessible or sandbags are a great way to add weight while challenging your stability.

Squats n Skates

This is where the turf really earns its keep. Explosive single-leg work — plyometric split squats, lateral speed skaters — involves impact. Landing hard on concrete or thin rubber flooring sends force straight through your joints. The turf section gives you a surface with some give, which absorbs some of that impact and makes it a better environment for the kind of training that builds power, balance, and athleticism.

Bulgarian split squat jumps train what exercise scientists call triple extension — your hips, knees, and ankles all firing simultaneously, which is the fundamental movement pattern behind sprinting, jumping, and pretty much every athletic thing your body does. Doing it one leg at a time exposes and corrects imbalances that two legged squats let you hide.

Speed skaters build lateral power and stability — the ability to move and decelerate side to side, which is how most non-contact injuries actually happen. If your training only moves you forward and backward, you're leaving a gap.

Soften Up

Kneeling exercises. Plank pose. Any drill where you're spending time on the ground or absorbing repeated impact, this space is great for that. Just make sure you're leaving room for other people who want to share the space.

Yes, Coach

If you're not sure where to start, Coltin and Sean both regularly train clients on the turf and can build a program tailored to your goals. Whether you're training for a sport, trying to stay functional as you age, or just want to do something that doesn't involve sitting on a machine, touch grass, even if it's blue.

Always sharing our best kept secrets with you,
Your West Coast Fitness Family

P.S. Pro Tip: picture you're in a football movie workout montage scene to really amp up your gains.