J Bodyworks — Local services in San Francisco

The purpose of this review is to say that Audra is an amazing person who delivers an amazing sports massage. Separate review coming up soon for Corey, Fiona, and Julian.

If you are strength training, and are experiencing soreness, tightness, or muscular discomfort of any kind, please do yourself a favor and reach out to her. You will not find better.

More details and context follow for anyone who might find themselves in the same place I did a year + ago when I started working with Audra.

I hurt myself in a snowboarding accident on Christmas 2014. I didn’t realize that my rightmost lower floating rib had come a little loose, and x-ray convinced me it wasn’t broken, so I was to walk it off, and believed them.

Grad school and then starting work took up most of my time 2015-2017. At first I thought that being sedentary or getting old or both were causing the stiffness. By early 2018 I was barely crawling along and didn’t know where to start seeking help.

In late 2020, I found a chiropractor who wrung my musculoskeletal system out and lined me back up, but that kept falling apart.

Chiropractor referred me to Corey from J Bodyworks, who helped me start building my strength back up.

As my strength came back, the pain I lived with for so long started to recede, but I started experiencing a new type of pain: the type you experience when you’re strength training for the first time, and trying to build yourself back up.

And that’s when Corey referred me to Audra. I don’t know where I would be now without her help. I never thought that strength training would lead to the kinds of muscle tension that required a sports massage, and wouldn’t have known what to do other than live with the pain and continue to believe that the damage was permanent.

Worth mentioning. The only reason I’m even writing this review is because Audra helped me recover to the point that sitting at a computer isn’t torture anymore 😊 if it didn’t work, I wouldn’t be able to write this review 🙃

To summarize: if you are strength training, and are experiencing soreness, tightness, or muscular discomfort of any kind, please do yourself a favor and reach out to Audra. You will walk away moving and feeling...

Almost 10 months in and the results speak for themselves. I always wanted a trainer that approaches my training scientifically. Enter Julian! An extremely thoughtful, knowledgable and FUNNY trainer I've ever met. When I joined I had severe lateral and anterior pelvic tilt. Julian and I kept figuring out what works for my body together. He explains his approach, so this process is very transparent. We've explored all the avenues from the vestibular system exercises, nerve glides, different openers to functional training of muscles that need to engage. Before I joined J bodyworks I didn't know how to read my body well, Julian has taught me that thanks to a very intuitive language he uses ("feel that zing?").

Speaking of reading my body, Audra has helped me in this department too. She's a bodyworks therapist at J Bodyworks. Audra is a very kind person with a very positive energy and aura. She uses Hendrickson technique which is a therapy for optimum function, rather than just symptomatic relief. Have you ever seen any massage therapist get into your psoas? I've had many deep tissue massages in my life, but her technique is effective and unique. My personal favorite is her neck massage. Her work with SCM is unique too.

If you have a trainer and bodyworks therapist, they work together and that's really powerful. Apart from all the science stuff, this gym is full of amazing people and filled with good energy. I've briefly worked with KJ when Julian was outta town and that was a great experience. So there are always other trainers who fill in for your trainer in case they aren't available to make sure you stay on track. Jae, Laura, Corey are all great! Love...

When I was younger I was fairly athletic and it was relatively easy to get into shape, which of course I took for granted. After 10 years of working desk jobs and totally ignoring what was happening to my posture, weight, and strength, I decided I didn’t want to continue down that path anymore. I also knew it would be a huge challenge for me to switch-up my habits and routine.

I tried a few of the popular bootcamps and expensive gyms, but I always created excuses not to go, and wasted a lot of money along the way.

All of that changed when I started doing 1-1 sessions with Nan at J Bodyworks almost a year ago. I had a positive feeling regarding the gym's philosophy from their website, but I really got hooked after my first introductory session.

I felt ‘heard’ when we discussed my fitness goals, and she very astutely assessed my physical state, performing a series of strength tests I had previously only seen in a physical therapists’ office. In just one session, I felt she really understood my body and had figured out a strategy to get me to where I wanted to be. I expected a personal trainer to be knowledgeable about human physiology and muscle dynamics but what really impressed me was how she also integrated psychology and neurology in her approach to fitness. I feel like I learn something new about myself every session!

Although I know I’m at the point where I can work-out on my own without a trainer, I continue to do sessions with Nan because every workout is fun, unique, and most importantly, tailored to me, no matter what kind of state...