Kaitlyn and Ethan Brown of B3PT (photos by Bruce Snyder)
Fitness clubs usually see an attendance spike in January as people try to burn off extra holiday pounds. They attack the weights and machines with vigor, but they sometimes overdo it.
Injuries are common. Many wannabe fitness buffs suffer aches and pains around their joints, bones and muscles.
Starting in February, though, The J will offer a way for people to get fit on the outside and inside, as the husband-wife team of Kaitlyn and Ethan Brown begin a new program here that combines fitness and health. They call it B3PT (Bodies by Brown Physical Therapy).
“There are a lot of good physical therapists, good nutritional coaches and personal trainers,” Ethan said, “but we will be able to tie the whole thing together.”
According to Kaitlyn, the new approach will be multifaceted.
“We’ll offer fitness, online coaching and a training program,” she said. “Ethan’s strength is physical therapy, where he’s working now. I am working on getting my fitness nutritional specialist certification. I’ll take the fitness and nutrition side. We understand all the components.”
The Browns met while studying physical therapy at Bellarmine University. Both recently graduated with their doctoral degrees.
While honeymooning in Cabo San Lucas, they started talking about their future. They wanted to work together, combining their knowledge and talents.
“We decided we wanted to offer services in the way we feel can best impact people, taking each person on an individual basis and seeing what they need,” Ethan said. “That’s where we came up with the model that we’re working on now.”
Out of school for less than a year, the couple nevertheless has extensive experience. Ethan was a competitive bodybuilder for almost 10 years. Kaitlyn competes, too, in the Fitness Bikini Division, and has been practicing nutrition education at a nursing home.
“If you’re not injured, but you are not seeing results,” she said, “we will tailor your approach to what is best for the individual, help you lose fat and gain lean muscle.”
The Browns are not replacing JCC trainers. Rather, they’re adding to their expertise. Their sessions will emphasize exercise tied to rehabilitation.
“We are working with the personal trainers here,” Ethan said. “If one of their clients has aches and pains, they can come talk to us, if they need to modify one of the exercises. A lot of times you train through it, but you still don’t know what’s going on. That’s where we can come in with the physical therapy component and understanding the body at that deeper level. [We will] decide what needs to change and get to the heart of what is going on.”
One of their newest, most interesting concepts is called Dry Needling, which is like acupuncture.
Ethan, who is certified in the process, puts a needle directly on a muscle that has pain or tightness. He said it works better than deep-tissue massage because it works directly on the muscle, causing it to relax. Patients start feeling better after just the first session.
B3PT sessions will be one-on-one and can be booked for 30, 45 or 60 minutes.
Ethan’s goal is to help his clients start on their own rehabilitation programs, progressing from needing him at every session. “For the average person, four to six visits is a reasonable timeline,” he said. “That’s about half what you would expect from an outpatient setting. We want to educate you and help you to help yourself.”
“We are really excited,” Kaitlyn said of their new venture. “The JCC is about helping people and getting them better and so are we. We have a similar mission, so I think it will work out well.”
Want to go?
For more information, visit bodiesbybrownpt.com and jewishlouisville.org.