Indio is the biggest city in the Coachella Valley. Over 88,000 people live there. And a lot of those people want to get in shape but have no idea where to start. We know because they walk into our studio every week saying the exact same thing. "I've been meaning to do something about this for years."
Fit in 42 isn't in Indio. Our studio is in La Quinta, right on Highway 111. But a huge chunk of our members drive in from Indio. From Shadow Hills, from the neighborhoods near Fantasy Springs, from Terra Lago, from Downtown. The drive takes about ten minutes and for the people who make it part of their routine, it's the best ten minutes they spend all day.
We wanted to talk about what that actually looks like. Not the marketing version of fitness. The real version. What happens when someone from Indio walks through the door for the first time and what changes over the weeks and months that follow.
The first day is always weird
Nobody feels great walking into a new gym. Doesn't matter how confident you are in other parts of your life. There's something about being the new person that makes everyone a little nervous. Will I be the most out of shape person in the room? Am I going to embarrass myself? What if I can't keep up?
Here's what actually happens at Fit in 42. You show up. Your coach introduces themselves and asks about your goals and any injuries or limitations you've got. Then you do the workout with everyone else, but your coach scales everything to your level in real time. The person next to you might be doing weighted squats while you're doing bodyweight. Same exercise, different load. Nobody cares. Everyone started somewhere.
That first session is usually a reality check. You realize you're more out of shape than you thought. But you also realize that the coach didn't let you drown. They were right there adjusting things as you went. And the people in the class were actually cool about it. Some of them even said welcome after. That's not something you get at a big box gym where everyone has headphones in and nobody makes eye contact. We break down the difference in our guide to the best gyms near Indio.
What the training looks like
We run a few different programs and most members rotate between them depending on the day. 42 Strong is straight up strength training. Free weights, TRX, dumbbells, sandbags, kettlebells. The programming uses progressive overload so you're always moving forward. Week one you might deadlift 65 pounds. A month later you're pulling 95 and wondering how that happened.
42 Combat is the cardio kickboxing class and it's a completely different vibe. You rotate through heavy bags, ropes, assault bikes, and bodyweight stations in a HIIT format. The energy in the room is wild. People are dripping sweat, throwing combos at the bags, and pushing through intervals that would be miserable alone but somehow feel manageable when everyone around you is suffering too. Twelve ounce gloves required. No contact with other people. Just you and the bag.
Then there's stretch therapy for recovery days. And boot camp for when you want something that hits a little bit of everything. The point is you never do the same thing every day. That variety is a big deal for people who have gotten bored at other gyms before.
All of this happens in groups of six or fewer. That number matters. With six people in a room your personal trainer can actually coach. They see every rep. They catch the stuff you'd miss on your own like a rounded back on a row or knees caving in during a squat. Over time those corrections add up and you start moving better without even thinking about it.
Want to See What It's Like?
Fill out the form below and we'll get you set up for a visit at the studio. Ten minutes from Indio on Highway 111.
The nutrition piece changes everything
This is the thing that separates what we do from most gyms. Working out three or four days a week is great. But if you're eating like garbage the rest of the time you're fighting an uphill battle. And most people know this. They just don't know what to actually do about it.
We build customized nutrition plans for our members. Not a cookie cutter thing you download from the internet. A real plan based on your body, your goals, your schedule, and the foods you actually like eating. Because if we hand you a meal plan full of stuff you hate you're not going to follow it. And an unfollowed plan is worthless no matter how perfectly it's written.
For a lot of our Indio members this is the piece that finally clicks. They've worked out before. Maybe at another gym, maybe at home with YouTube videos. But the nutrition was always the missing link. Once you combine real coaching with a solid eating plan the results come way faster than most people expect. We're talking visible changes in the first month for people who commit to both.
If you want to get a taste of how we approach food, grab our free recipe book. It's free and there's no catch. Just good recipes that actually fit a fitness lifestyle.
Why Indio people keep coming back
The ten minute drive could be a barrier. We know that. But the people who come in from Indio keep coming back because the experience is that different from what they've tried before. At a regular gym you swipe your card and you're on your own. Here you walk in and someone greets you by name. They ask how your knee is feeling. They remember that you hit a PR last Thursday and they push you to beat it today.
That accountability is everything. It's easy to skip a workout when nobody notices you're gone. It's a lot harder when your coach is going to text you and the people in your 5:30am class are going to ask where you were tomorrow. That social pressure, the good kind, is what turns "I'll try to work out" into "I never miss my sessions."
We've been doing this since 2006. Twenty years of helping people in the Coachella Valley get results that actually last. Not quick fixes. Not crash diets. Real strength. Real habits. The kind of changes that still show up a year from now.
The easiest way to start
If any of this sounds like what you've been looking for, the 21-Day Kickstart is how most people get started. It's $99 for three weeks of unlimited classes. You come in, you train with us, you see what it's like. No long term commitment, no pressure. Just a real chance to experience it.
The studio is at 79410 CA-111, Suite 112 in La Quinta. From most parts of Indio you're looking at about ten minutes on Highway 111 heading west. Free parking right out front. Check out our Indio training page for everything you need to know before your first visit.
You can also call us at (760) 875-0531 if you want to ask questions first. David and the coaches are happy to talk through what to expect. No sales pitch. Just honest answers about whether this is a good fit for what you're trying to accomplish.
The hardest part is the first visit. After that it gets a whole lot easier. And a whole lot more fun than you'd think.