Sunday Morning Ironstrength Bootcamp

By Eudy Castro

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many people to stay inside, reducing their physical activity. In order to help people get some exercise, Dr. Jordan D. Metzl hosted a free fitness event on December 19 from 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. The event held on the Great Hill in Central Park and Dr. Metzl allowed people of all ages and fitness levels to participate. The event had about 20 participants.

Dr. Metzl is a sports medicine physician and fitness instructor whose main focus is athletes and improving their performance. However he also makes an effort to get everyone involved in fitness. “I have done many events like this for about nine years and they’re always free,” says Metzl. “The goal has been to get people in and moving. These events for me have been especially important now during the pandemic, with people getting lonely and isolated.”

The motivation to become a doctor stemmed from Metzl’s family’s line of doctors. During the day his job as a physician is to help take care of people with injuries. He has also hosted some educational seminars, teaching people how they can take better care of themselves. “Since I was into keeping people healthy, I looked at other ways I could help,” said Metzl. “I realized that I could get people to work out and that is how I got started on these events.”

During Sunday’s event, Dr. Metzl had his participants in a workout he created called the Ironstrength Workout. Not only is this workout help people get active, but it is supposed to improve performance and prevent injuries. Metzl describes the workout as a mix of hill training and strength training. “We did a few laps around the Great Hill as a warm up, and then after a while we would continue to do the loop, but also go down hills and come back up and continue the loop,” said Metzl.

The event ended with a mix of pushups, sit ups, leg squats and burpees which would satisfy the goal of both hill and strength training. Participants were satisfied with the end results of the event. “It is a great program,” said David Hill, a participant. “It is good to get as much exercise as possible especially during the pandemic. Dr. Metlz makes it a lot of fun with how interactive he is with us and pushing us to keep going.”

Some participants had never done the types of exercises that were in the Ironstrength Workout. They said it was refreshing to learn something new. “David and Kai are runners, while I am a walker and a rower,” said Jeff Gingold. “Although what we do is still exercising, we typically never do the type of strength workouts that Dr. Metzl had us do. It was good to step out the comfort zone.” These participants have been exercising for about five to six years and have continued to follow Dr. Meltz and his events.

Ironstrength workout events have been hosted all across the world. Dr. Metzl said he has hosted events in China, Israel, and France. Dr. Metzl will continue to host events in the new year and will post them on sites like Eventbrite. More information about Dr. Jordan D. Metzl and the Ironstrength workout can be found on his website https://drjordanmetzl.com/