Robert Murphy is a man of few words.
The philosophy guiding his professional life as a fitness facility management professional can be summed up in just a few of his words: “Well done is better than well said,” said Rob, who for the past decade has worked at health fitness facilities in the 08540 zip code area.
Thanks to my professional life that focuses on words with the power to inspire action (I hope), I have talked to Rob and watched him in action at all three of the Princeton/Plainsboro fitness facilities he has managed: CanDo Fitness at Princeton Forrestal Village, Princeton Fitness and Wellness on the Princeton Medical Center campus and now, Life Time Athletic Princeton in the heart of Princeton Forrestal Center (Princeton University’s Corporate Office and Research Park), at 7 Forrestal Road South. He is a fan of show-and-tell exercise only when it is followed up by action.
Even though he can wax eloquently about Life Time’s “incredible” staff, equipment, fitness classes, indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and other amenities, “their value is how they interact with our members. Our equipment and trainers are so important because they enable people to live in the healthiest possible way and to the fullest. I derive most of my professional satisfaction from watching members use the amenities and watching my staff work with them to make a difference in their lives,” he said.
He describes himself as “member-centric fitness facility professional,” who has delivered a “fitness experience to over 70,000 members…always putting the member first. Fitness in my world should not be an obligation, or something that you are forced to do by doctors or family members, but rather an activity you really want to do and enjoy without a trace of dread…. I want to change ‘have’ to work out to ‘want’ to work out.”
After graduating from college with a B.A. in history and a lot of experience as a hockey and lacrosse player, Rob first pursued a career as an account manager for a large American food corporation.
“I was making money, but my wife [a Pilates instructor whom he met on a blind date] noted that I was not making myself happy,” he said. “She encouraged me to pursue what I loved most – being fit and inspiring others to find the joy in fitness.”
He left his account managing job and embraced his passion by becoming a “personal enhancement coach and personal trainer” at CanDo. With persistence and passion he rose through the ranks to become the facility’s general manager, an opportunity to spread his fitness gospel more effectively and more broadly.
He laughed off being dubbed the Pied Piper of fitness, even though dozens of members and fitness professionals have followed him from one fitness facility to another. He did not laugh off, however, the description of Life Time Fitness as a “Disney style fitness resort.”
Just like Disney whose mission is to bring every individual the comprehensive and highest quality entertainment experience, “Life Time Fitness offers the ‘Healthy Way of Life’ experience through an array of health, wellness, nutrition, relaxation and entertainment services and programs,” said Rob who gave a healthy shout out to Princeton Forrestal Center executives, whose support, flexibility, and guidance enabled Life Time to create “the ultimate fitness experience.”
When Rob is not working, he generally is working out. His leisure time with his two young daughters includes very little sitting-still time.
He does a variety of exercises and sports with his two daughters, including pushups, squats and wall sits.
Coming to work with Dad is far cry from sitting in a windowless office with a computer. Work means an indoor pool, an outdoor “aquatic oasis” featuring a large pool, water slides and whirl pools, outdoor bistro, indoor café, and hanging out in the Life Time Kids Academy, a program designed especially for kids from three months to 11years, and led by experts teaching classes in many areas including tumbling, yoga, Spanish immersion, and arts.
When his wife books a hotel for vacation outside of the Life Time Fitness building, “she knows me well enough to know that I can only be happy at a hotel with a good gym.”
“The point is that I know am so fortunate that my work corresponds to what I want to do when I am not at work,” he said. “But I have to say again that the real gratification comes when people come up to me and say ‘you have changed my life. I never have been happier.’”
This actually happened when I was sitting with him in the Life Time café.
“How lucky can a guy get?” said Rob.
It goes without saying that no other words are necessary.