The Rise Movement: Jason Walsh
Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. We all want to look good in the clothes we wear, and pro trainer Jason Walsh not only helps with that, but he also wants you to be healthy and pain free during the process. Walsh is the owner and founder of the West Hollywood fitness studio, Rise Movement. He’s the guy behind Matt Damon’s significantly larger biceps in last summer’s blockbuster, Jason Bourne. The trainer helped Bradley Cooper beef up for American Sniper and he’s also responsible for John Krasinski’s major, muscle-man transformation. We recently interviewed Mr. Walsh and found that his approach to fitness emphasizes a positive correctional outlook. This method greatly increases the chances of guys sticking to a regimen, and it’s also good for the body. When he says, “I’m reprograming people to move how they’re supposed to,” he really means it.
How did you get into the world of physical training?
I was lucky enough to have a family member, my uncle, who explained things to me on very broad-based general level. He was a Colorado guy, climbed mountains, a survivalist kind of guy and really cool. I always looked up to him; everything he did seemed seamless and easy. That really sparked the interest at a young age. By the time I started getting into sports, it kind of just snowballed from there. I got into sports science in college and studied physiology, down to a cellular level. I thought it was incredible that we can change the body and how it can adapt to stress. Then I got into strength conditioning and it blew my mind. I was mentored by Greg Gatz in North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, and progressed until I got into the world of correctional exercises. Performance is one thing, change and aesthetics is a big aspect, but then you get the knowledge of how to fix people and it’s a whole new level. The ability to change people and fix people preemptively, to make sure that you’re really paying attention to foundation, and making sure that people move better and feel better, is great and amazing.
“I’m reprogramming people to move how they are supposed to.”
So it went from a performance base for you to actually being therapeutic for others?
Exactly! I went from high school aesthetics, to college performance, to correctional. That’s really where you get into the hierarchy of what great training is. My philosophy is: it’s powerful to help people who are in pain. I’ve trained people in there 40’s and 50’s who are in better shape than ever in their entire life.
Is that where the vision and the development of “Rise Nation” come from?
Definitely. I’ve had my own training center, Rise Movement, in West Hollywood for a few years, and it was an epiphany. I’m still on the course of wanting to truly help people, because I know I have the information to make change. That really pushed me to put something in the industry through group training that I truly believe will help people. It’s more efficient, more effective, and it’s safer. That was the reason for Rise Nation.
It looks like you put a lot of emphasis on “The Climber.” Where did you develop that concept?
The climber’s been around for a long time, but it’s never been utilized. It’s one of the pieces that sits in the corner and it’s kind of primitive looking and not very sexy. My philosophy is getting people to move better is one of the first and primary things you want to do with your clients. Most people skip all that stuff and go straight to the loading and stress of bodybuilding. Nobody’s really teaching good movement. It’s not very sexy, but sticking to that philosophy, the motion on the climber is the cross crawl motion that’s a natural movement that you’re born with. When you walk, run, jump and climb, it’s all the same motion. So I thought, if we could base everything off of that motion I’m winning, because I’m reprograming people to move how they’re supposed to move. The fact that its 0% impact makes it very safe compared to a lot of what others are doing for their training.
You have your studio in West Hollywood, are you planning on expanding?
We are definitely coming to New York! I’ve been so frustrated. I’ve owned Rise Nation and Rise Movement and I’m trying to do this thing on my own, but I’m finding out that expanding is a really tough thing to do. We’re still moving forward and we’re in negotiations for a space right now in the Flatiron district. I promise you, when we do lock a space down, this thing is going to make New Yorkers very happy.
That’s crazy exciting, there’s nothing like this in New York.
You have my word! People have started watching us and paying attention and taking our classes to rip things off. So you’ll start seeing some of the elements, but we were the first to put it out there. I think it’s a good thing though, because it’s pushing the industry to think outside of the box a bit. Everything seems cookie cutter and what ends up happening is, you have a business guy pull different elements and see if it sticks. Their motivation is what can we do different and mine is what can we do better and that’s what I want to keep striving for.
“Their motivation is what can we do different, and mine is what can we do better.”
Switching gears slightly, you have a nice list of high profile clients. When did you begin moving into training celebrities?
It happens organically. I’ve been in LA 10 years, and you build one client at a time. If your training is great, and the results are great, and you make people look and feel great at the same time, it’ll grow. It’s a lot of work and dedication. It’s taken blood, sweat, and tears to get to this point, but my business isn’t based on celebrities. It’s not that at all. I’m training more people that aren’t celebrities ,and they’re just sprinkled in there because they like the training and method in what we do.
It’s great that you’re not exactly targeting celebrities.
Exactly, I’m never targeting celebrities, I don’t care about that. It’s not as glamorous as people think. I want to do more on a larger scale. It’s nice because these guys have more of a reach because I’m training such and such for a movie, and it looks great and it gets my name out, but those are the only people you hear about. You don’t hear about the hundreds of other people I train.
Speaking of movies, you train Matt Damon. When somebody on that level comes to you for a complete transformation, what are some key strategies you use?
Matt to me is just like any other guy that comes in. We have goals and we have timelines and you have to assess. If you want to get to a certain point, you have to do all the work to build a foundation of moving right, pain free. When you meet someone like that you go ok, what’s your history with training. He had an idea of what training is, and how much it sucks and how much it hurt so he was timid moving forward until I proved myself. What I had to do was clean up shoulder problems and back problems. My job is to educate and address these problems and we can’t do any of the big movements until we fix those issues first. I had a very small time frame to really get him to understand my process, and you get them to feel good and you fix something that’s been wrong for years and they’re intrigued.
They’re like this guy knows what he’s doing.
Well yeah, the most important thing is quality of life, living pain free, being able to play with your kids, and pick them up without throwing your back out. That’s the angle I took with Matt and most of the clientele I work with.
For our readers, can you give us a few tips on staying fit and active in the upcoming colder months.
Some broad stroke basic things are easier to tell New Yorkers because you guys walk so much. I’m a big fan of telling my clients that walking and hiking are great ways of staying active, because we don’t worry about the cold here. It’s very different for people on the East Coast. I suggest you move inside and start doing more of the classroom thing. I think group training is great because it gives you more direction and accountability. It’s fun to workout and have that community and camaraderie.
“Just know that I’m really gearing myself up to impress New York.”
Last question, what’s coming up for Rise Nation?
I don’t want to say too much, but I’ll tell you this much; I have another concept that I’m working on, that’ll be a sister for Rise Nation. It’s going to be incredible and very exciting and it will come with a New York Space. Just know that I’m really gearing myself up to impress New York.
Jason Walsh talks about #TheAdventureLife:
I really enjoy being submersed in other cultures. I’ve had the pleasure to travel the world and train people for movies and it takes us to some remote cool places that nobody gets to see. I traveled to the Jordan about two years ago when we were shooting The Martian. We were in Jordan and I submersed myself into a culture of Middle Easterners. It’s a completely different religion and it really affected me on a deeper level and it reminded me who we are as a human race. It softened me up a lot in a good way. It was really incredible.
To keep up with the Rise Movement, follow Jason Walsh on Instagram here.
All Photography: James Law (@jameslaw1)
