That's how Fit Foundation owner Mark Lowry describes his calling in life. With decades of experience in personal fitness and performance training, Mark is one of the area's most respected fitness experts. His training success stories can be found on the sports pages of local newspapers, in the personal bests of amateur athletes throughtout the region, and in the improved lives of hundreds of adults and children who now have the energy, strength and stamina to reach their goals. He has coached dozens of national champions and All-American sprinters and jumpers and is known for his ability to coax high performance from any athlete.
Mark Lowry was raised in Texas, where he excelled in sports and music. After high school, he wanted to be a teacher and a coach, but his choir director had other ideas. She urged him to pursue a music career. "All it took was one semester in the music program to cure me," recalls Mark. "All of the sudden majoring in phys ed seemed like a much better idea."
After earning his Bachelor's Degree at Oklahoma Baptist University, Mark taught phys ed, racquetball, tennis and strength training at Texas Tech while he considered a career in the ministry. After one semester at seminary, Mark realized that building physical fitness was his true passion. Balancing graduate school with coaching and teaching roles on the college level, Mark earned his Master's Degree in Education at Texas Tech.
After graduate school, Mark and his wife began moved frequently in pursuit of bigger and better coaching opportunies, including stints at the University of North Texas and Odessa College. While in Odessa, Mark met a baseball coach from Vanderbilt who encouraged him to move to Nashville, where he would find a better quality of life for his family. Mark and his wife, Jenny, packed up and moved to Nashville.
Mark found work at Fitness 222, a personal training facility in downtown Nashville that he eventually purchased in 1991. After Fitness 222 lost their lease in 2000, Mark worked as the Co-Director of the Christian Activities Center at First Baptist Church while he continued to coach and train youth sports teams and work with his growing list of personal training clients. In mid 2002, Mark and a local physician partnered to create Prime Fitness Performance Training and Wellness Center. By mid 2005, Mark's vision for for a new kind of fitness facility was ready for launch. In October 2005, Fit Foundation was born.
With decades of experience in the fitness world, Mark has seen gym fads come and go.
"There are dozens of models for running gyms and providing fitness services," he says. "I wanted to create something different." Lowry's vision included a workout environment light-years away from the traditional gym. "I envisioned a place that would make people want to get in there and work," he says, "a place that would inspire people to improve their lives."
Mark launched Fit Foundation because he enjoys helping people succeed. "Working with a runner to improve his speed over the 100 meters is exhilating," says Lowry, who serves as the strength, speed and conditioning coach for several local sports teams. But Lowry's motivation isn't just making kids faster and better. "Helping an older adult who is struggling with diabetes lose 50 lbs and gain quality of life is just as satisfying."
Mark is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He and his wife, Jenny, live in Hendersonville with their three boys.
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In a career filled with side trips, scenic routes and even a few dead ends, Mark Lowry discovered his true calling: helping people discover their physical potential through personal training. "At Fit Foundation, we help you build a strong physical foundation for life," he says. "We help you make your body the best you can be so it can serve you well."
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