“Legacy is who we are, P.I.T. is what we do, and No days off is how we live,” says Manning Sumner, CEO, Legacy Fit. “Legacy specializes in Partner Interval Training, a private personal training session in a group format. You have both a coach that is a certified personal trainer and a partner to guide you and hold you accountable.”
Sumner founded Legacy Gyms 14 years ago in Miami. After years of training professional athletes and A-list celebs, he developed a fitness system called Partner Interval Training P.I.T.® that made professional-level fitness results accessible to everyone. This system has taken South Florida by storm. No Days Off is the driving philosophy behind the system, and it has grown into a movement that just keeps accelerating. They have grown to 6 locations in that time, with 5 corporate locations in Wynwood, Coral Gables, Kendall, Pembroke Pines, and Fort Lauderdale, and 1 franchise in Doral.
Creating Space: Revolutionizing the Industry
As Sumner shares, “We have created our own identity in the fitness space. Fitness should be a lifestyle, a commitment, not a fad or a trend. We encourage becoming rather than being and never taking a day off on yourself, whether that’s in the gym or out. We view competitors as collaborators, rather than competitors. We encourage creating a fitness lifestyle that fits each individual.” The module being followed at Legacy is Antagonist training, which allows a person to recover more quickly between sets due to the arrangement of the nervous system. The training activates a muscle group with maximum effort, while the nervous system inhibits the opposing muscle group for greater movement efficiency. This phenomenon decreases the time necessary for recovery and helps restore strength. It enables a person to be able to perform opposing muscles in less time than if they performed each body part separately. It also makes a person stronger. As Sumner puts it, “Due to the intensity of the workout, HIIT can elevate your metabolism for hours after exercise. This results in additional calories being burned even after you have finished exercising. So, the combination of the two is a phenomenal way to build muscle and burn fat.“
One of the most amazing features of this system at Legacy is accountability. The Legacy PIT system is safe for all fitness levels. It allows each participant to adjust the weights and intensity level at each station. Most people lack motivation, need accountability, and want variety when it comes to exercise, and Legacy Fit covers all three.
The Partner Interval Training™ (P.I.T.) system is disrupting the group fitness gym model. It is not like most conventional classes. It’s a private training session in a group format, and it’s backed by science. Sumner says, “You have a coach that is a certified personal trainer and a partner to guide you and hold you accountable. P.I.T. gets you better results faster.”
"Become a part of something that goes beyond the gym walls and represents a broader social movement, a cultural shift, and a new way of living. It’s so much more than a workout."
Legacy: The Guiding Philosophy
As Sumner explains, “I truly believe that if you have a cause greater than yourself, then work becomes more of a duty and purpose rather than something you “have” to do. It’s something you “want” to do. LEGACY for me is about having an impact on others that goes beyond these gym walls. I heard one person describe it as: what will the dash on your gravestone represent in 1977—???? –???? I want that dash to represent a LEGACY that sparked change in people’s hearts to have a real desire to become the very best version of themselves. A legacy that says, I never took a day off in life on myself or those around me. When we say we want you to walk out better than you walked in, we mean it to the core. What LEGACY will you leave behind?“ Legacy started in a no-ac warehouse on a dead-end street, with future locations in high-end retail buildings. They have kept the industrial design but added amenities. The studios are big, giving ample room to run, room to move, and room to breathe. As they say, “Professional athletes don’t train in dark, cramped rooms, and neither should you.” At Legacy we have people of all ages, from as young as 7 to as old as 78, each of whom is attracted by Legacy’s ability to create an incredible sense of community and provide unparalleled physical results.
Before Legacy, Sumner used to travel with high-end clients from 2005 to 2007, going to different gyms around the country. He kept noticing that they were all pretty much the same. It was here that the idea of creating a gym environment with a different vibe came into being; a place that set people up for success, held people accountable, had excellent energy, and a place where people could work hard and have a great time doing it. As he shares, “It starts with us. We take extreme ownership in everything we do. If we are asking our members to commit, we must demonstrate that same commitment.”
Community: The Power of People
“Community is everything,” says Sumner. “Our culture fosters accountability that drives results and an atmosphere that keeps people coming back. Our members stick with us for years.” With consistency and accountability as founding principles of Legacy’s culture, their strong community carries the no days off movement beyond the gym walls, which helps Legacy maintain the highest retention rates in the industry. The positive feedback and the huge support system have inspired them. Sumner says, “We are looking to recreate what we have accomplished in Miami by going across the country and opening new locations.” Legacy has plans to open in Tampa, Nashville, Austin, Scottsdale, and Atlanta and internationally in Dubai, Barcelona, and Mexico City. In line with their current model, each city will have a main headquarters with five satellite locations which would add 40 locations to their existing six.
Legacy is also expanding the NDO lifestyle brands with their apparel and beverage business. As Sumner believes, “If I say I am going to do something, I do it. I see it all the way through, no matter the obstacles or setbacks.”
Legacy’s mission statement sums it all up: “Become a part of something that goes beyond the gym walls and represents a broader social movement, a cultural shift, and a new way of living. It’s so much more than a workout.”
