Up to the Beat Fitness

MEET GINA BUBER — FOUNDER OF UP TO THE BEAT FITNESS, AN AUSTRALIAN-BASED FITNESS COMPANY THAT CHAMPIONS WELLBEING, ENCOURAGING WOMEN TO EMBRACE THEIR HEALTH AND LIVE FULLY AND POSITIVELY THROUGH INCLUSIVE, FUN WORKOUTS, NUTRITION RESOURCES AND SUPPORT FROM THE UPBEAT TRIBE.

Fitness is so much more than the physical aspect— it’s also a practice in mental toughness, perseverance, consistency and dedication, and the fitness industry for women is evolving and becoming more inclusive and supportive, changing the competitive and unhealthy nature that happens often.

Up to the BEat Fitness, an Australian-based fitness company founded by Gina Buber in 2018, is contributing to a more positive fitness community through their Zero2Thrive, a 6-challenge series that addresses nutrition, movement and mindset and focuses on small habit changes surrounding each topic that assist when progressing to each challenge.

SS: Can you share your background and your journey to create SMILE and then Up to the BEat Fitness?

GB: “Before starting my journey as a fitness coach, I was a professionally trained ballroom dancer for over two decades. At age 16 I had an incredible opportunity to represent the USA and move to San Francisco. But after living there for just over a year and a half, I realized I was no longer in alignment with a competitive dance career. I missed having a normal youth and my intuition just gave me a nudge I was meant to do more. I made the tough decision to leave the industry.

Gina Buber, founder, Up to the Beat Fitness

“When I came back to Sydney, I rebelled against the strict nutrition and fitness regimen I had when I was competing. Over the next year, I gained more than 25 kilos and lost my identity, passion, and purpose. I went from one extreme to the next in my relationship with food and movement, and I felt so unhappy. But the universe always has a path for you, right?!

“After a serendipitous return to my local dance studio, I began to regret letting it go. I knew I didn’t want to compete but I also knew I wanted to keep dance in my life. At the same time, one of the most popular dance fitness crazes at the time launched in Australia. I saw so much potential here to fuse my background in dance with fitness, and this is essentially what catapulted me into the fitness industry. As much as I loved teaching someone else’s program, I wanted to create my own methods using my ballroom dance background.

“One of my first instructor positions came from teaching at an age care facility. I began teaching the staff and I noticed the residents took a liking to what I was doing. An idea clicked in my head to design a dance that people could do from a chair. I had no clue how, but I knew I could create something. The facility hired me and that actually became my first program. That essentially led me to create my company SMILE in 2014 which facilitated ballroom-based chair dancing classes to aged care facilities across Sydney.

“Simultaneously I ran my own program of group fitness dance classes for the general population. After some time, I realized that I wanted to further pursue health and fitness for people early on in their lives so that they could prevent ending up in aged care facilities. I eventually had to let go of the aged care facility side of the business in order to truly give this a shot. This carved a new direction for me as a fitness coach and is what has developed into my brand Up To The Beat fitness.”

SS: Since SMILE was established in 2014 and rebranded to Up to the BEat Fitness in 2018, how have you seen it evolve in terms of the growth of the challenges and workouts services/products offered?

GB: “SMILE was all about providing local classes to aged care facilities and local community classes. I had 2 DVDs and was simply a product focused business. As SMILE grew, I realized that DVD workouts alone weren’t enough to truly create change in people’s lives. I wanted my participants to have a sense of community with others like them with whom they could share their journey. So, with the new mission to take fitness beyond just the sweat, SMILE was rebranded to Up to the Beat Fitness in 2018.

“What I discovered was my audience wanted nutrition help, mindset tips, and an even stronger sense of community. Now, I offer more than workout DVDs. I have created a true connection with my members personally in my private Facebook group that I call my Upbeat Tribe. I run nutrition and fitness challenges, merchandise, private master classes, and so much more! Fundamentally, we have evolved from a product focus to a brand of community.”

“I coach my community to be open and find things that work for them, there is no one way or best way to do things. The best way is the way that works for the individual.

“When you nurture freedom in the health journey, it’s a much kinder and uplifting space. Fundamentally I bring it all back to JOY. If you’re not finding joy in what you do, then what is it all for?”

SS: Why was it important to you to create a fun workout experience that focuses on well-being and community?

GB: “My ultimate goal is to help my audience achieve the best version of themselves. Whatever their goal might be (lose weight, gain weight, eat better, sleep better, or stress less), I want to help my audience to thrive! And from my personal experience, sustainable actions lead to sustainable results. I strongly believe when you find joy in your journey you are more likely to create the sustainability we all seek when it comes to changing our lifestyle. Having support from others is a vital key to achieving those goals. We are all stronger together, so by creating a unified experience the accountability is greater than ever.”

SS: How does Up to the BEat Fitness make their workouts and challenges engaging and fun with music and positivity? What are your go-to artists or songs to include in workouts?

GB: “I create workouts that are synched to the beat of the music and not just the most current pop songs with divas like Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus but also the greats; ABBA, Queen, Michael Jackson. Music has the power to motivate, evoke emotion and create an almost exercise in disguise experience. I want to showcase motivating, uplifting, and powerful songs to create a positive movement experience. I love using all decades of music, firstly because I think I’m an old soul but also by just focusing on current pop songs, so many generations are missing out on having a fun and relatable workout experience. I want to move every type of body and all ages!

“My nutrition challenges are much like my workouts; FUN. Zero elimination of foods, I actually encourage my challengers to eat things like chocolate (yes you can). I have a no BS approach to weight loss, it’s back to basics in a small step way that feels achievable. When you combine that in a group coaching environment where we celebrate weekly wins, it becomes a feeling of collaboration versus the traditional challenge feel of competition.”

SS: What was the process like in developing the challenges and workouts and how does Be Happy. Be Active. Be You factor into those decisions?

GB: “I actually ran a small step challenge program for free for an entire year. Checking in with my community for 365 days, rain, hail, or shine. I wanted to test if my methods actually worked, if they enjoyed them and if I could actually create long-lasting change for members. Most people thought I was crazy running it free for an entire year, but for me this was priceless. It was the best market research I could ever have had. I tailored what has now evolved into my Zero2Thrive program off the back of what truly worked and what people really needed and actually wanted.

“My Be Happy. Be Active. Be You tagline is all about making sure that whatever I offer as a program or product, creates a happier and better version of you through movement and nutrition. And ultimately at the heart of that is finding what works best for YOU!”

“My ultimate goal is to help my audience achieve the best version of themselves. Whatever their goal might be (lose weight, gain weight, eat better, sleep better, or stress less), I want to help my audience to thrive!

SS: What misperceptions do you hope are broken in regards to women’s fitness? The industry can be very competitive and comparison happens often, how do you hope Up to the BEat Fitness is contributing to a positive, progress-focused movement for a kinder fitness community?

GB: “There are so many misperceptions in the fitness industry, such as misleading weight loss methods, unrealistic standards for body-image, and the biggest issue; that there is only ONE way to get fit and it has to be HARD, painful, restrictive, and definitely can’t be enjoyable. The ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra has to be retired! This mentality can be so detrimental to our relationship with food, movement, and our bodies. That’s why it’s so important to create a nurturing community that feels safe and encouraging to one another (regardless of their condition, progress, or situation).

“Most importantly I coach my community to be open and find things that work for them, there is no one way or best way to do things. The best way is the way that works for the individual. When you nurture freedom in the health journey, it’s a much kinder and uplifting space. Fundamentally I bring it all back to JOY. If you’re not finding joy in what you do, then what is it all for?”

SS: What is the most rewarding part about Up to the BEat Fitness and why?

GB: “Hands down my community!! I honestly love them so much. Reading their wins and struggles daily motivates me continuously and reminds me why I do what I do which is to help them create big change through small joyful steps.

“When you realize that you’re able to touch someone’s life and create a positive impact, that is truly a wonderful and incredibly humbling honor. I know how they feel, I have been in their position and have felt the struggle. But I’ve also seen the beauty on the other side of that and now I get to share and show others that beauty too.”

SS: What are some future aspirations for the company and how do you see those coming to fruition in the future?

GB: “I’m a woman with big goals and big dreams, so it’s safe to say that this is just the beginning!! I’m planning to expand Up To The Beat to a much larger scale and connect with even more people around the globe, more workout videos, more challenges, and more surprises! I want to create an impact and really change the health and weight loss space. I don’t exactly know what that looks like just yet in its entirety but I know it will be BIG!”

SS: How does your social media presence and engaged community impact the success of the business?

GB: “Massively! Without the help of social media in today’s digital landscape, it would be really difficult to stay in touch with my community all over the world. This digital platform is bridging that gap, it’s my conversation starter and my focus group at the same time.

“My business evolves with every conversation I have because I get to create what’s in alignment with my audience. Now even more so, especially with most people still staying at home, I am lucky to have the opportunity to impact and assist people through these challenging times through platforms like my YouTube channel. In a way, it connects us more than ever.”

SS: How do you hope women will feel about themselves after taking one of your classes or participating in a workout?

GB: “I hope they will feel motivated, energized, and joyful! I want to bring a smile to people’s faces, bring out their inner child, and most importantly, I want them to feel those endorphins. But the movement is also my therapy. More than ever I want people to feel de-stressed, recharged, and feel part of something more than a workout, that they’re not alone, that they have me as their virtual fitness bestie to support them in their day ahead!”