The New York City-based dancer-turned-Coach details her journey into strength training.
This article is featured in a series showcasing how Equinox coaches, group fitness instructors, and members navigate different life stages and take control of their health as women. Read all the articles here.
When Brianna Londerée was growing up, gymnastics was practically her part-time job. She began competing at six years old and, just a few years later, was training up to 22 hours a week for the sport. It felt normal, to an extent. “I knew it was a lot, and [it] definitely was a lot on my body,” she recalls.
After suffering from one too many injuries, Londerée quit gymnastics at 15 years old. “Movement has always come first to me,” says the California native. “It's always been my first language, and I needed to figure out how to move forward with that loss.” To fill the void, she turned to dance, building a foundation of classical, jazz, and ballet stylings.
Whether she was performing back handsprings or pirouettes, strength training — which may reduce the risk of injury among dancers and gymnasts — was never in the picture. “I think maybe people suggested it here and there, but I don't think I ever remember hearing as a dancer: ‘Go to the gym and lift weights because you need this to support you,’” says Londerée. “It’s just: ‘Go to class.’ I guess I didn't really understand how to support my body the way that it needed to.”
That began to change about five years later, when Londerée was working as a front desk associate at Equinox Hudson Yards in New York City. She was running more often to stay active during the pandemic, but something felt missing from her routine. “I understood how to kind of get around in the gym, and I understood my body very well; I am very in tune with it. I think that's because I was an athlete growing up, and I'm so grateful for that,” she says. “But I also knew that I needed something else, and I didn't know what that was.”
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Strength training was that piece. Londerée earned her personal training certification in 2021 and began finding her place in the weight room. By 2024, she had become a Coach at Equinox Brookfield Place. This commitment to lifting has "immensely" improved her performance as a commercial dancer who often performs in heels, she says.
“My body has completely shifted — the way that I am strong enough to support myself doing those things,” says the 25-year-old COACH X. “It prevents injury, too. I don't hurt as much. I don’t have all the little aches and pains that may have shown up in the past. I feel so much more supported.”
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Outside of the dance studio, Londerée is a HYROX athlete, having just competed in her fourth race. Her current fitness routine is curated to keep her prepared for the event; usually, she does three full-body strength workouts, two cardio sessions, and a conditioning workout, with a day dedicated to active recovery, each week.
It’s a one-eighty from her gymnastics days. “[In] my training now as an adult, I had to teach myself about efficiency and proper programming and not the need to spend that amount of time working out to feel successful,” she says.
To support her mental well-being, Londerée prioritizes daily affirmations. “[I want to] always have a growing mindset and a healthy relationship with my inner monologue,” she says. She also makes an effort to nurture the community she’s built in her new home of New York and fuel her body properly, even when her schedule is packed.
It may sound boring, says Londerée, but right now, she feels content with her life. “I think I had experienced a lot of challenges when I first started [coaching] — just getting to know a lot about myself and my needs and my wants,” she admits. “But I feel like last year was just a very healing year for me, and now I continue [with] that, and I feel very peaceful.”
It helps that coaching members — many of whom she calls “successful, badass women” — doesn’t feel like a job, she says. “It’s so rewarding being able to do this and to have people trust me to help them change their lives.”
Photos courtesy of Brianna Londerée.