Olympic Gold Medalist Works Out Falls Church

Brittany Carter works out three to four times a week at the recently opened 24 Hour Fitness in Falls Church but nothing like her workout Saturday with Olympic gold medalist Ashton Eaton.

For about 45-minutes, Eaton worked Carter, 23, and dozens of others tirelessly in a workout that helped him bring home the Olympic gold in the decathlon. Carter said she sweated more than she thought she would but enjoyed the intense workout.

“Even though I was in pain, I still finished the workout,” Carter said. “It definitely works on your mental state.”

Eaton stopped in Falls Church as part of a 24 Hour Fitness and POWERADE promotion to celebrate the recent opening of the facility. Gym members and non-members were invited to the workout session with Eaton. The fitness chain is a sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee and offers free memberships to Olympic athletes.

Even though Eaton, 24, works out six days a week for about 45-weeks out of the year, he too was tired from the workout. The intense workout combines several facets of the decathlon into a 45-minute routine. Eaton said since winning gold in London, he hasn’t done any training but wanted to come motivate people at the Falls Church gym to work toward being healthier.

“I have a trainer that motivates me to work harder when I train,” Eaton said. “People who come into 24 Hour Fitness, they do it themselves sometimes with no one motivating them. I just want to teach them to continue to motivate themselves in their workouts.”

The decathlon wasn’t Eaton’s first love in high school. He wasn’t strong enough in one specific event to land him a scholarship at a big college, so his high school track coach suggested he do the decathlon. Years later, Eaton is the top decathlete in the world.

“The Olympics was so stressful,” Eaton said. “During and before I was so nervous. It’s not that I didn’t want to be there, but once I got going I was alright.”

Heading into Saturday’s workout, Joe Price figured he was going to be challenged physically and mentally considering who was leading the workout. Price, 22, said the workout was everything he thought it would be, but he’d consider doing it again.

“It was good,” said Price. “It was challenging. No rest periods.”