WILLIAMSBURG \u2014 Working out sounds great \u2014 until one realizes they can\u2019t bench on par with the gym bros or can\u2019t run a marathon, so why try at all?<\/p>\n
But these don\u2019t have to be the incentives to hit the gym and get moving, says J Oien, the owner of Transformation Fitness, which opened in Williamsburg last month. Instead, exercise can be about building the strength to lift a niece or nephew, carry groceries at age 90, bend to tie a shoe without strain or train for a five-day hike in Iceland.<\/p>\n
Oien said the motivation for getting into CrossFit after a divorce in 2021 was simple: they had started dating someone who did it. \u201cI thought they were hot and wanted to do whatever they were doing,\u201d Oien said.<\/p>\n
But Oien\u2019s mission for their new business, located in the Abide Wellness Center at 206 Main St. just past the Williamsburg-Northampton line, not only involves helping people work toward their why, but also hones in on helping trans people realize their how.<\/p>\n
Oien is uniquely qualified to assist people who are transitioning to realize their fitness goals \u2014 a service virtually unavailable in the area and in the state, they say. One reason is that in 2024 they had top surgery, a gender-affirming surgical procedure that reshapes the chest. After the procedure, patients typically can\u2019t raise their arms above shoulder level for up to three months.<\/p>\n
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J Oien recently opened Transformation Fitness in Williamsburg. Oien\u2019s mission for their new business, located in the Abide Wellness Center at 206 Main St. just past the Williamsburg-Northampton line, involves helping people work toward their exercise why and hones in on helping trans people realize their how. CAROL LOLLIS \/ Staff Photo<\/p>\n
Oien said people who have undergone surgery for breast cancer have similar post-surgery experiences.<\/p>\n
Squats, thrusters and overhead exercises had all been routine for Oien before the surgery. But they had to adapt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got really knocked down when I had surgery and couldn\u2019t even walk down the block for weeks. And so at a certain point your surgeon will clear you for movement, but not really tell you what that means or how to safely get back to movement,\u201d Oien says.<\/p>\n
To get back in the swing of things, they entered a six-week hypertrophy strength-training class to rebuild muscle, but Oien was solo in figuring out how to balance limitations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just kind of figuring it out on my own,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Oien\u2019s journey to the gym started in 2016 when they enrolled in nursing school. During that time, a professor challenged them to begin a workout routine, arguing that anyone hoping to help others meet their health goals should first gain experience confronting their own. Like most people, Oien had no idea what their goals were or how to get started. <\/p>\n
Their workout habits started small, with a seven-minute workout published in the New York Times. But since then, over the course of refining whys and gaining consistency, fitness has been a core feature of Oien\u2019s life. They trained for and ran a half-marathon, got into CrossFit and began powerlifting.<\/p>\n
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J Oien recently opened Transformation Fitness in Williamsburg. Oien is uniquely qualified to assist people who are transitioning to realize their fitness goals \u2014 a service virtually unavailable in the area and in the state, they say. CAROL LOLLIS \/ Staff Photo<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still on this journey of figuring out what I enjoy doing,\u201d Oien said. \u201cI also like pickleball. Is it a peak workout? No, but you\u2019re moving your body, and so that\u2019s one of the things that I really emphasize \u2014 figuring out things that work for you. What are you going to do consistently, what\u2019s going to excite you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Oien added, \u201cYour workout might not be the perfect workout, but it\u2019s better than no workout.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becoming a nurse taught them the \u201cmodel\u201d of care they want to provide for those seeking to achieve their fitness goals. Oien, after working in public health and nursing, moved from the Washington, D.C. area to Northampton a year ago to escape what they saw as a dark political cloud under the Trump presidency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the National Guard came to town last summer I was like, \u2018this is why I left, because I knew this was coming,’\u201d they said. They moved to Northampton with their partner after being drawn in by event fliers and the ability to find a home and safe haven in Paradise City.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we got to Northampton, I think we went to Local Burger\u2026 and we were like, \u2018I think this is it,’\u201d Oien says.<\/p>\n
Working out consistently has given Oien an outlet to achieve greater clear-headedness, whether in the midst of family emergencies or other challenging life experiences. It has also given them the ability to mold their own body. That, they said, is part of the gender-affirming piece of working out. For one, \u201cmy quads are huge,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has happened for me is that my body is looking more the way that I want it to, and that\u2019s not to say that everybody\u2019s body should look like mine, or that I have the ideal body for societal standards, but I feel at home in my body,\u201d they said. \u201cIt\u2019s both the way my body looks to me, but also the way that I occupy space in my body, like I\u2019m not closed off anymore. I walk around with a proud chest. When I take a deep breathe, I can feel my abdominal muscles, like I just feel embodied in a way that I never did before. It does different things for different people, but that\u2019s what it does for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
In additional to doing personalized workout routines, Oien also hosts group sessions at the Ripple Studio, located at 49 Main St., in Williamsburg.<\/p>\n