New Site Gets Fit with Space Aliens and Zombies

Feb. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- There are all kinds of fitness fads, so why not one that incorporates space aliens and zombies into its regimen? That’s what Alien Invasion Zombie Apocalypse Fitness does. Or AIZA Fitness, as its creator and self-designated Life Coach, Courtney Mroch, calls it. It is a not doctor recommended or approved approach to getting in shape –whether for regular life or to survive an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse.

“It may have a cheeky ring to it,” Mroch admits, “but the idea is well-intentioned. It’s about offering people a new, fun way to think about getting fit, keeping healthy, and surviving anything Life might throw at them –even something as far-fetched as aliens or zombies.”

Mroch knows a thing or two about trying to get fit, keep healthy, and stay alive. She’s a cancer survivor, currently four years in remission after battling Stage 2 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I’ve never faced an alien or zombie, but I can’t imagine either being scarier than cancer,” Mroch jokes. “Yet, if I ever do meet an alien or zombie, or even cancer again, I want to be in the best fighting shape, both physically, emotionally, and mentally, I can be in. That’s why I started AIZA Fitness. Thinking about outsmarting and outmaneuvering zombies or aliens makes thinking about fitness fun.”

Mroch confesses she’s been overweight most of her life and has struggled to lose weight. However, even though she has a “penchant for sweets and cheeseburgers,” she’s also always been physically active. In fact, she’s the captain of a USTA team that won the Tennessee State Championship last year and placed third at Sectionals.

“As I like to say, I may be chunky but I’m a little monkey. That’s kind of how I look at AIZA Fitness too. It’s not so much a matter of how much you weigh as it is if you can get away.”

AIZA Fitness was inspired by her desire to “get fit to hit” on the tennis court and by her other passion: the apocalypse fiction genre.

“Like millions of other fans, I love shows like The Walking Dead or Falling Skies. As I was watching both of their first seasons, I kept thinking about how much walking and running they do –and how little food they eat. I figured I’d for sure lose weight in an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse. That’s how I started thinking about ways to get in shape to survive, and how it’d benefit my health now.”

Mroch originally launched her site, alienandzombiefitness.com, in October of 2011. However, her duties as Director of Paranormal Tourism for her other site, Haunt Jaunts, as well as her tennis captain duties prevented her from dedicating more attention to AIZA Fitness until late 2012/the start of 2013.

Ever since she has, she’s watched it take off, particularly on Facebook. She has plans to publish an Alien Invasion Zombie Apocalypse Fitness book and wanted to test the interest. She placed a few inexpensive ads on Facebook to advertise the Alien Invasion and Zombie Apocalypse Fitness Facebook page. In the first 10 days it jumped from 34 likes to over 1,300. In a month it had climbed to over 3,500.

“I’ve always had good luck whenever I’ve advertised my other site’s Facebook page, but it’s never had the kind of response AIZA did,” Mroch says. “Either I’ve gotten better at writing copy and targeting demographics, or there’s a lot of other alien and zombie lovers who want to get fit enough to survive an invasion or apocalypse too.”

In addition to posting blogs, Mroch’s site has a page that lists Zombie Survival Fitness programs (yes, there are a couple) and includes a forum for other Survivor Wannabes to discuss everything from books and movies to sharing fitness and survival tips to swapping recipes.

“I’m hoping to create a community where people think about how they’d survive, evaluate what shape they’re in now, assess how they can improve it, if need be, and interact with others to reach their goals or just make some new friends. Mostly I’m just trying to keep myself motivated to exercise and eat right. Maintaining my site keeps me more accountable than any other approach I’ve tried so far, and has been a lot more fun.”