Andy Sykes poses in front of the logo of his company Amplify My Training on April 26th.
Andy Sykes, adjunct professor of human performance studies at Wichita State University and former associate director of the Heskett Center, has left his role at the university to focus on new training ventures. enhance your training.
“I developed a new training company, Amplify, and it’s really a training center that covers everything from athletics to rehabilitation,” Sykes said.
His dream of starting a training company began before the COVID-19 pandemic when he gathered equipment in his garage gym and invited friends to work out together.
Sykes said she is sad to have to leave teaching, but excited to devote all her energy to her business. It was tough, he said, juggling eight-hour days, coming home, preparing for lectures, and trying to start a business at the same time.
“I think it’s going to improve my work-life balance and improve my health because it’s very tiring, but it just makes my stress levels more manageable and I’m looking forward to that,” Sykes said.
When coming up with a name and logo for his business, Sykes turned to a graphic design student he worked with. He said he wanted to include a curve known as a supercompensation curve.
“Essentially, that’s where the training stimulus occurs, fatigue occurs, and recovery occurs to a level higher than the initial training stimulus, so it’s about growth and development,” Sykes said.
He taught sports nutrition and strength conditioning at Wichita State University, and is also part of the coaching staff for the bowling and rowing teams, training players three times a week.
“My role there is to make sure they don’t get hurt,” Sykes said. “It allows them to become stronger, healthier and move correctly. “Being able to make sure they move correctly so they can create the proper biomechanics is something I can do to help them It’s the basis of handling.”
Sykes’ involvement with Wichita State began in 2010 when he immigrated from England as a member of Wichita State’s bowling team.
He earned a degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in exercise physiology. During the completion of his master’s program, he was asked to teach as a graduate assistant.
“We come to college to improve and get a higher education, and I did the same and accepted the opportunity to teach,” Sykes said. “I’ve reached a point where I can’t grow anymore, so I have to take the next step to continue growing.”
Sykes plans to continue training the bowling and rowing teams, but is sad to be away from his students.
He said since he has been at Wichita State for 10 years, he still keeps in touch with past students who are chiropractors and physical therapists.
“Now I get to work with them, but they’re more certified than I am. They’re more qualified than I am,” Sykes said. “They remember how I treated them, how we interacted. It’s important to always present your best self and be nice to people.”
Wichita State graduate Jerrod Fromek was a member of the campus bowling team, where he met Sykes.
Fromek wanted to connect with Sykes and increase his training to strengthen his knee. He said he believes training at Amplify beats the competition because Sykes creates a plan that is tailored to each member.
“I don’t want to think about anything when I’m training,” Fromek said. “Each plan is individualized and not cookie-cutter.”
Sykes, who also owns a supplement brand, opened a cafe in his gym on Saturday that serves clean, healthy meals and protein smoothies.
He says the sky is the limit with Amplify and encourages everyone to give training a chance.
“We encourage you to reach out and be a part of it because it’s really amazing,” Sykes said. “I’m already training deans, professors, and retired faculty. They’ve known me since I retired, and they know the quality of what I pursue.”
