Barnes & Thornburg partner and her husband flex their business muscle with fitness venture

To get a break from the day-to-day stresses of practicing law, some attorneys turn to physical fitness programs and a weekly routine of workouts as part of their work-life balance or for specific health reasons.

Caitlin Byczko started going to Myriad Fitness + Yoga after she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor.

“One of the things the doctor said was ‘we need you to get very strong, in case we have to remove it,’” Byczko said, adding that she ultimately did not need surgery for the tumor.

Byczko, a partner with Barnes & Thornburg, said her husband, Jared, opened the gym with a co-owner in 2011.

She initially met her husband at Myriad in 2013 and eventually the couple purchased the business together from a former business partner.

Byczko said the gym’s original location was on North Delaware Street near Riley Towers, before moving to North Capitol Street and finally to the gym and yoga studio’s current site inside the renovated Stutz Building on the corner of Senate Avenue and 11th Street.

With its centralized downtown Indianapolis location, the gym has drawn a strong following from the legal community.

Myriad’s current membership stands at more than 300, Byczko said, with roughly 10% of that membership consisting of attorneys, judges or legal staff at area law firms.

“There’s a lot of friendships that come out of the gym,” Byczko said.

Myriad’s fitness/yoga programs

Myriad opened in 2011 as the city’s original CrossFit affiliate and was known at the time as CrossFit NapTown.

It offers a number of yoga, CrossFit, weightlifting and personal training programs.

Byczko said Myriad’s functional fitness classes are the business’ bread and butter.

She said the gym also started offering a HYROX program, something relatively new to the U.S. that Byczko called “the future of fitness programs.”

Myriad describes HYROX training as being focused on the following movements: running, rowing, skiing, sled pulls, sled pushes, burpees, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls.

Byczko said Myriad is the first downtown Indianapolis HYROX affiliate.

“It works really well for someone who has a functional fitness background,” Byczko said.

Myraid’s busiest times are generally either at 5:30 a.m. or between 5:15 and 7:30 p.m.

Early morning programs tend to draw a lot of attorneys or what Byczko referred to as Type A professionals.

Some weekend classes draw 30 people, she said.

Gym membership helps attorneys with work-life balance

Byczko said Myriad has intentionally built a community with its programs and welcoming environment.

She noted how important it is for attorneys to find a positive outlet with physical fitness.

A 2024 Bloomberg Law Attorney Well-Being Report looked at mental health challenges in the legal profession and how attorneys address those issues.

According to the survey, the largest percentage of attorneys (71%) said they engage in hobbies like hiking, attending sporting events, reading, gaming, and watching TV.

Also, a majority of Bloomberg respondents also said they manage their wellness through regular exercise and spending time with family.

Some local attorneys, like Matt Phillips of Whitten Law Office and Will Gooden of Clark, Quinn, Moses, Scott & Grahn, have been members at Myriad for more than a decade.

Others like Aly Hughes, also a Barnes & Thornburg partner like Byczko, joined later.

Hughes said she joined Myriad right before the COVID pandemic.

“I played a lot of sports growing up. But I have not been a good exerciser as an adult,” Hughes said.

Hughes comes to CrossFit classes and started working with a personal trainer last year.

Jannie Steck, a partner with Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, originally joined in 2015.

Steck said she’s worked with a personal trainer for five years. With the demands of her job, having a workout routine ensures she stays healthy, she said.

Attorneys, particularly when they are younger, sometimes have difficulty maintaining a good work-life balance while managing the demands of their jobs, Steck said.

“A lot of times, the first thing that goes is exercise and working out,” Steck noted.

Phillips has participated in sports or trained most of his life and has come into the gym four to five days a week for 12 years.

He said his fitness training has changed over time.

“The gym has always kind of met me where I’m at,” Phillips said, adding, “I think it helps tremendously with decompression.”

Phillips said being a regular at Myriad and exercising on a consistent basis has obvious benefits, like helping him sleep better and maintain his mental health.

Gooden said he joined in 2013 and enjoys yoga and CrossFit.

Like Phillips, he visits Myriad up to five times a week.

He credits his workout routine with helping him with his work as a litigator.

“I would not be nearly as good at what I do if I wasn’t a regular,” Gooden said.•