Credentials
Fitness Titles
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Bio
When I graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, I truly believed I wanted to be a radio DJ. I went to a couple of interviews, and quickly realized that not attending a communications school would be a bit of a hinderance in achieving my goal.
As I re-evaluated my career choices, I recalled that I had read, or been told, at one time, 'if you work at what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.' Quite cliche, to be sure. Nonetheless, I set to thinking about what I had done during my years at prep school and in college that were truly enjoyable. I started lifting and learning about weight training when I was 12 years old, and my commitment to training continued through school. Many happy memories and feelings of accomplishment were connected to athletics, and being on and around teams. I was the guy in the fitness center who the other students would ask questions about training, and I enjoyed the opportunity to share what I had been practicing.
Seeking employment, initially, in health clubs was my first step. I quickly learned that clubs (in the early 90's) were really interested in hiring membership salespeople, but didn't have much in the way of a position for an individual fitness instructor. I took on some shift work as a manager of the seasonal division of Cedardale health club in Bradford, MA. My foot was in the door, but personal training was not really part of the club's makeup.
The day that changed my life came about a year later. I had left Cedardale and was working out at Gold's Gym in Salisbury, MA. As I walked to the locker room, I noticed a sign on the bulletin board that read, "Love your work as much as you love your workout!" It was a flyer for Fitness Resource Associates Personal Fitness Trainer Certification. I tore the sign off the wall, stuffed it in my gym bag, and took it home to beg my Dad for the tuition. After a brief groan and eye roll that silently said 'where did I go wrong?' he agreed to my request.
For eight weeks, I drove 45 minutes each way to the classes, and I just loved it. I passed the exam at the end of the course, and became a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer in 1991. While I was ecstatic, there still was not much of a job market in New England for trainers. Long story short, I moved to Illinois in late 1991, went to work for the now-defunct Deerfield Multiplex, and during my 13 years there, passed ACE, NASM-Advanced, NSCA-CSCS, and levels 1 and 2 of the RTS program. Since a decade had passed, I took and achieved the NSCA's Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist certification again in 2006.
I have been lucky to do many things in the fitness field. I have been a fitness specialist, a personal training director, fitness director for both the Deerfield Multiplex and Bannockburn Clubs (now Midtown Athletic Club), worked as a private, in-home trainer, worked with some great trainers in three different independent training studios, and have obtained my NYSCA Coaches Certification in order to coach my kids' sports teams.
Through these 16 years, I have remained dedicated to doing what it was that inclined me to begin looking into the field: sharing knowledge by teaching, encouraging, and inspiring people to be the best they can be.
As I re-evaluated my career choices, I recalled that I had read, or been told, at one time, 'if you work at what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.' Quite cliche, to be sure. Nonetheless, I set to thinking about what I had done during my years at prep school and in college that were truly enjoyable. I started lifting and learning about weight training when I was 12 years old, and my commitment to training continued through school. Many happy memories and feelings of accomplishment were connected to athletics, and being on and around teams. I was the guy in the fitness center who the other students would ask questions about training, and I enjoyed the opportunity to share what I had been practicing.
Seeking employment, initially, in health clubs was my first step. I quickly learned that clubs (in the early 90's) were really interested in hiring membership salespeople, but didn't have much in the way of a position for an individual fitness instructor. I took on some shift work as a manager of the seasonal division of Cedardale health club in Bradford, MA. My foot was in the door, but personal training was not really part of the club's makeup.
The day that changed my life came about a year later. I had left Cedardale and was working out at Gold's Gym in Salisbury, MA. As I walked to the locker room, I noticed a sign on the bulletin board that read, "Love your work as much as you love your workout!" It was a flyer for Fitness Resource Associates Personal Fitness Trainer Certification. I tore the sign off the wall, stuffed it in my gym bag, and took it home to beg my Dad for the tuition. After a brief groan and eye roll that silently said 'where did I go wrong?' he agreed to my request.
For eight weeks, I drove 45 minutes each way to the classes, and I just loved it. I passed the exam at the end of the course, and became a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer in 1991. While I was ecstatic, there still was not much of a job market in New England for trainers. Long story short, I moved to Illinois in late 1991, went to work for the now-defunct Deerfield Multiplex, and during my 13 years there, passed ACE, NASM-Advanced, NSCA-CSCS, and levels 1 and 2 of the RTS program. Since a decade had passed, I took and achieved the NSCA's Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist certification again in 2006.
I have been lucky to do many things in the fitness field. I have been a fitness specialist, a personal training director, fitness director for both the Deerfield Multiplex and Bannockburn Clubs (now Midtown Athletic Club), worked as a private, in-home trainer, worked with some great trainers in three different independent training studios, and have obtained my NYSCA Coaches Certification in order to coach my kids' sports teams.
Through these 16 years, I have remained dedicated to doing what it was that inclined me to begin looking into the field: sharing knowledge by teaching, encouraging, and inspiring people to be the best they can be.