Tag Archives: personal trainer

Personal Trainer Drew Manning Intentionally Gains 70 Pounds in 6 Months

When I called Drew Manning, he answered the phone noticeably winded, with a couple of apologies about how he’d just run down the stairs and was currently under the weather.

“I haven’t been sick in years,” he told me in a raspy voice.

This might not seem out of character for most people, but for Drew, it’s far from anything he’s ever known. Almost six months ago, Drew had a body most men dream about and women fawn over. His 6’2″ frame weighed 193 pounds, weight that had very little to do with fat and very much to do with a chiseled frame. Today, Drew weighs 263 pounds and his body resembles that of a couch potato.

This past spring, the part-time personal trainer realized he’d been fit and healthy his entire life, and while he helps many clients find their way to fitness, he’s never really walked in their shoes.

“My passion is fitness and I wanted to find more people to influence,” Drew told us in a recent interview. “What if I got fat and showed people how to get in shape? It could be a good learning experience.”

So Drew embarked on a journey that some DIR fans have called idiotic, ridiculous, and crazy. Since May 7, 2024, Drew has intentionally gained 68 pounds, and is documenting the entire experience on his site Fit2Fat2Fit. This is certainly not a permanent lifestyle change for the husband and father, as two weeks from now he’ll turn things around and start working to lose the weight and regain his fit body. (more…)

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Natalie K

The National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association Adds Sport Yoga Certification

With more than 55,000 members in 55 countries, the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA) is one of the largest fitness associations in the world.  Founded by John Spencer Ellis in 1992, NESTA not only certifies personal trainers and fitness instructors, it is now branching out with a new Sport Yoga certification for fitness center based yoga teachers. Recognizing the rise in popularity and interest for yoga in health and fitness centers, Ellis saw a need to add yoga to NESTA’s menu of fitness certification programs.

The Sport Yoga certification program costs $297 and is done exclusively online. Training materials include online videos, a digital manual and several audio lessons. The final exam consists of a combination of 100 multiple choice, matching and short answer questions. The entire program takes between 30 and 40 hours to complete. Prior fitness knowledge is not a requirement to enroll in the course. Basic understanding of the English language, moderate flexibility and a relative level of fitness are the only prerequisites.

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Posted on October 13, 2023 by Jill

Zoe Saldana’s Killer Workout for Colombiana

By Kelsey Murray

Zoe Saldana is a beautiful, talented young actress who is really starting to gain the attention and fame she deserves. Her newest movie to hit the big screens was Colombiana, which opened in the USA on August 26, 2024.

In the film, Saldana plays Cataleya, an assassin who is in killer shape (no pun intended). In order to get the fantastic physique to portray Cataleya, Saldana trained three or four days each week with her personal trainer, Steve Moyer. Saldana has worked with Moyer since 2024; the trainer also works with Amanda Righetti and Shannon Doherty.

Moyer and Saldana both wanted to keep her already athletic build, but also wanted to keep her injury-free and healthy while training for and shooting the film.

“I give her a lot of credit – she knows how to eat healthy for herself,” Moyer said of Saldana. “I give her the tips and suggestions when she wants them.”

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Posted on September 2, 2023 by Health Buzz

Your Personal Trainer Isn’t Really That Different From You

I recently stumbled upon a very interesting article: “9 Secrets Your Personal Trainer Doesn’t Want You to Know.” As a certified personal trainer myself, I read through each “secret,” mostly nodding my head. Because – believe it or not – they’re mostly true. Maybe they’re not all true for me personally as a trainer, but I can easily attribute them to other trainers – both good ones and not-so-good ones- I’ve worked with.

I know a number of trainers who have relied on coffee and cigarettes to stave off hunger in order to fit in a smaller-sized workout pant. I know a lot of trainers who work out hard, and often play hard — pounding beers and pizza most of the weekend. There are definitely trainers who dial up the customer service for higher-profile clients, and I’d be remiss to not admit that some clients I’ve had myself didn’t really need me to get a good workout. Also, believe me that all trainers hate it when you cancel an appointment at the last minute, even if you do pay for the session.

Surprised? Don’t be. Personal trainers really aren’t that different from you. Sure, they have more workout experience and knowledge than you do, and them standing there with that clipboard and correcting your form makes them seem like they’re superhuman sometimes, but they have a lot of the same health and wellness hang-ups and struggles that you probably do.

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Posted on July 27, 2023 by Jennipher

Jillian Michaels Talks Body Image and Staying Motivated

As one of the most famous personal trainers in the world, when Jillian Michaels talks about fitness and weight loss, people listen. Jillian recently left the hit TV show The Biggest Loser after 11 seasons of helping dozens of contestants drop thousands of pounds. Although her fame came from being a tough trainer on the show who doesn’t mince words, Jillian is also famous for getting results.

Now that she has left the show, many of her fans are wondering what’s next for this fitness guru. Fitness Magazine recently interviewed Jillian to discuss her upcoming projects, why she left The Biggest Loser and her personal exercise philosophy.

As can be expected with Jillian, she spoke frankly about following her gut and how she had to leave The Biggest Loser because the job no longer made her happy. Jillian didn’t believe she was living up to her full potential and wants to focus on her personal legacy.

Jillian discussed the pressure she feels to be in perfect shape as a trainer that’s constantly in the public eye, and how that pressure fuels her to stay on track with her workouts.

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Posted on June 24, 2023 by Descygna

Meet Biggest Loser’s Dolvett Quince

It was announced that Dolvett Quince will join Bob Harper and Anna Kournikova as the newest trainer for season 12 of Biggest Loser, which begins filming next week. While it may take fans a while to warm up to the idea of the hit show without Jillian Michaels, Quince definitely has the fitness chops to whip a new batch of contestants into shape.

Quince is an IFFA and ISSA certified master trainer, meaning he has earned master fitness trainer credentials, and is the owner of BodySculptor Inc., and the exclusive Body Sculptor studio in Atlanta, GA which he opened in 2004 with wild success. Quince has used his expertise to train celebrities such as Janet Jackson,  Justin Beiber, Boris Kodjoe and Baltimore Ravens Tight End Daniel Wilcox, but according to his website, Quince says his biggest accomplishment as a trainer was “helping one client lose 325 pounds”.

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Posted on June 2, 2023 by Kelly

Dolvett Quince Announced as Newest Trainer on The Biggest Loser

UPDATE: Watch our interview with Dolvett Quince live from The Ranch during week one!
NBC’s The Biggest Loser is set to begin filming Season 12 this week in Southern California. Well known for helping contestants transform their lives with astronomical weight loss, the trainers are arguably the best part of the show. Many tune in each week to see with what Jillian, Bob, Cara and Brett will challenge the contestants. With the announcement that Jillian Michaels has left the show, rumors swirled as to who would fill the slot. Anna Kournikova was announced at the live finale of season 11, but there were rumors that there was at least one more trainer to be added.

Today, NBC announced that the final trainer will be Dolvett Quince. The founder of Atlanta’s Body Sculptor, Inc., he’s been the city’s go-to trainer for more than ten years. Recently, he toured with Justin Bieber for three months, creating a diet and fitness plan to keep the superstar in top physical condition.

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Posted on June 2, 2023 by Carmen

What it’s Really Like Inside a Weight Loss Resort

Jackie Poplaski is a NASM certified personal trainer, HFPN coach, spinning and kickboxing instructor, and holds her coaching certificate from NYU. She currently works as a behavior change coach and fitness instructor at Shane Diet Resorts.

As a coach and fitness trainer at a summer weight loss resort, I often talk to people who are fascinated with the popular weight loss show, The Biggest Loser. They want to know whether a vacation at a weight loss resort will be like the show.

We do, in fact, get to know our guests personally… heck, we live together, eat together, and sweat together…a lot. That means if you say you want to work hard but you’re not actually putting in the effort, we’re going to call you on it.

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Posted on February 10, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Insider Weight Loss Secrets From a Personal Trainer

Fitness and weight loss is a science. Personal trainers, coaches, doctors and others in the health field know this, because we’ve studied it at length and have devoted our lives to it.

Unfortunately, most of what the general public knows about weight loss is what they hear on TV, read in magazines or glean from late night infomercials. The problem with that? Everyone is trying to sell you something. They don’t have your best interests at heart. Their goal is to confuse you into thinking they have the one, true answer, when, in fact, everyone knows the answer to weight loss: a healthy diet and consistent exercise.

There are a few insider tid bits that don’t make it to the general public very often, because it doesn’t help anyone sell machines or diet pills or meal plans. Sorry if any of these shatter your weight loss world as you know it, but knowledge is power, folks.

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Posted on January 25, 2024 by Kelly

How To Become a Personal Trainer

If you are passionate about health and wellness, motivating others and of course, enjoy logging long hours inside your favorite gym or health club, you might be well suited for a career as a personal trainer. While getting into physical shape can be hard work, it’s even harder work to achieve and sustain a career as a personal trainer. Though it might be challenging, it’s more than just physical effort.

“The most challenging part about being a trainer is helping clients deal with their personal issues. Often, clients are working to lose weight and sometimes you need to cross the line into a person’s emotions to help them solve issues that might be affecting their weight problem,” said Tony Cress, NASM-CPT, of Tony Cress Personal Training. “It’s very hard and emotional, both as the trainer and the client.”

To become a personal trainer, there are a few things a person should accomplish before they begin looking for a job or planning to launch their own private consulting business.

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Posted on January 24, 2024 by Maris

Cara Castronuova is the New Biggest Loser Trainer

Her name is Cara Castronuova. Her job title is Biggest Loser trainer. She’s one of two new faces everyone has been dying to see and we’re thrilled to be amongst the first to introduce you.

Listen now to our exclusive interview and get to know more about the new Biggest Loser trainer!

Cara, a certified personal trainer, will soon be a household name, but for some time she’s been a fairly familiar one in boxing circles. The two-time Golden Gloves winner has been boxing since she was five, a sport she took up with her father, a former Marine, in the family garage. She cites boxing as having given her a lot and that it made the relationship with her dad closer. He passed away when she was just 14 (her mom passed in a car accident just four years ago) and continued boxing in his memory. Cara recalls the first time she got punched in the face and how much she liked it. “Wow! I love this! It made me want to fight back harder.” (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Natalie K