Personal Training
the meat and potatoes of what we do at SKT
Personal training should do more than make you tired. It should teach you how your body works—and help you become stronger for the life you actually live.
I offer individualized strength and mobility coaching in Hopewell Valley, & Princeton, NJ, in Manhattan, and online. My clients include active adults, athletes, retirees, and people transitioning from physical therapy back into confident, progressive training.
You may have been working out your whole life, but have you begun to train?
We begin by looking at how you move, what you feel, where you compensate, and what you want your body to be able to do. Your program may incorporate kettlebells, barbells, mobility work, corrective exercise, calisthenics and conditioning—but the method follows the person, not the other way around.
Training is a painstaking process, and we pride ourselves on learning through a pedagogically sound system. In the words of one long time student, we “work from the inside out.”
This work is both intellectual and physical—it’s not enough to know, and it’s not enough to do.
You need to feel.
Alan’s bloodwork showed meaninful improvement in LDL after 5 years of cardio and sports alone not had not produced the changes he wanted. He made physique/mobility changes he never thought possible. Read his story here.
A different approach to fitness…
We Are Vehemently Against:
-sweating as much as possible for the sake of burning calories, despite whatever damage you’re wreaking on your musculoskeletal system
-pushing past pain in the name of “finishing the workout” or aesthetics
-doing collegiate-level movements without meeting fundamental mobility/strength pre-requisties
-quick fixes and unrealistic expectations
-zoning out at the gym
-random workouts
We Champion Our Principles of Training:
-Changing movement patterns by understanding pre-requisite mobility and compensatory actions
-Learning which muscles should be working when; students know what that should feel like internally
-Finding goal movements that inspire you to dig deep, session after session, to systematically improve on by increasing range of motion and weighted progress
-Working at an appropriate level: once mastering the basics, working hard, sweating, and pushing is embraced. It’s simply done the right way.
-Asking questions, showing up for the process, and mindful connection with the self
-Being frustrated while staying on the path
What we may work on:
Our students…
are people who’ve worked out for their entire lives but never quite knew which muscle was doing what; when, or why it mattered. People who have pushed really hard (or too hard) in CrossFit, and people who haven’t pushed hard enough in yoga and Pilates. Sometimes, they need to start with our rehab & pain approach, even if they are raring to go.
Aesthetics are their secondary or tertiary goal—they’ve come to SKT to achieve strength and mobility feats, not to be fitness models. We are a body-positive, Health At Every Size (HAES) inclusive space. As the time goes by, students find they end up being happy with the way they look.
We might hear them say, “I can see my arm muscles more than ever before! I feel my stomach is tightening up, I’m starting to even see those top abs!” But that isn’t and wasn’t their primary goal. Rather, they’re training to take a hike with more joy, play their sport better, pick up their kids more easily, and retire with joy. They’re training to get stronger and more resilient for whatever life throws at them.
Their goals run the gamut of functionality, but every day they all show up to learn more and do better.