How long have you been a personal trainer?
I have been a personal trainer since August of 2016, so roughly two years.
When did you start at Repke Fitness?
I started training out of Repke Fitness in August after I received my ACE Certification. My first interaction at Repke Fitness was due to a friend who was working out there. Having always been active throughout my life, I figured it would be interesting to stop by and get a workout in with Louben, who I heard great things about. We got to talking and I asked him if he needed any help and if he’d like to work together in the future and the rest took care of itself. I’ve loved every second of working here.
What is your educational background?
I grew up in Severna Park (Shipley’s Choice) and went to Severna Park High School. After that, I completed my Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science at the University of Maryland, College Park.
What did you do before personal training?
After I graduated from the University of Maryland, I wanted to pursue a career in physical therapy. So, I worked at Bayside Physical Therapy in Millersville for over a year to gain some experience and further educate myself. I worked alongside some wonderful physical therapist and learned a great deal from them.
Why did you choose personal training?
Although physical therapy is a great field and I loved my experience working in a physical therapy clinic, my biggest frustration was the lack of connecting and building personal relationships with the patients. As a personal trainer, I feel like I’m able to make a greater impact. As a personal trainer not only am I helping them physically make changes, but my goal is to help them change their outlook on life in general. I want to help people use fitness and exercise as a way to jump-start other healthy changes in their life.
Why is fitness important to you?
To me, fitness isn’t about being the strongest, fastest, or biggest person in the room. It’s not about having the biggest chest or a six-pack. Fitness is so much more than that. It’s about physically and mentally challenging myself each time I step into the gym. Building confidence that translates to my everyday life. And about being functionally strong and avoiding injuries so I am able to travel, hike, and enjoy the outdoors. Most importantly, it is a lifestyle for me. Fitness and health is the foundation of my life to fight off injury, disease, and sickness, it is the best medicine on earth.
What does a typical week of exercise look like for you?
I try workout about 7 days a week. Now that doesn’t mean I lift weights for two hours every day. I commit four days of the week to strength training, two days to conditioning (sprints, interval cardio), and one day to recovery/stretching/mobility. I also make sure to fully recover after my conditioning days by spending 15-20 minutes walking.
My workouts typically last from 45 minutes to 75 minutes, depending on the day. I do take days off here and there though. There are some weeks where I’m only able to get maybe 3 or 4 days of working out in. Now, this is simply what works best for ME! That doesn’t mean this is the exact schedule you should follow. See what works best for you, what you enjoy doing, and what keeps you motivated and interested in working out. Typically 3-5 days of any sort of physical activity or purposeful exercise is great!
What would your advice be for someone just starting to workout?
Be PATIENT, make small changes over time, make it a lifestyle and most importantly do it for yourself. Regardless of what you see on social media or the number of magical supplements you take, changes WILL NOT happen overnight. It takes patience, consistency, and hard work. There will be times when you feel like giving up or when you aren’t seeing the changes you expected, DON’T GIVE UP! Don’t compare yourself to Instagram models or anyone else, just try to be better than you were yesterday and continue making changes that’ll impact your life forever!
What is your favorite body part(s) to work out?
Back, legs, and core! All three of these play an important role in keeping you healthy and injury-free, therefore I commit two days a week working on these body parts. Check out these two articles, Importance of the Posterior Chain and Transverse Abdominis, if you’re interested in learning more about the function and importance of these body parts!
What are your future plans?
I love what I do and the career that I’ve chosen. No matter what career you choose in life, it’s important to continually build and educate yourself in order to grow. My next goal from here is to become a certified strength and conditioning coach and maybe one day work at a collegiate level. But who knows, life is full of surprises! I’m going to continue enjoying every day, try to be better than I was the day before, and help people change their lives through fitness! Click the highlighted link to find out more about Rob.