Frequently Asked Questions

1) How do I get started with you?

We begin with a phone or in person consultation, totally open ended so we could talk for 10 minutes or an hour! I don’t love putting a time limit on getting to know someone. From there, we discuss your training history, your loves and hates, wants and needs, where you see yourself in a year, etc. Then we get into scheduling, frequency of training, pricing and payment details and any other details we need to establish before beginning.

2) Where is your studio located? Where do I park and how do I get there? How do I enter?

My private studio is located in the Yardley Building at 600 Palisade Avenue Suite 212, Union City, NJ 07087.

There is a public parking lot at the front of the building. If you are a morning client, it is likely you’ll find parking. If you are an afternoon or evening client, it is less likely you’ll find parking BUT, it is very likely you’ll find street parking right away. Give yourself 5-10 minutes to find parking, just in case.

The studio is located inside a large, multi-purpose industrial building with various businesses taking residence adjacent to me, below and above me. The building is conveniently located at the junction of 3 main cities: Hoboken, Jersey City and Union City. Palisade Ave is a main street with plenty of public transportation. If you are local, it is very likely you can also walk to the studio. I heavily encourage daily walks for everything and so this would be a way for you to get more daily steps in.

You can enter the building one of two ways. As you enter the parking lot, there is a door to the left in Building B, take the stairs to the second floor, the studio will be right as you exit the stairs. If the side door is closed for any reason (occasionally someone else will close the door), go through the front door which is always wide open. It is a straight shot just as you enter the parking lot.

3) What questions should I think through and present when we meet?

The most important element I’d like you to consider is what you expect to gain from this experience. It can most definitely more than one, such as, losing weight and GAINING absolute strength. Yes, this definitely can occur simultaneously.

Come prepared with a general idea on what you would like to get out of our partnership. I am here to serve you, to teach you how to move well, pain free and consequently, gain a better sense of your body overall, so whatever “goals” or adaptations to training you expect to gain, tell me all about them. My job is to find the most efficient, most challenging but safest path to get you there. Remember that you are not finished once you get there, this is a forever thing. This doesn’t mean you’re bound to me in any way, this means that my hope for you is to keep what you’ve learned and to spread it to others in the most positive and selfless way. Ultimately, my hope is that you become “a person who works out,” and perhaps eventually see it as an integral part of your life, much like eating. If we don’t eat, we know what happens. If we don’t move, consider the consequences to be just as unpleasant. This is not a scare tactic, this is the absolute truth. Movement and fitness are not punishments for eating poorly, it should be, in time, a process you find somewhat enjoyable and valuable to your life. I believe everything we do in our lives is beautiful, down to how we wash dishes, or perform a lunge, or put on eyeshadow. It is the human experience, it is being a person, it all matters.

4) What is the process like once we get started?

During the first few sessions, we establish baselines and benchmarks, we find your edges and then back off of them once we identify them. There will be element of experimentation, meaning, I will have various weights and options for you. Some will be too light, some will be heavy, some will be just right. Your job is to identify what FEELS right (and of course, having no clue on how something should feels is more than alright, this is very much a give and take and so I can easily tell if something isn’t serving you).

Some movements may not work at all and that’s where I’ll replace or eliminate something for some time. The magic of exercise is that you can achieve the same goal in a multitude of ways, so don’t be discouraged or worried if I change something on the spot because it didn’t work, remember than we were all beginners at some point and if I or anyone else had walked away when something became challenging or suddenly required more thought… progress in any industry or art form would have never occurred. There is an element of “go with the flow,” despite my obsessive planning and hope things go exactly as written.

Once we go through that process and we meet one another halfway, the real work begins. From there, we build a foundation in terms of moving pain free while also learning that discomfort is where we want to live. Fitness is hard, if it weren’t, then it wouldn’t provide enough stimulus to induce change and thus adaptation.

5) What are your prices and packages?

This is something I exclusively discuss in person or over the phone. Personal training, if done well, is a high quality and worthwhile service for those who seek it out. I understand the feeling of being debilitated by options and not knowing who to choose and what to believe. But even so, no decision is a decision in itself. Consultations are completely free so it doesn’t hurt to just talk, without any pressure. I am not a salesperson, to my old managers’ dissatisfaction from Equinox 12 years ago. If you do not want to work together after discussing pricing, I completely understand. I would never force or push someone to work with for any reason.

6) What precautions are you taking during the pandemic?

First and foremost, I opened my private studio for this very reason. My space is JUST for me and my client, literally just us in a 1100 studio with giant windows, ventilation, air purifiers, fans, air conditioning and heating. I provide plenty of high grade hand sanitizer, soaps, one time use napkins and towels and plenty of cleaning products.

The building provides daily cleaning of the hallways and bathrooms.

I keep my physical distance as well.

All equipment is cleaned at the beginning of the day, in between clients as well as the end of the day.