UPDATE: 12/16/10 – Video added

My name is Yuri Kostovetskiy and I began training with David about 2 1/2 months ago on my legs. After the first trial session and the amazing leg workout he put me through I quickly realized that what I have been doing for legs all along was not even close to what he put me through. It was honestly the hardest workout of my life but I loved every second of it.

After just few short weeks of seeing him one time per week I have began to notice a change in my leg size and definition. I quickly realized that he is not only an incredible trainer but also a great motivator. Anytime I had questions for him about anything he was quick to reply with great knowledge about the topic.

Recently I started to train two times per week with David and I cant wait to add a third day. He has made my goal of possibly one day getting on stage much more realistic now. I know I still have a long way to go but with his expertise help, I am confident that I will reach it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for me individually. I have much respect for what you have transformed with my body and I am confident that you will continue to do to help me make my goal a someday reality. Your hard work, dedication and efforts are always well appreciated! Cant wait to do legs tomorrow!

Yuri Kostovetskiy

UPDATE:

I began working with Dave about 9 months ago just doing legs one time per week. I quickly realized and saw my results and the weight that I was moving each week and how my legs were changing I started to train three times per week and have never looked back. I went from possibly considering one day competing in bodybuilding to doing my first show in the 2010 NPC Pittsburgh and placing 7th out of 17 in my class.

Quickly approaching my 2nd show in less than 10 days, Dave has made me a believer and showed me that I can be competitive and look like I wanted to look on stage against people who have been doing this for years. He has been my coach, mentor and motivation through this long and painful process but I wouldn’t trade it in for the world.

I accomplished my goal and have never looked better and I owe it all to Dave’s hard work and dedication to my success! He is truly my inspiration and I know he will help me achieve more personal goals I have set for myself in the future!

-competed in the 2010 NPC Pittsburgh Bodybuilding Championship and took 7th out of 17 in an incredibly stacked class, after only training like a bodybuilder for 8 months!

-8 weeks later, competed in the 2010 NPC Philadelphia Bodybuilding Championship and took 7th out of 13 in men’s open middleweight bodybuilding, and 4th out of 15 in men’s novice lightweight bodybuilding.

-see more pictures here: http://gallery.rxmuscle.com/index.php?contest=40&year=207&bodybuilder=9101

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Needless to say I soon feel victim to freshman weight gain. After a year of indulging in the college lifestyle I realized I had lost my once athletic physique and soon began training again. Once I had a steady routine going I heard about fitness competitions, and the urge to compete overcame me. I knew I wanted to be on that stage, and I thought I could do it all by myse

lf. I spent hours researching the perfect workout routines, and reading endless forums of how to drop weight fast to get that toned look. I thought I’d be on stage in no time. Boy was I wrong!

But luck have it after a year of what I like to call “backyard training” I met my current boyfriend, Yuri Kostovetskiy, who was training to compete in bodybuilding competitions. This is how I met Dave, and how he became my trainer.

After my first workout with Dave I realized that no amount of information I read online could have pushed me to my potential like he does. Dave pushed me past the limits I had set for myself and made me realize how much potential I had to transform my body. After several months of training I took my first step on stage, and finally got my chance to compete; and instead of filling that need and urge I had had to compete, I became thirstier than ever for success.

Competing in Philly was an eye opening experience into a whole new level of competition, and I learned many humbling lessons. As stated, I was raised training and I was used to working hard and winning. At my first competition I came in 7th place; to be honest, at first I was upset. I wasn’t used to working so hard and not placing. After I had some time to get over it, I finally realized, it’s not about where you place, or if I came home with a trophy: It was the fact that I had set a goal of stepping on that stage knowing that I had pushed myself as hard as I could and that there wasn’t anything else I could have done to be prepared. Once I made that realization I knew I had succeeded.

I could not have done this without Dave, because he not only pushes me in the gym, but he helps me see the big picture, and how success is really defined. That being said, I’m more fired up than ever to compete in six weeks at the 2010 NPC Maryland State, and plan to keep training hard and competing in the future!

My wife showed me a couple of articles on nutrition and training written by David, and he seemed to make a lot of sense, so my wife and I started training in tandem with David twice a week. He came up with a diet and exercise plan. And more importantly, he explained the reasoning behind everything, which made it a whole lot easier to stick with the program. I gained almost 25 pounds of mostly muscle in 4 months, and increased my strength significantly. The weights I was struggling with in the beginning looked like a joke after 4 months. I went from leg pressing 180 to 450 pounds!

The knowledge and understanding that I developed from David is probably more important to note than the actual weight gain. By the time I reached my goal, I felt fully educated, and was confident that I could do this all over again by myself if I had to. There is no secret sauce with David, he fully shares his knowledge and that alone will be worth training with him. (He is very motivating and keeps you accountable too, for those of us who need help in those areas).

Gopi Mandela

I am actually surprised how much stronger I am compared to when I started working with you. The ab exercises I did today were the ones you showed me weeks ago but I could actually do some of them where before they were a huge struggle.

I don’t want to know the ages of the people you pair up with me (‘cause I won’t use age as an excuse) but it is very good motivation.

I know I could not be where I’m at without your help – and pushing my limits.
Thanks again and I have a lot of respect for what you do

I did even single hand a sailboat today for a couple hours.
Let me know if you and Nikki were want to go sailing.
Ok I will start the diet emails again.

Julia A. Catuara

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Accomplishments:
• gained 11lbs of lean mass in 16 weeks
• decreased body fat from 8.9% to 8.2% while gaining muscle mass
• increased strength by 50%

Dear Prospective Client:

I have been a member at Lifetime Fitness for just over 4 years now. Over these 4 years, I would work out routinely for a month or two and then stop going for a few months., I could never get a solid routine in place. As well as not having a regular routine, my work schedule was all over the place too. This led me to miss important meals or not having them at all. In general, I was not seeing any progress or growth throughout this time period.

It wasn’t until I was told about David from one of my customers that this changed. She had been seeing David for some time now and really enjoyed his training and his style. She really wanted me to meet him, because she thought he could really help me. When I first met with David, he asked me what it was that I wanted to accomplish. I told him my story about not seeing any progress throughout the years and what I wanted to achieve.

After training with David for a month, I really noticed a change in myself. I was more in a routine of working out and eating more regularly. David showed me positive results within this first month that I hadn’t seen over the last 4 years I had been working out on and off by myself.

I only trained with David for 4 months, but over this time he has shared a lot of his knowledge with me. He took time out to suggest and write up a diet that would help me reach my goals. He also would write up “solo workouts” that I would do on my own on days that I didn’t meet with him. Throughout this time, I have really learned a lot from him. With all this, I now have a good foundation to build off of to further obtain my goals.

Thanks David!!!

Tony Choi

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Accomplishments:
• dramatically increased muscle mass and muscular bodyweight
• bodyweight went from 117lbs to 154lbs with no fat gain!
• increased upper arm measurement from 9.5” to nearly 13”
• dramatically increased strength, including a deadlift of over 335lbs

An open letter regarding personal trainer David Johnston:

My name is Brian, and I’ve been coming to Lifetime fitness to work out since 2006. Dave is actually the third personal trainer with whom I’ve worked. I’ve been very impressed with the range of his knowledge and his ability to tailor not only a workout program but also a diet for me. I’ve been slim my whole life and it’s been a challenge to gain weight, but my goal since joining Lifetime has been to put on muscle. When I first started at Lifetime, I weight less than 120 pounds, and now I weight in the 150s, with the bulk of those gains coming while working out with Dave. I’ve done deadlifts and rack pulls of over 350 pounds as a result of his training.

I’ve also been impressed with Dave’s scheduling flexibility. When I first started at Lifetime, I lived in Lisle but I now live in Chicago. Although the commute to the gym is much longer than it used to be, I’m motivated to continue training with Dave and I’m pleased that he’s been willing to work with me.

So, if you’re trying to gain muscle, I’m living proof that Dave’s methods work. I also have confidence that people with fitness goals different from my own (e.g. losing weight) could benefit from Dave’s extensive health and fitness knowledge. I give Dave my strongest endorsement and hope he’ll continue helping people reach their fitness goals.

Brian
Chicago

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Accomplishments:
• added 10lbs of lean muscle to his frame while simultaneously getting leaner
• learned how to cut his work-out time in half while reaping greater results
• learned to do his cardio properly in order to minimize muscle loss and maximize fat burning

Hey David, I just wanted to drop you a quick note before you left for Maryland thanking you for all of your help. I know I’ve asked you a million questions over the past three years, but every time I bugged you, you really took the time to explain things to me. You never brushed off a question as insignificant, but worked to show me the bigger pictures, and how my nutrition and weight training have to work together. Since you rewrote my workout routine last fall, I have gained over ten pounds while actually getting a little bit leaner. (Thanks for explaining the MAP test to me!) I’ll continue to train hard and eat right while you set out to build a new army on the east coast!

Make sure to keep in touch. I’ll hold down Warrenville while you’re gone.

Rick Namen
5/24/08

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Accomplishments:
• learned how to push through her strength and muscle plateaus after years of being stuck
• noticeably increased lower body musculature in a manner of weeks
• learned a new arsenal of exercises for making new gains

I have been working out at Lifetime Fitness for 8 years and have worked with several trainers. I saw David train for his competition and create and awesome, cut, muscular body. I then watched him train two other women and totally transform their bodies. I decided to hire David and immediately realized that he was the best trainer I ever worked with for the following reasons:

1) David is extremely knowledgeable and intelligent.
2) He explains proper technique.
3) He challenges and pushes me to achieve maximum goals.
4) He taught me about nutrition and created a customized mean plan to meet my goals.
5) He created a workout plan for me that is efficient and meets my goals of building muscle, definition and strength.
6) David is motivating and awesome to work with.

Julie L
5/10/08

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Accomplishments:
• gained 20lbs of muscle in just over 12 months
• significantly increased strength on every single exercise
• successfully learned to weight train independently
• receives daily comments and compliments on the improvements to his physique

My name is Dan McDonald, and I recommend anyone and everyone to consider personal training with David Johnston. When I met David, I had had a year of training in college and had continued my exercise routines from that trainer for over a year with minimal improvements. I had reached a plateau at 152 pounds. After a little more than a year training with David, I am now 170 pounds and have made significant strength gains. I now feel that I have a wider repertoire of exercises and strategies to continue to make improvements in my level of fitness. David always pushed me to the limit and even though there were times that I thought I would pass out, it is all worth it in the end, when a friend, co-worker, or even a total stranger compliments me on my physique. Without him, the improvements I have experienced in my fitness, strength, and overall confidence would not have been possible. Lifetime Fitness- Warrenville is losing a truly valuable asset to its business, but I wish David luck and know that he will continue to be successful well into the future.

Dan McDonald
5-21-2008

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Accomplishments:
• increased muscle tone through arms, legs and core
• increased strength dramatically
• learned to weight train independently

At times I thought you were the devil. At times, I thought I was going to die mid-lunge. At times, my eyes bugged out of my head, my face turned three shades of purple, and the sweat ran down my face like a river. At times, I was absolutely convinced I couldn’t do another rep if my life depended on it- yet time and time again, you proved me wrong, you showed me that I had more to give, that I had always held back, that I could train much harder than I thought.

David, during our training, you became a true friend, and I will miss working with you. Make sure you never ease up on anybody that bets you otherwise.

Katie Stillwell

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