Initially I wasn’t keen on having a personal trainer, but my wife was gung ho about it. I kept saying to myself “what can a trainer really do for me that I’m not doing already?” But we still signed up with someone (this person even came recommended by others). 3 months later and the only results I saw were some strength gain, but no real visual difference (despite a 5lbs loss). For my wife it was worse – after 4 months with this trainer and repeatedly asking for explanations regarding exercise and meal plan selections to no avail, we finally had it with him.

It was time for serious research. We realized we wanted someone who can work with us through e-mail, but that was close enough for 1-on-1 sessions, should we need them. We wanted someone who is certified and been around for a while (not just someone who “looks the part”). We also realized that there are many different certifications out there (among which, we found out that NASM CPT/PES/CES certifications are considered to be the holy grail in this field, all of which David holds). We wanted someone who is meticulous, detail oriented and can explain *why* certain choices are made regarding exercise routines and meal plans. We were looking for someone who can -no, someone who *will*, take the time to educate us on exercising correctly and efficiently, coupled with nutritional education.

There are so many fitness programs out there, each one claiming to be the best – and each one of them seems to be a “one solution fits all”. The same goes for nutrition plans… But people are different and have different needs. I used to have lower back problems. My wife used to have constant cravings. How does one know which program is best? And even when it comes to gyms – people have access to different equipment at different gyms. How do we sort out all of this stuff?

When we first reached out to David and Nikki we received a questionnaire – an extremely detailed one. It went into details such as our exercise history, eating habits, weight history, medical problems, at what pace we’re interested in working in order to get results, and even the simplest question which no trainer has ever asked us: what are our goals? Are we looking to just lose a few pounds, or tone up? Maybe become body builders or just overcome past injuries? This was already a great sign for things to come! None of the other trainers we spoke with have ever asked us any of these questions.

Sure enough, a workout routine and meal plan which was just as detailed was sent to us (along with answers to a plethora of questions we had regarding the program), and it was even customized to deal with each of our individual issues and concerns, not to mention tailored to our specific gym equipment.

Within 5 weeks I dropped from 21% body fat to 11%!!!! Every week that goes by, my wife sees me transform and become more defined in muscle tone. After a couple of months, I had already enough strength gain to support my lower back and never had to look back since – even despite doubling the weights I’m lifting.

It was finally time for a 1-on-1 session. If this is how much progress we could see just over e-mail, what more could we accomplish in person?? The answer was clear after our first session. Of course there’s the regular drive factor – and David knows how to drive his clients!

But, most importantly, we gained INSIGHT and KNOWLEDGE. Insight into the specifics of how certain exercises need to be performed, and why. Knowledge on how different muscle groups work and how each exercise ties into that. Once we started to gain that level of understanding we were able to gain a lot more out of each routine and become more efficient in our workouts, which in turn yielded even faster results.

We’re now on our 4th month into the program and even some of our friends who have seen our transformations and were in complete disbelief initially, have now signed up to work with David and Nikki (some even residing on the other side of the world!) Both my wife and I simply can’t recommend them enough!!!

I arrived at the gym hiding behind my baggiest sweats, unsure of what to expect. David patiently went through my history and it felt weird why this stranger wanted to know so much about me. I guess I had never met anyone before that cared about their client. I don’t have an athletic background and had never lifted serious weights before. The first training session I silently went through the motions and looked incredulously at David every time he moved the pin to a heavier weight. But he believed I could do it, and he was there to support me if I faltered.

His wife Nikki helped plan my diet and cardio, however it was not like she gave me a plan and forgot about it. She always followed through, was very responsive, motivated me when times were tough, listened patiently to my rants, and kicked my ass when I truly got lazy. I can sing her praises all day. To say that David and Nikki are personal trainers is an understatement. They will change your life and take you places you never thought you could go before. This ability to push and believe in yourself spreads to other aspects of your life. You will learn to have less tolerance for bullshit and want better things for yourself.

Once you meet them you will know that they are truly invested in their client’s journey, and that they love seeing them succeed. Yes I did cheat at times, and still fall off the wagon occasionally, but David and Nikki are always there to get me back on track. I am now more fit than I ever was and excited to continue to see my body transform.

Sarah H.

After years of being extremely active – a 3-sport athlete in high school, college intramural sports, and running 10Ks and half marathons as a graduate student – it seemed I had hit a wall when I moved to Baltimore to start my career. I enjoyed going to the gym nearly every day, but I was lacking motivation to push myself and work extremely hard. In years past, I had always incorporated weight training with cardio, but I found myself lifting lighter weights and idly churning on the elliptical machine. I had always been a relatively healthy eater, but I didn’t put a great deal of effort into planning meals and ensuring I was getting the right balance of carbs, fats, and protein for me.

I felt that I was very knowledgeable about health, fitness, and training. I was skeptical about the real value I would get out of a trainer; in fact I thought that all I really needed was a spotter to help me get through the last few reps.

David convinced me otherwise! He first helped me determine my specific goals and the underlying reasons why I found myself simply going through the motions. He provided me with the customized training plan and diet that were required for me to reach my goals. He recognized that it was important for me to understand the rationale for each exercise in the program as well as the kinesiology and science behind his recommendations, and he provided that expertise.

I enjoyed his “tough love” style of motivation – he really challenged me. He made me realize how strong I already was and how strong I could be if I worked hard. His requirement to keep a journal was essential for my progress.

At 26 years old, I feel that my fitness level and appearance is better than when I was in college, probably even high school. My back, arms, and shoulders are much more defined. I’m continuing to increase weight in all my lifts. I gained weight (muscle) but went from a size 6 to a size 2/4. I listened to David and didn’t worry about doing crunches but focused on diet and cardio, and my abs were chiseled in plenty of time for my vacation to St. Martin. Training with David was a great investment.

Erin Morrisey

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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!

I remember seeing Nikki and David for the first time at the trainer’s desk at my local gym. I recall David having a contest for free training sessions to whomever he felt deserved it based on a series of questions. I entered this contest and remember receiving a call from Nikki stating that I did not win, however asking if I wanted to start training. I held off for a few weeks thinking I could make changes on my own to lose weight and tone. However I was not seeing progress so I set up a time to meet with Nikki. I have to admit that I was pretty certain that I wanted to train with a female as I felt they could relate much better to a woman’s body in addition to sharing “the battle of the bulge” stories.

My journey started with Nikki in the summer of ‘08 to help get me in shape for my wedding in October 2008. She set me up with a diet plan, cardio plan and training sessions twice per week. In addition, Nikki would check in with me via email and text messages to see how I was feeling and making sure I was following the plan. Working out with Nikki was not an easy task! No doubt about it, she kicked my butt. Nikki pushed me and had me lift heavier weights than I ever had in the past. In addition, I made noticeable differences in my body with weight loss and muscle gains for my wedding day. Every dress fitting that I went to in the weeks before my wedding, the dress would get looser and looser.

Since that time, I continued to train with Nikki until she stopped working to have their beautiful daughter, Raven. Next, I started training with David, who was just as tough and held his clients accountable. I didn’t know what to expect at first. However I soon realized he was a trainer who I could trust to kick my butt just as Nikki had. Training with David has also been a great experience. As long as I follow the diet plan, the cardio plan and the weight training plan I consistently lose weight. I have been able to lift even heavier weights and have learned to push through the hard moments during sets.

The best part about meeting Nikki and David is that we have become great friends, in addition to watching and caring for Raven during her first year. I am constantly encouraged to eat clean, push to the next level and to never quit.

Laura Gershen

Craig Curtis– Before Online Nurition Coaching

Prior to starting a nutritional program with David Johnston my weight seesawed to the tune of 40 pounds, without really knowing how to keep the weight off or even what worked. I was at one of my heaviest weights in years and generally unhealthy. I joined David’s gym shortly after moving to Maryland, when my diet was unstructured. I trained four days a week as I always have and over the course of three months lost ten pounds.

Then I sought the help of David, who began giving me nutritional advice based upon a one-on-one discussion of my habits, history, and dietary needs. David tailored a custom diet plan for each week, and adjusted my intake based upon my efforts in and out of the gym. Since working with David, I have lost an additional 50 pounds at a safe and continual pace. I often tell family and friends I credit ten pounds of my weight loss to coincidence, and the other fifty to David, because without his help, I would not have made the strides I have.

David is extremely helpful in explaining the why and how of his guidelines, so that I can fully understand his methods. I’m greatly appreciative of this fact alone as the rhyme and reason to my improved health makes complete sense. Bottom line, if you listen to David you will want to do what he says, and if you do what he says, you WILL get results. David also provided helpful training advice that aided in me keeping and gaining strength. In July of 2010, I will begin training with David. I know for a fact that I will continue to grow and improve my health and looks. I look forward to how far David can drive me in my training regimen, and more importantly, how much I can learn from him.

David not only guides, but he also has an attitude toward pushing people that challenges you to be better each and every day. I owe a great deal of thanks to David for his help and advice, and I implore anyone considering David’s nutritional and/or training advice to do so. I’m proof that what he says works.

Best Regards,

Marc P.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*lost 50lbs simply by following dietary advice provided over email!

*learned valuable training tips and techniques from ongoing email discussions!

*now understands nutritional science enough to make good decisions independent of supervision

]]> http://davidjohnstontraining.com/marc-parisi/feed/ 0 http://davidjohnstontraining.com/kim-doan/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://davidjohnstontraining.com/kim-doan/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:37:08 +0000 David http://davidjohnstontraining.com/?page_id=293 [continue reading...]]]> “Personality doesn’t matter.” That’s what David said during one of my personal training sessions and that’s what makes him great at what he does. There’s no way but to form some sort of relationship with your personal trainer, and that relationship has an effect on your success and results. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with David’s philosophy; it doesn’t matter that he is a vociferous no-holds-back type of guy; and it doesn’t matter that you might have nothing in common with him.

What does matter though is that I have faith in him and he has faith in me. He is not just interested in doing, but also teaching. It’s not just about pumping sets out, but making sure the form is right. His diverse range of exercises makes the workouts challenging. I get results because he pushes me to do more than I think I can. I know he wouldn’t ask me to do something he didn’t already know I could do. Sometimes it’s hard getting myself to the gym, but after every session, I always feel more confident and stronger.

David has such a loyal client base because he doesn’t build his client relationships out of common likes and dislikes, but out of faith in what his clients can do and pushing them to the next level.

Kim Doan

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I never thought I was the type of person that would need a personal trainer. However, I had been stuck at 145 pounds for more than 6 months and with less than 2 months left until my wedding I needed help to get over that wall.

I was a little skeptical because David wanted me to change everything I thought I knew about eating and working out. I decided to trust him and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. 7 weeks later I was in the best shape of my life. I lost 15 pounds and went from a size 8 to a 4. My wedding dress had to be taken in 5 times!

The day of my wedding I felt so beautiful. For the first time in my life I was truly happy with how I looked. I can’t stop looking at my wedding pictures!

Not only did David transform my body in 7 short weeks, he has given me the knowledge and confidence to continue on my own. Training was one of the best wedding purchases I made!

Tyler Grossi
4/27/09

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I chose David because as I watched various trainers, he was the busiest, and the clients were sweating! My friend and I decided as single moms we wanted to be thrifty in our spending and have it work for all involved. David not only gave us our “bang for the buck”, but took extra time to explain dieting factors, healthy eating, kinesiology and technique. Every workout was INTENSE and I noticed more definition in my body, more awareness of my eating habits by journaling and a desire to just be more educated in one of the areas of my life that can help not only myself, but family and friends as well.

Yes, I cheated with my “too many glasses of wine” and chocolate, but knowing I was being audited, made me careful with my food choices and not completely fail at all my hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed my sessions with David and look forward to future sessions. I would highly recommend his services for a lot of just darn good information for future workouts to be productive and motivation to achieve your goal no matter how big or small!

Lisa Bimestefer

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