Vertimax Vive

Kari Woodall is a former U. S. National team swimmer, who eventually became a collegiate coach for the same sport that she competed in. Kari is a TRX master trainer and is currently a coach, personal trainer, and mother of two teenage daughters. She is also the owner of Blaze Fitness and a volunteer firefighter. Kari taps into her in-depth knowledge about the power of the body, physical training, and mental toughness to create custom workouts for athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Kari shares more about how she manages her role and influence on social media, and how taking a break from social media to dive into self-care and self-awareness has been a game-changer for her. She explains why it is so important for athletes to be empowered and trust their own bodies in their training, and how coaches can help them in that. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [0:30] Dan McDonogh introduces his guest for this episode - Kari Woodall. [2:57] How did Kari transitio

Dr. Ed Le Cara is an expert in a number of healing modalities, in addition to being a trained chiropractor and medical professional. Based in Dallas, Texas, Ed helps individuals  in their healing and recovery journey, and one of the the techniques he employs is blood flow restriction (BFR). Blood flow restriction has recently started finding its way into the sports performance world, and as an expert in this technique, Ed has many valuable insights to share.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh,  Ed shares more about blood flow restriction (BFR). He explains what it is, how it works, and how its role has evolved in the sports performance, health and fitness industry. Ed also explains some of the benefits and risks of BFR and why it’s so important to have a trained coach or guide to ensure athletes are using it the right way and not setting themselves up for injury. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [0:43] Dan introduces his guest for this episode- Ed Le Cara. [3:18] How did Ed get introduced to b

Michael Piercy is the owner of The LAB Sports in New Jersey. Michael transitioned to the fitness industry after an illustrious career in professional baseball where he played for three major league organizations. Today, Michael works with everyone from elite professionals, youth athletes, and active adults to help them unleash their inner athlete. Michael is recognized for his achievements in the fitness space, including being named Personal Trainer of the Year in 2017, and TRX senior master trainer. Michael is also an author and a speaker.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Michael shares more about his transition from professional sports to the fitness industry, and what inspired his decision to work with youth athletes. He speaks about the challenges and most rewarding aspects of working with youths, and why it’s important to manage expectations of everyone involved. Michael also shares more about his ideas of what it means to be a playmaker, and how to bring that out in the work we do. Tune in to f

Dr. Mark Cheng is the Founder and Trainer of Tai Cheng and K3 Combat Movement Systems. Through a lifetime of passion, learning, honing, refining, and distilling methods and practices of both the Western and Eastern worlds, Mark has developed a system that helps people move better to feel better. He works with everyone from office jocks to top-performing athletes to C-suite executives, and his aim is to help people get strong, train smarter and feel better in a sustainable way for them.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Mark shares more about how he has integrated Eastern and Western philosophies and principles into his work in fitness and training. He explains more about the need for balance in the pursuit of getting stronger and hitting athletic goals — knowing when to train vs when to test, when to apply the gas vs apply the brakes, and knowing when to stop. Mark has many great insights about how we can all move better and things to be mindful of in coaching, training and working with people on thei

Matt Krause has been in the world of professional strength and conditioning in baseball for a long time. He was a former National Strength and Conditioning Association professional strength coach of the year, as well as a long time strength coach with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. Most recently, Matt has been named the first Administrative Director of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCCS).   Like in any other sport, strength and conditioning coaching in baseball has its own quirks. Matt shares more about his experiences as a coach in baseball through the years. He reveals his own personal journey of how he got into strength and conditioning, and how he got to where he is today, as well as the career progression one might take to achieve success in this industry. Matt also talks about the new initiatives being undertaken by PBSCCS and his goal for the organization going forward. Coaching in baseball is no mean feat, and Matt shares how he deals with the challe

Adam Feit is the Head Strength and Sport Psychology Coach at Precision Nutrition, world's largest online coaching and certification software company. He has a tremendous background in strength and conditioning, nutrition and coaching, and began his journey in the field as a coach in his undergraduate days. From there, he gained more experience and exposure in the field through other coaching internships and placements in many places across the country. Eventually, Adam went on to become a Co-Founder and Director of Reach Your Potential Training, where he trained hundreds of youth athletes, and worked with numerous colleges and institutions. Adam recently completed his PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and works full time as a consultant for colleges and part time as a strength and conditioning coach at Springfield College.    In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Adam shares more about his journey to where he is today, starting in 2006. He also explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how he runs hi

Chris Gorres is well-known as one of the smartest and best trainers. Chris has always had a passion for fitness and was a high school and collegiate athlete in his youth. Today, he is the Lead Trainer and COO at Onyx Elite. In his career, Chris has acquired certifications with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and continues to educate himself, making him one of the best and brightest in the field of performance coaching. He works with athletes on all different levels and sports, specializing in speed, power, strength, injury prevention, functional training, and rehabilitation.   VertiMax has invested a lot of time and money into creating education platforms, including the in-person certification program, a virtual course and the VertiMax app. In this episode hosted by Al Marez, Chris Gorres shares more about the importance of continuing education for strength and conditioning coaches and trainers in the health and fitness industry. He also shares the benefits to be had from learning from experts

Trevor Anderson is the owner and operator of the Better Everyday Performance Institutes in Orlando, Florida, and recently opened a second outlet of his facility, despite the pandemic. Trevor is a performance coach, focused specifically on the areas of professional football, baseball and basketball who works with everyone from pro athletes from NFL and Superbowl champions to his own children. He is talented in working with people of any age or ability in the area of sports performance, and as the creator of GOLFleticism®, Trevor has a special interest in training athletes in the golf industry. As a TRX master trainer and master trainer for SPRI, Trevor has many achievements under his belt, including being named one of the top 50 best golf fitness trainers by Golf Digest.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Trevor shares more about how he developed his custom training program for professional golfers to become more athletic and why he believes that sport-specific training should be the focus only 30% of t

Martin Rooney is the Founder of Training for Warriors. In his youth, he was a track and field athlete in college and a former US bobsledder. He went to medical school to become a PT and had a successful career as a PT, before taking the leap to pursue his passion in the strength and conditioning industry. Today, Martin is an internationally recognized trainer, speaker, author and pioneer in the strength and conditioning industry, and his Training for Warriors program is world-renowned. His passion and purpose lies in helping bring the athlete out in everyone, and also finds joy in coaching middle and high school track teams.   In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Martin shares the origin story of how he got into the strength and conditioning industry. He reveals the huge risks he took, the hard work, time and effort he put in to build his business and a name for himself, and the eventual success he has enjoyed. Martin also has some great insights about why passion and purpose are his driving forces, and some

Coach Megan Young is the High-Performance Director with the Chicago Red Stars, and serving her second season in this role. She was previously part of the strength and conditioning program at the Auburn University Athletics Department for 11 years. She worked with student-athletes in the baseball and football programs, moving up in time to become directly responsible for year-long programming and implementation of all strength and conditioning related activities for the women’s soccer and basketball programs. Megan currently holds certifications from the NSCA, Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA), USA Weightlifting (USAW), and USA Track and Field (USAWTF).   In this episode hosted by Al Marez, Megan shares the story of how she entered the strength and conditioning industry, as well as what it was like for her as a woman in a male-dominated industry. She explains how she has taken on the challenges in her life, both in her career and personally in her battle with cancer, and how that

Vinny Scollo is the Gold's Gym Sports Performance Director and Regional Fitness Manager in Middletown NY. As a strength and conditioning coach working with both amateur athletes and professional athletes in high school, college and the NFL, Vinny has over 12 years of experience in human performance.   In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Vinny shares more about his perspectives and philosophy for recovery for his athletes. He shares more about his tried and tested methods and strategies to help athletes recover faster, and why sleep plays such an important role in effective recovery. Vinny and Dan also discuss the power of mindset and mindfulness in an effective training plan, and why a coach’s role and responsibility extends far beyond the time they spend actively training their athletes. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:33] Dan introduces his guest for this episode — Vinny Scollo. [2:08] The VertiMax Summit just took place over the past weekend. What were some of the highlights for Vinny? [6:

Coach Daniel Mckim is a sales representative for Sorinex and a Hollywood movie star on Instagram. Coming from Northwest Missouri State University, Daniel competed in the shot put, and was a 15-time National Qualifier in five events. Currently, he works as a trainer and coach with high schools, colleges, universities, gyms, training centers, and professional teams to bring them innovative training solutions. Two of his passions are training and bringing joy to others, which he has combined into a unique career to become a sought-after athlete, speaker and author.   In this episode hosted by Steve Leo,  Daniel shares more about his background and how he almost took a completely different path to pursue baseball instead. He also shares some of the inspiration for the work he does today, and how he got started making videos that poke fun at anything and everything in the strength and training industry. Daniel has some interesting insights about the impact of social media on the kids he trains, as well as how he l

Dwayne Paul is the Founder of Limitless Training Club and LTC 2.0, and a VertiMax Master Trainer in the UK. His passion for training and fitness started at a young age during his adolescence in the Caribbean, and after a career in the military, Dwayne made the shift to the personal training and fitness industry. Dwayne then opened up his training facility and recently opened a second location with a focus on sports performance training.   In this episode hosted by Al Marez,  Dwayne shares more about his inspiration for his training facilities, as well as the design and layout of the facilities. He explains the different focus he has for each location, and how the “conveyor belt” style helps keep things running smoothly. Dwayne also talks about how his business has been affected by the pandemic, how he has managed to keep clients engaged during the course of the shut down of his facilities, and how he is handling the reopening. As a Master Trainer, Dwayne also provides insights into the benefits he has seen an

Vinny Scollo is the Gold's Gym Sports Performance Director and Regional Fitness Manager in Middletown NY. He is often imitated but never duplicated. A strength and performance coach with over 12 years experience in human performance, Vinny works with everyone from high school athletes looking to make professional sports their career, to current professional athletes, to busy business executives.    In this episode hosted by Dan McDonogh, Vinny talks about the key differences between purpose and passion, and testing and training. He gives us the inside scoop about what it’s like to work with Latavius Murray for many years, and why he considers it of utmost importance to be aware of the mental, emotional, and physical state of athletes when designing a training schedule to help them hit their goals. Vinny also shares more about education as a critical aspect of implementing a system successfully, and why he is such a firm believer in VertiMax. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:40] Dan introduces his

Chad Coy has had a long and illustrious career in the fitness space with 40 years of experience under his belt. He started training in 1980, with high school football and moved on to coaching as an undergraduate assistant strength coach at Purdue University. In 1995, he opened Powerhouse Gym, before going on to compete in multiple strongman competitions. Chad has also played semi-professional football, and is experienced in speed training with Parisi Speed School,   In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Chad shares his insights about strength and conditioning training with athletes. He highlights some of the most important parts of strength training that athletes need to focus on, and why it is so important for coaches to do a full evaluation of the athlete’s needs before recommending training programs for them. Chad also shares more about stress and recovery, how to help athletes build confidence, and the key attributes coaches need to have. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:30] Steve introduces hi

Dan McDonogh is a highly respected fitness professional with a very diverse background in the commercial fitness space. In his career, he has worked as a RP and Program Director for Les Mills, and with TRX in helping to take a unique functional training tool and democratize it for the fitness world through education, and has been instrumental in building a global training team with over 350 professionals with TRX.    In this episode hosted by Robert Dyer, one of the business partners of the VertiMax Group, Dan shares his experience using the VertiMax Raptor. As a strong believer that fitness professionals should experience and understand their equipment and products before recommending them to clients, Dan has a lot of experience in using VertiMax equipment. He shares some of the different applications of this equipment and the benefits to clients, as well as how commercial fitness centers can leverage them. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:34] Robert introduces his guest for this episode - Dan Mc

Ted Butler is the Owner, Operator and Trainer Extraordinaire at Operation Athlete in Lexington, Kentucky. He first started this training facility as a way to make his own children better athletes, and today, he works with athletes from the NBA, professional athletes overseas, Division 1 athletes, and more. He loves people with a passion who are pursuing something and has a great imagination for training to keep things interesting while still being intentional.    In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Ted shares some of his strategies for training athletes in different sports and his beliefs about the role of a strength and performance coach. He reveals how he has integrated VertiMax into his training routines, how he manages expectations not just of the athletes he trains but also their parents, and how he can consistently deliver results. Ted also dives into his virtual training programs created to keep athletes making progress during the pandemic, and has some insightful advice for coaches and trainers. Tune

Dean Caputo is the founder and owner of Powerhouse Gym in Streetsboro, Ohio. Dean has been in the health and fitness space for many years, starting with opening up a gym as a teenager, to becoming a very successful bodybuilder, transitioning to a long career in nutrition and supplements, before coming full circle and reopening Powerhouse Gym. He has influenced a lot of people and athletes through his career, and is on the podcast to share more about his journey.   In this episode hosted by Al Marez, Dean outlines his personal journey in the health and fitness space. He shares some of the changes he has undergone in his life, and about how gyms in general have changed since his first venture. Dean also gives us some insight into the supplements industry compared to being a gym owner, and his inspiration for reopening hsi gym. His new venture features a unique concept with different training zones to cater to the whole family. He explains how this has boosted his gym memberships as well as how he is dealing wit

Casey Lee is the Director of Fitness and Performance at The Edge Health Club based in Vermont. Apart from training athletes and other professionals, the team of 26 trainers and 4 performance coaches with Parisi Speed School, work with a variety of individuals from age 7 to 70s. Casey is also the host of the 3 Things Podcast, and has almost a decade of experience in the industry, despite his young age.   In this episode hosted by Steve Leo, Casey shares more about his unconventional path into the fitness industry, and his experience leading The Edge during this pandemic. He reveals how they have managed to maintain their relationship with their members during this time, and how they are preparing for the fall season with their athletes. Steve and Casey also discuss the importance of strength in performance training, overcoming mindset issues when coaching others and why it is so important to keep learning from others. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [:33] Steve introduces his guest for this episode

Emily Hutchins is the owner of On Your Mark Studios located in Chicago, Illinois. Emily opened her facility 13 years ago, and operates with a strong team of trainers who have expertise in varied areas such as strength & conditioning, and high level performance. Her facility caters to everyone from elite athletes to the general population, where she aims to provide a high level of service and experience to all her gym users.   In this episode hosted by Al Marez, Emily shares how she has built her training facility and how she has managed to create a space that caters to users of all levels and abilities. She also talks about the impact that COVID-19 has had on her business, how she has adapted to the current situation, and how she will be moving forward in the post-pandemic phase. Emily also has some great tips for trainers looking to open their own facility, recommendations for further education, and general insights on her approach to mobility, flexibility and movement. Tune in to find out more.   Key Ta