Dean C.

I have THOUSANDS of hours worth of experience in personal training or working with a personal trainer over the course of about the past 15 years. Currently working with and on the path to get certified as a Kung Fu instructor directly with Martial Arts Hall of Famer Valery Prosvirov at the 'Kung Fu of the Golden Dragon' Chinese art school in Santa Monica, CA. Before I moved to the LA area I was employed at one of the nicest Lifetime Athletics in the country in Bloomfield, MI with a full schedule of clients varying in age but consisting mostly of individuals between the ages of 16-60. Have helped train my father (Chris Chelios Hall of Fame NHL and over 20+ year career) in his off-seasons as well as aiding his post-career training and my brother (pro hockey player in the Carolina Hurricanes system) along with other pro's and college athletes on and off. Graduated with a degree in psychology from Michigan State University and NASM certified as a personal trainer along with a CPR certification.

Over 100 games as a professional Ice Hockey player in the ECHL with the (NHL) Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawk's farm teams. Before that played all four years at the Division 1 level for Michigan State University in arguably the most competitive college hockey league to play in (BIG 10- Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, etc). GLI champion, NCAA tournament appearance, MSU player of the week award 7 times, and got to play in 'The Big Chill at the Big House' game that set the all-time attendance record for a hockey game in any league at any time with about 105,000 people attending the game. Many individual awards and accolades before Michigan State including MVP's, all-states, all-regions, tournament MVP's, as well as all-star appearances and making the select festival camps twice (summer hockey tournament for the top roughly one hundred players in the country born in 1989).

I am very different in terms of the way I train my clients compared to most personal trainers and make the conscious and real choice to see through the social media hype, iPhone, google search, 'standard,' 2017 acceptable way to train. Much of the training I like to do is rarely seen and rooted more in philosophy that comes from a deeper perspective which along with physical improvements-will seek to obtain a powerful mind-body connection as well (not an illusionary mind-body connection) to improve mental strength and health. Although I will pick up certain elements from modern day training strategies if they seem useful (and after I have tried and put them to the test myself), I really feel that many of the hundreds of exercises I have been fortunate enough to learn about that are proven and date back thousands of years that make up the bulk of my program design-are just logically more superior and tested by people who did not have as many distractions as we do today and had to get to know their own body's way more than we do now to function in everyday life and survive. Many of the exercises a client can expect to see involve dynamic stretching, body weight strength building movements, short static stretching, and breathing techniques. These exercises are used in a fast-paced and fluid motion for an hour or so that is meant to prevent injury and take care of the tendons, joints, ligaments, etc that constantly need to be worked on in a sort of circuit style where there is little to no breaks and no phones or other distractions (besides the pandora station on the speaker- preferably classic rock but willing to bend for sure :)). I will always do the workout in clear sight in front of my clients at the same time and dictate the pace and timing of everything while checking for correct technique, fatigue level, and giving specific instructions very quickly before a trickier exercise if it is required. The act of me being able to practice what I preach and show my client how much I believe in what I am doing for them by doing it to myself is very important to me. Weights will occasionally be used but (at least at the beginning) most work will be fast but in control bodyweight work whether that means different types of squats, push-ups, sit-ups, dynamic movements, etc to start to get real full-body coordination, muscle contractions, tendon strength, joint health, breathing control, etc required before advancing on to more complexed programs. Obviously in this scenario and with the focus and work it takes to complete the workout there is not much room to talk or ask questions so I always like to sit down after and have some Tea to listen to my client's realizations and reactions to the workouts and answer questions about why we do certain things and how we can get better. If time constraints are an issue I can always adjust too to make sure my client is getting the info he/she needs!