I live in Somerville, Massachusetts, with my wife Rachel and our cat, Buttons. I've been a Certified Personal Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine since 2012, and over the years I've coached clients at both Equinox and Life Time Fitness, spending most of my career coaching women.
When I first started, I subscribed to fitness culture's "more is better" mentality. I wanted to learn it all: every cue, every exercise, everything about nutrition, recovery, mindset, you name it. The way I figured it, the more I could give my clients, the better their results would be.
I was an all-or-nothing trainer. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right.
I learned pretty quickly that more isn't better.
Every squat had five cues. Every calorie had to be counted. Everything tracked to a T. Instead of relieving my clients, I was putting more on their plate. Instead of helping them feel capable, I was highlighting everything they were doing wrong.
And honestly, looking back at it now, I was doing it more for me than for them.
As the years passed, I started stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. The question changed from "How do I get this person the results she wants?" to "How do I steer her in the right direction, so she gets the results she wants?" That meant fewer cues, less talking, more paying attention, and a lot more listening.
And something funny happened when I stepped back: my clients got better. They moved more freely, enjoyed their workouts more, and stuck with things longer. They didn't just do my workouts. They made the workouts theirs.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped being a trainer and finally became a coach.
Fifteen years in, my whole philosophy comes down to this: my clients have enough on their plate already. My job isn't to add. It's to subtract.
Instead of five cues to perfect a squat, I look for the one or two that point you in the right direction and let you figure out the rest. Instead of strict meal plans, I work with you to understand what's actually getting in the way of eating well. And instead of forcing recovery, I find the spots in your day where it's needed most.
Fitness shouldn't feel stressful or overwhelming. It should give you energy. It should make your life better. And, of course, it should be fun.
If there's anything I can help with, I'd love to chat.
— Andrew