A Conversation with Owner Michael Kuchar, NASM CPT...
How long have you been a trainer and how did you get started?
I started as a fitness instructor at my local YMCA in 1991. I enjoyed teaching the clientele different exercises and techniques that I was learning from some of the senior trainers and wanted to learn more. My intuition for enhancing and making movements more effective was always strong and my manager recognized the skill and suggested I become certified as a personal trainer. By 1992, I was certified by AFAA (Athletics and Fitness Association of America), and began working at additional fitness studios in the area. Training was all I wanted to do and I would pick up hours at as many places as possible. Each studio and gym had a different population; some with a more senior population, some with younger to middle age professionals, others with high school or collegiate athletes and yet others with hardcore bodybuilders. Working at various facilities gave me exposure to many different training techniques and I began to blend those styles to create my own unique training approach, quickly realizing that each of those populations could benefit from styles used by the others. I hadn’t realized it then, but I had created my own version of the NASM training model. In 2004, I learned about a certification from NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and when I researched the details, it made more sense to me than any training program I’d researched in the past. I quickly became a fan and advocate of the OPT (Optimum Performance Training) model. I became an NASM certified trainer in 2004 and never looked back. In my opinion, it’s still the best certification in the fitness industry and they continue to evolve and provide their trainers with the most current and relevant information and certifications.
How did you become interested in exercise?
“My dad really got me into fitness. When I was a kid, my dad would come home from work and go down our basement to workout. I would follow to watch so he would let me do some of the exercises with him. I was only about 7 or 8 years old, so I felt pretty strong exercising with my dad. I was hooked pretty early on.”
When did you start exercising regularly?
“I was 13/14 years old and in the 8th grade. I tried out for the football team and my mom wasn’t happy about me playing. My dad told her he’d get me on a program to make sure I was strong enough for the aggressive contact. I took to it pretty quickly and saw some fast results physically and functionally, and it motivated me to stay with it.”
At what point did you realize that you wanted to help people with fitness?
“I was an athlete growing up and a particularly good baseball player. I was a pitcher but unfortunately tore my rotator cuff and needed surgery to repair it. After surgery came physical therapy and, up until that point in my life, I didn’t even know what PT was. Seeing how the therapists were interacting with their patients and motivating them to get better and back to doing the things they enjoyed, I started thinking about how I could help people and maybe even help to avoid injury in the first place.”
So, don’t you think your exercise program should have prevented your injury?
“Not necessarily. Knowing what I know now, the exercise program put together by my coaches, who really didn’t have a thorough understanding of kinesiology, could have very well accelerated my injury. I am in no way blaming anyone because, back when I was in high school, there wasn’t much specific training by sport. Any kid who was in the athletic program went into the weight room and pretty much ran through the same list of exercises. It didn’t matter if you played baseball, football, soccer or basketball; all the strength programs were very similar, if not identical. This is possibly detrimental for athletes that need to move in specific patterns.”
What’s changed?
“I think the way we teach fitness and design exercise programs has changed, and I think NASM in particular has a ton of influence over that. Performing kinetic chain assessments prior to designing an exercise program for a client is the only way a program should be structured, in my opinion. We all have unique movement patterns based on postural tendencies, past injuries or repetitive motions, and jumping into an exercise program without identifying and addressing those unique patterns can cause or worsen muscle imbalances.”
Okay, I’m an adult looking to get in shape, do I need an assessment?
Absolutely. Most adults sit at desks all day and lean over keyboards with their heads stretching forward to look at a monitor. Doing this for at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, not to mention the time we do it in our homes for personal use, can cause us to have tight hips, tight hamstrings and tight muscles throughout the front of our torso. If these muscle imbalances are not identified prior to starting an exercise program, a person is at greater risk for injury. Assessments identify these imbalances and allow me to create a program that will correct the imbalances and create healthy and sound posture and movement patterns.
Why do you continue to train?
I love to teach and feel I have a lot to offer. I spend a lot of time studying movement patterns and understanding the essentials of fitness. New programs will come and go and I think they’re important to keep people engaged and motivated, but beneath every exercise program must be a solid foundation; an understanding of how your body moves and adapts when various stresses are placed upon it. I’ve had my share of injuries and setbacks; shoulder surgery, knee replacements, herniated discs and stage 4 throat cancer. Through every challenge, it was fitness that brought me back to whole. Each time, I had to start over from step one, understand each unique situation and develop a program that would make me healthy and functional again. I want to pass that experience on to others to help them become healthier and functioning at their full potential, to achieve their fitness and athletic goals.
