FITNESS IS A BALL: Personal trainer John Gordon won’t talk your ear off or drive you into the dirt. While sculpting abs and strengthening back muscles, Gordon might bring out your inner jock.
There are a few breeds of personal trainers. There’s the garrulous type who exercises his
client’s jawbone between every set. There’s also the sadistic Nazi who drives his client into the dirt so they can barely walk the next day. John Gordon’s personal training methods are about focusing on results — balancing weight training, cardio, nutrition and strengthening the lower back and abs, so you can keep training and walk the next day.
Growing up in Bristol, Vt., Gordon was an all-around jock — little league, softball, basketball, soccer, track and swimming. He even set two state swimming records.
In 1987, he migrated to Dallas to enjoy the warmer temperatures and our city’s southern charm. And over the past 20 years, he’s stayed with athletics, joining Big D’s gay leagues — bowling, tennis, volleyball, softball and swimming. He brought home three medals from the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatic Championships. In 1995, he joined President’s Health Club (now Bally’s), mostly to take advantage of the outdoor pool. While lifting weights, he watched personal trainers work with clients, and a bell went off.
“It was something I knew I wanted to do,” Gordon says.
For five years, he researched and developed his methods. In 2000, he received his certification from Cooper Aerobic Center. And after umpteen years of working in various accounting and human resources departments, he started his career as an independent trainer at the Centrum Fitness Club. Eight years later, he’s trained about 100 clients.
And some clients have been training with Gordon for five years. He now sculpts bods at Trophy Fitness Club. And after a Gordon workout, clients don’t complain that their time was wasted: He encourages clients to perform cardio work on their own time, and he knows that burning calories can be a bore so he helps them kick it up with a variety of approaches. That’s where his all-around jock credentials come into play. He wants clients to participate in activities that will benefit from training. “It can be recreational or competitive, but having an outlet that shows how effective your results are,” Gordon explains. But Gordon doesn’t push them like they’re a prizefighter prepping for that ultimate heavyweight bout. His weight training is broken down into building muscle endurance, strength and size. “I avoid exercises that increase the risk of injury,” he says. “I see trainers using methods reserved for highly conditioned athletes and not meant for the average person working out in the gym.”
Daniel A. Kusner, Dallas Voice
March 21, 2008
