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Personal Training at the YMCA

Our personal trainers are priced for a great value! With more trainers on staff, you will find the one who is best for your goals. We have a great group option so you and your friends may work together to achieve your goals. Personal training at the YMCA is a members-only benefit. Personal Trainers are available at both our Downtown and Kerasotes locations.

YMCA Personal Trainer Bios:

Dayton

Location: Downtown & Kerasotes YMCAs

Dayton is the YMCA Sports Performance Coordinator. The core philosophy in Dayton’s training is to improve human performance through holistic exercise, nutrition, and recovery methods.  Dayton specializes in Sports Performance having worked with hundreds of athletes throughout the greater Springfield area.  He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist as well as a Certified Personal Trainer through the NSCA ( National Strength and Conditioning Association).

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University where he was team captain of the football team from 2009-2012.  He also received his Master’s in Sports Administration from Robert Morris University (Chicago) while serving as the Wide Receivers’ Coach on the football team from 2013-2015.  The last 6 years he has enjoyed moving back to his hometown of Springfield where he has continued to train youth, high school, and collegiate athletes of all sports.

Dayton is committed to investing in the youth of our community and equipping the next generation with the tools they need to be successful for not only athletics but also the game of life!

Experience:
NSCA
CSCS
CPT

Tara

Location: Downtown 

Tara is a health and fitness enthusiast.  She has prior experience as a fitness instructor and recently received her ISSA certification as a personal trainer and nutritionist.

Tara is passionate about helping you reach your fitness goals.  Whether you are a beginner just starting your fitness journey or simply want to get back on track with your fitness plan, she looks forward to helping you get motivated and develop a plan.  She can also assist with developing a nutrition plan to ensure overall healthy lifestyle.

In addition to personal training, Tara also works part time as a dental hygienist.  When not in the gym, Tara enjoys spending time with her family and friends and enjoying the outdoors.

Gina

Location: Kerasotes YMCA

Gina has over 20 years’ experience as a personal trainer. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Champaign in Applied Health Science and has been certified by the American Council of Exercise since 1998. She loves empowering women of all ages to live a healthy, happy, and active lifestyle.  She also loves training teens and young athletes in strength and agility so they can be better at their sport, as well as off-season conditioning. She works on balance issues with seniors and those with Parkinson’s and Epilepsy. She also creates exercise programs for people after they finish physical therapy post-injury or post-surgery as a continuation of their rehab. One of her favorite styles of training is in groups: best friends of all ages (13-90+), couples and siblings. She also loves teaching stress-reducing yoga classes privately or in small groups.

Gina was the first State-Wide Wellness Coordinator for the Illinois State Police. She was a trainer and fitness instructor in Chicago and Boulder, CO before moving to North Carolina to work as an exercise physiologist at a hospital where she created exercise programs for those in the cardiac rehab program. She holds several certifications including yoga instructor for kids, seniors, pregnancy, and arthritis. In her free time, she was the assistant cross-country coach for a local school and loves to swim, bike and run with her friends. She has competed in over 200 races from marathons, triathlons and mountain biking.  Gina’s goal is to help people stay active, healthy, vital, and happy as long as possible!

DeAnne

Location: Downtown YMCA

YMCA Bio Health is the new wealth.

DeAnne believes that staying fit is a key to staying in good health and that health is the new wealth. Her fitness journey started in high school where she learned fundamentals of fitness as body movement along with strength training. She completed the Master Fitness Training Course in the United States Army and holds Personal Training Certifications from the World Instructor Training School (WITS) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

Her main enjoyments in life are being a wife, helping others, and playing board games with her family. She is CPR/ AED certified.

Zaxxson

Location: Downtown & Kerasotes YMCAs

Zaxxson Nation has pursued fitness for the past 10 years, primarily to prepare physique and conditioning for acting and dancing roles. He has trained clients as a certified trainer for one year. He is passionate about functional strength, results-based training, and corrective and diverse exercising.

Emily

Location: Kerasotes & Downtown YMCA

Emily grew up playing sports all through school and now enjoys hiking (with her dog Toby), kayaking, and practicing yoga. One thing she remembers from her time in sports is that healthy looks different on everybody! She has learned firsthand that health is much more than what is viewed on the outside or what is defined by age.  Bodies were made to move, and Emily’s goal is to help them move well.

Emily has a bachelor’s in biology and taught anatomy for 5 years before moving out of public education. She always referred to her classes as the “fun sciences” because she was always preparing labs and activities to get kids moving and excited! She brings that same energy into everything she does and is excited to help others feel the results!

Experience:
NASM
CPT

Alan

Alan YMCA Springfield IL

Location: Alan is currently booked!

Alan is a military veteran with a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Northern Colorado. His emphasis was in Fitness and Exercise with extended studies in Nutrition and Pedagogy. He began his career in hospital-based fitness facilities performing stress tests, exercise prescriptions, body composition analysis, movement screens, lecturing and personal training. He has experience working with clients with fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. He has trained single and multi-sport athletes, amateur and professional, and children and adults.

Alan has been involved in the martial arts studying Shorin-Ryu Karate since 1976. He has achieved a fifth-degree black belt. He continues to train and, on occasion, compete. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a USA Weightlifting Federation Level One Instructor. He’s previously held Life Guard and WSI certifications. He is currently CPR, AED, and First Aid certified.

Alan enjoys providing people with new, interesting, and appropriate ways to glean and benefit the values of exercise.

Daniel

Location: Downtown

I am an NSCA Certified Personal Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Specialist and hold a degree in Exercise Science from Monmouth college where I played baseball. I believe everyone could benefit from functional strength training and improving their strength and mobility. Whether you want to improve performance on the field or move more freely around the house the building blocks stem from the same place. My passion for exercise stemmed from my own battles with injury in college and since then I have devoted myself heavily to helping others not just improve their performance, but their overall health no matter their age or goals.

Outside of the gym, I coach and instruct baseball and enjoy being outside and active. I am and avid golfer, disc golfer and stay competitive through slow pitch softball.

Emma

Location: Downtown & Kerasotes YMCA

Emma is a certified personal trainer through NASM (National Academy of Sports and Medicine) and she believes that everyone can benefit from a holistic approach to exercise, no matter where people are in their fitness journey. Emma has chosen personal training as a career path because she once was a beginner and encountered the struggle of navigating the huge and overwhelming sphere of fitness and wellness. As she navigated the path of exercise, she realized that she no longer dreaded exercise by embracing the mental challenge and rising above the difficulty of learning something new. Emma believes that her past personal experience is crucial in helping her own personal clients. Emma’s motto is that radical transformation begins in the mind and then spreads to produce physical change. 

Emma stays physically active, playing tennis, working out, and has previously helped coach at multiple tennis camps. Emma is currently working on achieving a Corrective Exercise Certification, a Nutritionist Coach Certification, and a Performance Training Certification. 

Experience:

CPT

NASM

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