Fitness Profile: Brandon Krick
Address: Shillington, PA
Occupation: Owner and head trainer at Breakdown Athletics, Shillington.
When and Why You Began to Exercise:
I started exercising in seventh grade. My sister and her boyfriend at the time got me into it, because I had just started football. I had always been shy and timid, but they saw how much potential I had. Exercising helped build my confidence, as well as give me an edge.
After school, I didn’t really know what i wanted to do. I thought I wanted to be a teacher, and then I thought I wanted to be a coach. I noticed that a lot of people came to me with fitness questions or for advice about working out, even asking if they could tag along with me to the gym.
That kind of gave me the idea that maybe this was my calling, so I got certified as a personal trainer. About five years ago I quit my job and started personal training full time.
Type of Exercise You Do:
I do the programming and teaching at Breakdown Athletics, but what I do personally for my own fitness depends on what my goals are. When I played football, my training was based on growing bigger, stronger, faster. Later, I was focused on maintaining weight and building endurance.
Right now I do strength and conditioning, along with some gymnastics and mobility work. I work out about three times a week for an hour each time.
Hardest Hurdle to Overcome:
Injuries from playing sports, from a split disc in my back to muscle tears from playing football and participating in mixed martial arts. I never actually got injured from working out or lifting, it was always the sport.
Coming back from an injury, you have to know how to cut your weight down and work on getting the flexibility and mobility back. You can’t just jump right into it when you’re coming back from an injury. You have to know that fine line between working to get better and overworking yourself.
Biggest Health of Fitness Achievement:
My biggest achievements were probably when I started to be able to lift two to three times my body weight on power and Olympic lifts. That was always very rewarding to me, lifting just as much, if not more, than the heavier athletes.
How Exercise Helps You:
If definitely helps me relieve stress that builds up throughout the day or week. It helps me build my confidence. And there’s the fact that fitness is my career now: It gives me a lot of self-worth, knowing that I can help motivate people and get them where they want to be to reach their goals. It’s not just a 9-to-5 job, I’m actually helping people.
Tips for Others:
The best advice I can give someone is to stay consistent, and know that some days will be harder than others. You will have days that will set you back, but if you keep moving, you’ll always be improving on where you were yesterday.
Set goals and get yourself on a program that varies from week to week. Finding a support group can help.
Finally, try stepping out of your comfort zone. When you work on your weaknesses as much as your strengths, that’s when you’ll become more well-rounded as an athlete.
Compiled by Elizabeth Giorgi
Reading Eagle