Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Shenkman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story starts with an education in Ceramic Engineering in 1980 from Alfred University in Western New York State. I was always very athletic and love to workout. I actually talked to friends in college about opening a gym in New York. I moved to Los Angeles in 1980 when Northup hired me out of school to work on developing a radar absorbing coating for the Stealth Bomber. After moving to LA, I immediately found a gym to work out. At that time, the gyms in fashion were Nautilus Clubs. After that club closed, I joined an athletic club in the Torrance area and kept up my training. Thru this club transition, I am still working as an engineer at different companies. Eventually, I ended quitting my life as an engineer to move in to my passion of fitness. I landed a job as a personal trainer in a small fitness center in West Los Angeles. I moved around to different gyms and ended up with a lease and a space of my own. About 3 years ago, my wife and I opened the second fitness studio in Woodland Hills called CycleTRaX. At CycleTRaX we specialize in indoor cycling classes (spinning) and TRX Circuit Training Classes.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is never smooth. Trident Fitness has grown with the years and flourished. But, I did open a Women’s Fitness Center in Brentwood that lasted a little more than 3 very rough years. We made the unfortunate error of opening in 2007 as the economy was declining rapidly.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Trident Fitness – what should we know?
About 17 years ago, I attend a three-day workshop on Chain Reaction. Essentially, functional movement. I dove head first into the concept and now the majority of my training is functionally based. Functional training is movement based, not muscle based. So, you train movements not muscles. With this concept, you train in 3 planes of motion as much as possible.
I believe everyone needs to be trained like an athlete with the appropriate intensity according to his or her fitness level and age.
I also believe that we all have some dysfunctional movements, so I work on identifying those dysfunctions and improving movements, developing strength and mobility. In turn our body looks and feels better.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My ability to relate to different people and listen to them to know what they want from training. I feel I am really good at accommodating many different fitness levels and customizing the training for what best fits that person.
Pricing:
- $100 per session
Contact Info:
- Address: 11355 West Olympic Blvd
West Los Angeles, CA 90064 - Website: tridentfitness.com
- Phone: 310-231-5195
- Email: [email protected]
