Athlete Spotlight: Jeff Cohen

Jeff has been a Floch Fitness client for over 6 years now, and he rarely misses a workout.  When I asked him where his motivation comes from, he chuckled.  “I hate working out.”  He continued,  “I wake up at 5:30am, and every morning I say, ‘I don’t want to workout.’  But I don’t rely on whether or not I want to workout to get the job done, I rely on my habit of getting out of bed, and getting to the gym.”  You see, Jeff has made going to the gym so ingrained into his life, it’s as normal to him as tying his shoes.  It’s this secret that has created consistency not only in Jeff’s fitness, but in both his professional and personal life as well.  Jeff is a successful attorney and business owner, loving husband and father, and he is an author as well! He released his first book last year entitled, The Wolf That Wins (available on Amazon).  

If you are looking to change your life, take a page out of Jeff’s playbook and work on your habits first.  From there, everything else becomes a lot easier.  Need some additional support?  I’m here to help.  Book a free assessment today, and let’s start constructing habits that will lead to the best version of you!

Athlete Spotlight: Kelsey Kinsella

There is one word that comes to mind when describing Kelsey Kinsella: grit. Kelsey has been a part of the Floch since the beginning of Floch Fitness over 6 years ago. In our time working together, Kelsey has competed in the sport of fitness (Crossfit), worked on maximal strength (her personal best deadlift is 400lbs.!), and has moved closer to body composition goals. To give you an idea of Kelsey’s physical and mental fortitude, she has rowed the fastest 2,000m time for any female athlete I have ever worked with (7:32!!!).

With the immense changes in the world, Kelsey (a Physician’s Assistant at a major Broward County hospital) has had to balance her training with her extremely stressful work life. For now, that has become our goal in working together: stress reduction. Kelsey is continually bounced between trauma and ICU, and her training gives her stability. This is her time she can work on herself, both the mind and body. Even after a shift, she goes home, laces up her shoes, and gets her run and bodyweight training. I prescribe the workouts and she completes them. Time and time again. She knows that even an average effort on a workout is better than no attempt at all. As Kelsey’s life circumstances change and the pandemic eases, I look forward to our next step in Kelsey’s fitness journey. Thank you for being part of the Floch Kelsey!

Are you looking to balance your work life with physical training? If you feel like it’s time to make a change, I’m here to help. Book a free assessment today to get started on the path toward the best version of you!

Athlete Spotlight: Ethan Smith

When you experience a setback, it’s easy to get caught in self-pity. You are met with the painful realization that what you thought was going to happen, isn’t in the cards and all of a sudden you are down on yourself. This is normal, and it’s also okay. Once you move past that discomfort, there is something beautiful lying in wait. What I try to teach my clients is that every setback is an opportunity in disguise. As a coach, all I can really offer is the space and time for you to decide what that opportunity is.

When Ethan Smith was struggling with some chronic wrist issues (exacerbated repetitive movements at work), we decided to rehab the wrist, change up the training, and focus on getting the lower body stronger, as his upper body was limited from the wrist injury. After switching his training program, he hit personal bests in the back squat and when we returned to the upper body lifts, he PR’d their too (see video above)! Sometimes our plans not working out is the best thing that can happen to us. What other choice do we have???

Looking to change up your training? I’m here to help! Click the link below to set up a free assessment and let’s see what a new training program can do for you!

Athlete Spotlight: Mendel Korf

“Do you do anything outside the gym?” I asked the new client with black hair and pale skin in front of me struggling to catch his breath. “Yeah,” he replied, “I kiteboard.” I really didn’t know much about kiteboarding until I met Mendel Korf, but I know training we do in the gym allows him to enjoy his passion even more.

When Mendel started a remote coaching program, he struggled to keep on bodyweight, had inconsistency in workouts, and he simply wasn’t able to perform in the surf the way he wanted to. Mendel says, “I wanted big air. And my legs just aren’t strong enough or conditioned enough for a long day of riding.” We implemented a program specific to Mendel’s needs. He now says, “Doing the Olympic lifts and getting my legs stronger has me jumping waves higher than I ever have before.” He continues, “I am way more consistent in the gym as well. I hate it when I see my program with a little red X. It motivates me to get to the gym and get my workout in.”

In a remote coaching program, I utilize the cutting edge application True Coach which allows me to send individualized training to all of my athletes. When you wake up in the morning, you don’t have to worry about figuring out what your workout is going to be. You open up your email, and BAM, Your workout is waiting for you! You follow the workout template, records results, and those results are instantly sent to me on the other end to review. The application also has great features like exercise videos, nutrition tracking, and PR recording. It’s a powerful tool and it allows both you and myself to see the progress you’ve been making.

And boy has Mendel made progress. He recently hit personal bests in both his back squat and front squat! Like many of my clients, Mendel has stuck with a growth mindset, even during the pandemic. He hasn’t missed a workout (despite working through a hand injury) and he has gotten his father into the swing of things! Since starting a workout routine, Mendel’s dad is down 40lbs. in bodyweight and PR’d his mile time by over 4 minutes. Mendel and his father are truly inspiring and show that with hard work, the right mindset, and great coaching, the fitness you have always dreamed of is right at your fingertips.

Are you ready to join the Floch? Click the link below to book a free assessment and start working toward your goals today!

Athlete Spotlight: Drew Backoff

Throughout the pandemic, people have been faced with unimaginable hardship and obstacles. It is so challenging to focus on what you can control, and let go of things that are out of your hands. Drew Backoff, has used his fitness as a tool to center himself and continue a growth mindset when it almost seems impossible. Drew has improved his deadlift technique, hit a personal record on his power clean + hang power clean, and hit another personal record last week on a 3 rep max front squat (FEATURED BELOW). All the while improving his technique and ensuring that he will be able to have fun in the box for years to come.

Not only is Drew a stud in gym, he is also a compassionate and generous man, set an amazing example for his three sons Reed, Trevor, and Shane. Drew took on the American Heart Association’s Executives with Heart Challenge, raising funds to fight against cardiovascular disease. Drew has raised over $1,600 with a goal to get to $3,000. If you’d like to donate, click the link below. Donations are tax deductible.

Drew, keep grinding and setting the example for what hard work and dedication are all about!

If Drew’s journey has inspired you to be the best version of yourself, I’d like to help. Click the link below to book a free assessment and let’s get started today!

Athlete Spotlight: Hessam Khatami

This week’s athlete spotlight is Dr. Hessam Khatami. Hessam has been part of the Floch for the last 8 years and was one of my very first clients. Hessam has a unique story, and I hope to show that in aging athletes, knowing your PRIORITIES should be the focus of any coach athlete relationship.

When Hessam and I first started working together, the goal was to improve body composition. There were two things we had to change:

1. Decrease Training Load-He was doing high intensity exercise 5 days a week (Crossfit Classes) and it was too stressful on his body with the amount of clinical work he was also doing

2. Improve Diet- Hessam didn’t have any direction and was flying blind

I wrote Hessam his own training program and prescribed a stepwise change in diet, starting off with changes in quality of food, and finishing off with some intermittent fasting to control caloric intake. With a new training program, and changes in his diet, Hessam shed over 20 pounds of fat and got down to a weight he hadn’t seen since high school. Hessam was a different man. Not afraid to take his shirt off, and beaming with confidence.

Once Hessam got down to the leanness he desired, we changed his training priority to match his new goal: absolute strength. Specifically, Hessam wanted to deadlift over 400lbs. and improve his upper body pushing and pulling strength. We changed his diet again to accommodate the increase in muscle mass, adding quality calories to his diet. After years of training, Hessam finally pulled 400lbs., and he has the video to prove it! Through that chapter of his journey, there was some ups and downs with his training consistency as his lifestyle had changed drastically. He was now a dad (to two awesome boys) and he expanded his medical practice and became the owner of FTX Wellness in Boca Raton,FL.

With these new chapters came changes in training priority, and instead of fitness for a good time, his goal was fitness for a long time. For me, this meant making sure Hessam was moving to the best of his abilities and had general preparedness (ready for what life has to throw at him). Can he squat fully? Can he touch his toes? Does he have good cardiac capacity? All of these questions and more were rolled into his new training program supported by lifestyle changes and a quality diet. In this video, Hessam is squatting some of the heaviest weight he has ever put on the bar, with the best quality and depth he has ever had.

Congrats Hessam, you are a shining example of what hard work, dedication, and a clear goal can do for an individual. It is an honor to share in your fitness journey along side you.

Has Hessam’s story inspired you to make a change in your own fitness? I’d love to help. Click the link below to set up a free assessment and let’s get started on your own fitness journey together.