Our Fitness Coaches
Jack Haynes,
Owner
My career in fitness started in the military. As the designated “command fitness coordinator” of my command, I was in charge of the physical readiness of the entire crew. In addition to training, I did fitness evaluations to ensure that our nations finest were always up to the task of defending our country. This also put me in a position to be creative about helping people get back in shape, a skill that has aided me in my career to this day. After my military career I trained in San Diego for four years before moving to Chicago and opening my first (small) studio. After two years in the windy city I decided to pack it up and move back to my original home, Nashville. I opened Next Level Fitness in Green Hills and ran it for three years before deciding that Nashville needed something more, and expanded to mid-town Nashville. I believe we are responsible for using our strengths to build each other up, and I’ve worked hard to build an amazing, positive team and network to make that happen.
Melissa Haynes
CFT, BS Kinesiology
I have a Bachelors of Science in kinesiology and am certified by the American Council on Exercise. I have been passionate about fitness since high school when I decided to take up running. It quickly became a great love of mine, and I was hooked for life. I decided at that time that I wanted to go into a field that would allow me to help others on their fitness journey. However, after some hard life circumstances, I began to use food restriction and over-exercise as a means of controlling the chaos. My freshman year of college things got progressively worse. I would exercise as much as possible, skip meals, lie to my friends etc. I transferred sophomore year to a different school and decided to run cross country. My coach tried to help as best he could, but after the season, things deteriorated even more. I was emaciated. My parents begged me to get an eating disorder evaluation. I figured they would tell me to eat a sandwich and send me home. Instead, they took my vitals and told me I couldn’t leave the hospital or I would likely die. My heart rate was bottomed out, my body temp was very low and all my organs were shutting down. I spent two weeks in inpatient and 5 more in an outpatient program. I finally recognized that I had a problem and needed help.
It wasn’t an easy road after that. There were highs and lows and huge struggles, but every year it got a little easier. I realized I no longer wanted to be imprisoned by my mind. I craved freedom and joy...and it eventually came. I’ll never forget that first piece of pizza without fear, that first bowl of ice cream without worrying about how I was going to “burn it off.”
Strength training has been such a healing thing for me in my journey. Getting strong, feeling good and celebrating what my body can do has brought so much peace and contentment.
As a mom of two young boys, I clearly understand the importance of instilling positive messages of health and body image to them. My goal is to help others on their fitness journey as they reach for goals, find peace and discover the joy that health and wellness (in body and mind) can bring.
David Harvick
CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER My name is David Harvick and my love of fitness, nutrition and health/well-being started at an early age. I have always been an athlete and enjoyed sports as part of my life. Starting as a youngster and through college, I participated in organized sports and discovered the benefits of keeping the body healthy and strong. Through out high school I was a four-sport athlete (baseball, football, basketball and track). When attending college I was fortunate enough to play baseball at the collegiate level while pursued my degree in Sports Medicine. I am a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer and possess my Corrective Exercise Specialist certification. I love working with both athletes and individuals who have specific goals they want to attain. I strive to teach every person I work with the tools, techniques and knowledge to reach their goals and maintain their success in the gym.
Lauren Bennett
Lauren’s career in fitness started when she moved to Nashville from Georgia. Her lifelong passion for health and wellness gradually turned into a career after working in marketing for three years. Lauren discovered the transformative power of weight lifting, and decided that she wanted to quit the desk job in order to help other women find that same freedom.
Lauren’s fitness journey dates all the way back to middle school where she had an eating disorder in 7th grade. She was only 13 years old when she started to restrict her eating. She was constantly calculating her BMI and writing out everything she would eat for the day, just enough to get by. Despite having an athletic, tall body type, she could never accept it when comparing herself to her shorter, smaller friends. Comparison and negative thoughts completely consumed her mind, making her drop to 86 pounds! She was so thin that she was told she needed to be hospitalized. Ultimately, the fear of going to the doctor made her turn things around. She gradually gained the weight back and developed a healthier mindset. Lauren ended up finding volleyball in 8th grade where she learned to accept and thrive in her athletic body type.
During and post college, her relationship with food was completely healed, but she had a difficult time nailing down the fitness part. She would run and do accessory ab work, but struggled to stay “toned”. After doing Burn Boot Camp for two years after college, she discovered that it wasn’t changing her body composition. She started doing research and ultimately decided to get her NASM certification, which turned into a career. She dropped over 7% body fat in the past two years by primarily weighting lifts.
Lauren is passionate about cultivating confidence in the gym through safe exercises for longer lasting muscles and joints. She teaches her clients how to train their bodies through weight training rather than excessive cardio to create lean muscle definition.
Jim Cipriani
Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Conditioning Specialist, Performance Nutrition Specialist and Specialist in Senior Fitness by the International Sports Science Association. NFPT Certified Fitness Trainer and also top of class as a Health/Fitness major at Springfield College. If you are reading this, then it is safe to assume that you have a desire to better yourself. Whether it be your body, your health, your performance, or just your overall well-being, you have a goal in mind. Your success in reaching that goal is my passion.
It’s a passion that began when I was very young. I started training to augment my performance on the football field. That is when I got bit by the fitness bug. While successfully competing as a football athlete, I followed my passion for sports and physical performance, majoring in Health Fitness at Springfield College.
Sarah Shumacher
Sarah graduated with a BS in Exercise Science in 2019. Since then she has obtained her CPT through NASM and has over 5 years of experience training a variety of clientele.
Sarah realized quickly in her career that there was a gap that needed to be filled in the fitness world. That gap being the education a client needs to thrive and see long term results within their training and lifestyle. Sarah takes the time to teach her clients the WHY behind exercises and HOW to sustain their results. You are MUCH MORE than just another client to her.
Her passion for fitness began in high school when she saw the positive impact it had on her mental health and confidence. She naturally fell into a position of educating her peers on exercise techniques and how to use it to become better in their athletics. Sarah was a three sport athlete from 6th grade until she was a freshman in college. She looks forward to getting to know her new clientele and meeting them where they currently are! You deserve to feel confident and successful in your journey!
Eric Hartman
I am an NASM Certified Personal trainer with a huge passion for helping others find the love with fitness and nutrition that I have found over the last 15 years.
As a kid I underwent multiple surgeries on my feet and even though I played multiple sports, including baseball and lacrosse, it was a tough go for me while I was young, spending multiple portions of my life in casts and even my 6th grade year in a wheel chair all due to surgeries to “fix me”. I struggled heavily with being able to move well without pain even after all of the surgeries. Years later, in college I decided it was time to take control of my own well-being and even though doctors told me I would not be able to run without pain, I started researching ways to help myself move better and trained for triathlons. In the midst of this research and training trials I found weight lifting and absolutely fell in love with how it made my body and mind feel as I got stronger and began to move without pain, not to mention how my body composition changed! I decided I wanted to keep this learning going and be able to pass it along to those like me.
I studied hard to earn my certification through NASM and still continue to learn everyday how to help myself and others get stronger, move better and feel confident in our bodies. I want to help you become the best self you want to achieve and I will be there every step of the way to ensure we do it in a fun, challenging and smart way!
Gerell Webb
Emerging as one of the brightest in the fitness industry, Gerell works with an elite group of clientele from doctors, attorneys, musicians and collegiate athletes. Gerell holds multiple certifications in fitness training, corporate health coaching and Nutrition. Gerell has been featured in multiple news outlets and blogs most noticeably his recurring role as the fitness expert on News Channel 5 "Talk of the Town". Based out of Nashville, Tennessee, Gerell is a driven and passionate personal trainer who believes that there are no shortcuts to fitness. In 2016, Gerell released his first fitness dvd "Don’t Press Pause" a 20 minute H.I.I.T. workout. With experience in leading fitness events of up to 3,000 participants, one on one, small group and corporate training Gerell is sure to have something that will help you with your health and fitness journey so that you can live your best life ever! Known for his innovative and "high energy" style of training you are sure to achieve your goals while having fun, reaching new milestones and never repeating the same workout twice.
www.itrain365fit.com
Tara Koch
Bio coming soon!
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Alexis Jones
Alexis is a Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist through NASM as well as a 200hr Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT). Over the last decade, Alexis has been teaching barre, sculpt HIITs, yoga and various group fitness classes throughout Nashville and leading teacher trainings across the southeastern region. Her specialty is increasing overall strength and mobility through alignment, proper stretching and functional movements with light to moderate weight. She strongly believes that a consistent movement routine not only aligns and strengthens your body but your mind and overall spirit as well.
Having spent the majority of her childhood training as a competitive gymnast, Alexis fell into a deep burnout after reaching level 8. After a long hiatus from training, overcoming bouts of depression, disordered eating and entering motherhood, she realized her physical and mental health had severely declined and needed to pick herself up. She found joy in dancing and working out again which shortly led to her first group fitness certification in 2013. Since then, Alexis has found passion and purpose with connecting and uplifting her community through movement and has completed 10 different certifications in the last 10 years. Her more recent transition to 1:1 training and Corrective Exercise is fueling her mission to further help her clients gain strength, mobility, prevent injury & feel better in their bodies through safe body mechanics.
Despite whatever physical goals people come in with, her hope is they leave with a stronger mind & connect to a deeper version of themselves as well.
Wolly Wolcott
As a native Tennessean, I enjoy a multitude of experiences and surroundings, learning new ways to challenge myself physically and implementing new ways to move through life. I hope to share and teach others what I have learned. Thankfully, at a young age, I had the opportunity to experience many different ways the body can be used. I was involved in almost every sport imaginable and easily found an ambition for developing many additional forms of movement. I wanted to understand the basic principles of movement and how they could be applied in life and in athletic training. In high school, I began training for the many sports I was interested in. College was about the science behind the machine. I was able to practice fundamental movement based skills currently used in the strength and conditioning world while also experiencing new ways to keep me progressing forward. After college, I had the opportunity to meet and learn with professionals who really helped me take my knowledge and use it, along with my experiences, to help others. I considered that my real education.
Christian Pitkin
"AREAS OF SPECIALTY.
Muscular Strength and Conditioning. Body Toning and Weight Loss. Improving Coordination and Agility. Functional Training, including Correcting Muscle Imbalances, Improving Posture + Alignment and Flexibility. Holistic Approach toward Stress Management, Nutrition and Lifestyle via Health Counseling. “Fitness and Music are the medicines of life.”
Christian has been very active and involved in fitness his entire life. His love for sports and competition (football, basketball, tennis, golf and snowboarding), as well as helping people achieve their goals in life correlates with his passion in personal training and health counseling. His past career was in the corporate life of tech sales. His motivation to switch careers was due to his yearning to be face to face with his clients while having a direct and positive impact in their lives. “Improving my clients’ personal lives is extremely rewarding.”
Christian is a certified personal trainer from the National Academy for Sports Medicine. His many specific certifications include some notables: Certified CHEK Exercise Coach, Certified Health Coach, kettlebells, ViPR (Vitality Performance Re-Conditioning) and TRX. He has found that the best results his clients have experienced are through a good combination of strength and circuit training. This has resulted in positive gains in total body strength, toning and weight loss.
On a much larger scale, Christian attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2011 and became Certified Health Counselor. This well-rounded program covers not only a vast amount of nutritional studies but also looks at the lifestyle challenges that our society must overcome, specifically, choices made in one’s relationship, career, exercise, sleep and even spirituality. “Our world is confronted with a ton of emotional and physical stress and ultimately poor overall health. There is rarely one silver bullet that creates a healthy lifestyle but rather a well-balanced series of intelligent choices made in a person’s life. I enjoy discovering the problem(s) in my client’s situation and then solving their problems to ultimately make them a happier person. This not only improves their life but can improve their family/friends life as well.” The key to Christian’s success as a trainer are his strong communication and listening skills, motivating his clients, his likability and his ability to relate so well to his clients.
EDUCATION.
NASM Certification, National Academy for Sports Medicine CHEK Institute, Exercise Coach Integrative Nutition, Certified Health Coach MAT, Muscle Activation Techniques Kettlebells, Levels 1 & 2 Precision Nutrition Certification, Level 1 ViPR, Vitality Performance Re-Conditioning FMS, Functional Movement Screen Level 1 and 2 TRX, Total Body Resistance Exercise PDTR, Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing, Susquehanna University
TESTIMONIALS.
“Prior to finding Christian, I had several terrible “trainer” experiences. I have been training with Christian for over a year and could not be happier. Not only is Christian an excellent and professional trainer with a ton of knowledge and experience but he designs my work-outs to be fun and customizes things so I am able to meet my ever-changing fitness goals without feeling like I¹m dreading the gym.” -Brittany
“I have been working with Christian for a few years, and have made great progress. I am leaner, much stronger, and have more energy than before. Christian has helped me work far harder than I could have by myself and it shows. He is constantly coming up with new and interesting workouts and his positive attitude and motivation always comes through.” -Thad
“I started training with Christian about a year ago, and can guarantee that he will be your favorite trainer when you work with him.He shows up. He’s on time. He has an individually created workout plan just for you. Anyone who’s worked with personal trainers before knows that these aren’t givens.
My fitness goals have changed significantly since I started working with Christian, and he’s kept ahead of me with training and nutritional plans that have really produced results. He has an amazing repertoire of ideas and techniques, so whatever your goals Christian will have a plan for you.
Lastly, Christian is just an all around great guy. Personable, easy to get along with. He really wants you to succeed and puts a lot of energy into making that happen. More than once I’ve hit the proverbial wall at the gym, and Christian knows how to help me work through that – even without my asking. That’s what makes him the best.” -Mark
PRESS.
How to Get in Shape for a Wedding, According to How Much Time You Have, Men’s Fitness, January 2018 Bay Area Hikes with Kids, Bay Area Parent Magazine, September 2017
Alyx Gepford
Hi! My name is Alyx Gepford and my passion for health and fitness started at a very young age. I had dreams of being a professional athlete and quickly realized that would only happen if I took care of my body. I became very passionate about learning how to put together workouts to keep me in shape, build muscle, and learn what foods properly fueled me best to set me up for success.
Becoming that professional athlete wasn’t in the Lord’s plans for me but I was able to be a dual sport athlete in college playing both volleyball and basketball, while pursuing a Kinesiology degree in Health Promotion & Wellness. After graduation I got my personal training certification though ACE and became a group fitness instructor at Burn Boot Camp in Murfreesboro, TN. At Burn I got to fine tune my training skills by being able to work with a wide variety of people from different levels of fitness, age, injuries, and goals.
I am so thankful for my background in sports that sparked my love and passion for fitness and all that it has taught me. I am even more grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to go outside of that realm and discover just how much my heart beats for the chance to pour into people and teach them how life changing fitness is, not only physically but mentally too. My heart is to help people; the mom who wants to be able to keep up with her wild toddler, the athlete who wants to make their varsity team, the college student who wants to just feel better and have more energy, and the business woman who just needs to get away to decompress. Fitness is essential for everyone and my goal is to help people learn that!
Nathaniel Edman
"I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with a Fitness Nutrition Specialization and a USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach Certification. I was always running around with the neighborhood kids and playing sports when I was young. I believe being involved at an early age helped develop the love and passion that I have today for being active. When I have an active lifestyle it makes me more confident, positive, I feel healthier and have more energy. Helping my body improve drove me to want to become a personal trainer, I want to help share my knowledge with others so that they can experience the positivity I have experienced.
I work with many types of clients and customize workout plans based upon their desires and needs. Whether its to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle, tone up, or just because they enjoy working out … I truly love helping anyone that is willing to make the decision to be healthy! With my experience I hope I can help my clients make healthy lifestyle decisions inside and out of the gym. I strive to maximize our time in the gym together to get the best possible results, and to help you reach your desired goals, whatever they might be.
Sebastian Kimball
My name is Sebastian Kimball and I’m a huge advocate for health, fitness, and life. Personal training is my passion and I love helping people achieve their fitness goals, whether that is weight loss, weight gain, or just improving one or more components of fitness. I love to educate and motivate people to reach their optimal health and to be happy with themselves every single day.
I am certified through the American College of Sports Medicine and have my B.S in Exercise Science from MTSU. I use my background to make the best individualized plans for each specific client. My workouts are always unique and will challenge your body to get the results you need. My goal is to always keep you motivated and excited to continue on your journey to health and fitness. Everyone can improve, and with my help you will be one step closer to your personal goal.
Angela McCuiston
Angela McCuiston is a NASM-CPT, CES, SFS and CETI-CES (Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, Senior Fitness Specialist and Cancer Exercise Specialist) and owner of Music Strong, a business that specializes in personal fitness training for musicians. Winner of the 2007 NFA Piccolo Master class, Angela received her Master of Music in Flute Performance from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Tennessee Technological University. An avid performer, Angela is Assistant Principal/Piccolo of Sinfonia Gulf Coast of Destin, Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Nashville Flute Choir. She is also member of the 313th Army Reserve Band at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL, most recently completing a 16year tenure with the 129th Army Band in Nashville, TN. In addition to her solo performances, she has performed with such celebrities as Jamie Bernstein, Pink Martini, Chris Mann, Morgan James, Katherine Jolley, Nancy Griffith and Mary Wilson of the Supremes.
As a trainer, Angela maintains a studio in Nashville, TN and also travels to give her workshops and presentations, most notably presenting at the National Flute Association Conventions in Las Vegas, NV, Washington, D.C., Salt Lake City, UT and Orlando, FL. Among her recent workshops, she has traveled to present at Arizona State University, Florida State University, Stephen F. Austin University, Ft. Lewis University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga among others. Recently she was sought out by the Old Guard, Army Fife and Drum Corps as a special consultant to prevent playing related injuries. She has since taken up residence on the faculty of the Stetson University flute camp and has been sought out for numerous other positions including her recent appointment Fall of 2018 as Chair of the National Flute Association Performance Health Committee.
Angela is constantly on the search for new research and her studies include The Alexander Technique, Barbara Conable’s “What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body” Body Mapping Class, Eva Amsler’s classes in Dynamic Integration in addition to live workshops with NASM, and in May 2019 will complete her level 1 certification in Neurokinetic Therapy. When she is not performing or training, Angela can be found teaching private flute lessons in the middle Tennessee area or riding her Trek road bike as many hours as there are sunshine. She recently completed her 3rd century ride and has a goal to ride between 5-12 centuries in 2019 and log 5,000 miles.