Going to the gym in 2024? Spartanburg personal trainer shares tips to reach fitness goals

On a cold Saturday morning in January, personal trainer Justin Rollins was leading a 7 a.m. 600 Calorie Burn class in a darkly lit exercise room at the Spartanburg Athletic Club.

Pulsing disco lights, pop and hip-hop music blaring from a speaker and 20 people were burning off 600 calories (about 48 minutes of running) with barbells, dumbbells, and mats in a high-intensity interval training workout.

Rollins led the class in bar squats, pushups, reverse lunges, renegades with pushups, overhead squats with plates, squat jumps, side lunges, a curl burn, mountain climbers, crab walks, shoulder presses, bear crawls, 180-degree jumps, high knees, planks, plank ladders and burpees.

The 600-calorie burn class is one of many new classes offered by Rollins’ business, All Elite Training, which customizes exercise programs for all ages and fitness levels. A couple of hours later, that Saturday morning, there was an Assessment Seminar with nurse practitioner Jessica Martin.

Rollins, who holds NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and USATF (USA Track & Field) coach certificates, is known for coaching marathon athletes, and as a senior fitness and balance specialist.

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Rollins said his mother took him to sign up at Gaffney Fitness when he was 15 years old. “I walked in there and it was the most intimidating thing I’ve ever seen,” he recalled. “These bodybuilders are walking around and here’s this chubby kid walking in and I had no clue what to do. And I instantly thought, ‘This is where I belong.’”

Those “intimidating” bodybuilders soon took him under their wing and Rollins started seeing results at age 16. By age 17, he was working part-time at the gym, and by age 18, he was training clients on workout machines.

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Rollins said he can understand people who are new to the gym feeling overwhelmed. But he offered some perspective. “I realized every one of those people at one point was me (at 15),” he said. “They just took that first step and started a routine. That first step is the hardest one and then committing to a fitness routine.”

His advice is to start slowly at the gym or with any workout program and build on that. “I didn’t get to where I am overnight,” he said.

Hiring a personal trainer? What to know.

Rollins said connectivity is important when hiring a personal trainer. “You’ve got to be able to trust them,” he said. “You’re putting your health and safety in their hands. Strength, performance, athleticism -- all that is meaningless if it is not safe. You’ve got to connect with that person in some way because you’re allowing them to control a big aspect of your life.”

Rollins said he is better able to build a workout if he knows his clients as a person. Some clients want something as simple as being able to play with their grandchildren on the floor while others might have the goal of being able to fit into a fitted suit.

The benefit of hiring a personal trainer is “accountability.”

“If you hire me or anyone else, you know you’ve got to be in that gym,” he said. “If it’s a good system, you are building on that every week.”

Rollins said it’s also good to have an extra set of eyes that can see your goals from a different perspective. “Someone who can see the big picture,” he said. “A good trainer will make sure all body parts are getting equal treatment and making sure you are getting the appropriate amount of cardio.”

Personal trainers force you out of your comfort zone, he said.

“It forces you to hit the body parts and hit the moves you would not do on your own,” Rollins said.

A personal trainer should adapt to your goals

Rollins shared what he thinks people should look for when hiring a personal trainer. “Find the person that fits with you, that’s willing to adapt to your goals, not their goals,” he said.

Today, Rollins’ clients range from teenagers to people in their 80s.

One client may work on a high-volume, high-intensity weight training workout with a little bit of cardio.

Another client will run sprints at the Mary Black Rail Trail, and another client might be working on balance and a little bit of strength training.

Rollins works with a 15-year-old football player on speed and agility. “I had him running against a band trying to run as fast as he could,” he said. “I had him doing sprints and burpees to ad nauseum.”

Addie Duggins, a 13-year-old Clifdale Middle tennis player, also works on speed, agility and a little bit of resistance. “We’re running routes on the tennis court to build her speed and build her hand and eye coordination,” he said.

Rollins' advice on hiring a personal trainer:

• A solid certification is essential like NASM or ISSA (International Sports Science Association).

• Word of mouth or recommendations from other clients

• Find the right gym that fits your needs and most likely you will find the right trainer

• Find a trainer with a good reputation

• Find a trainer that puts your health and safety first

• Find a trainer that is building a foundation for you to accomplish your goals

Digital and Print Planner Jose Franco can be reached at jose.franco@shj.com

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg personal trainer shares tips to reach fitness goals in 2024