Eric Atherton
38 years old
group fitness instructor and gym club owner at E.A. Fit Club
Do you think that your training mentality for obstacle and road races helps as you're training other people?
I never do the same thing when I go into the gym. I'm on the treadmill in the beginning, scoping out the gym to figure out what I want to do. Because I'm so creative with my workouts, it translates to teaching. I can continue introducing new things to my clients.
You call yourself a “one-man band” at your gym. Does it get stressful?
I have one other trainer that fills in for me sometimes. It can get tough, but I'm learning as I go. At the end of the day, I love what I do, and no matter what I think I would always be training. It's just something that keeps me going.
Favorites
gym/fitness activity
Obstacle races
healthy snack
Plain Greek yogurt with granola
unhealthy snack
Chocolate chip cookies
artist to listen to for motivation
Jay Z
cool down activity
A short run, or something like that. Maybe like two to three miles would be a nice cool down for me after a hard workout.
Client Love
“I have chronic Lyme disease and I've always said to people, ‘Eric is my x-factor.' When I started with him, I barely had enough energy to get through a day of work. Now, I haven't had a relapse in the [more than] two years I've been with him. When there were times I was feeling that fatigue or ache or pain, he would come over and push me through that wall, and that was so important to me.”
- Deb Brown, 51, Timonium
What makes your approach or technique successful?
A lot of gyms these days put their clients through workout regimens to make them exhausted without any explanation behind it. I try to design them so they feel personal, for each individual's own fitness level. That way they're getting a good workout in a safe environment.