Wearing a TFW (Training for Warriors) rubber band on his left wrist, Keith unlocked the gym’s front door. The pitch-dark gym awaits the sound of rubber plates dropping to the ground, and high-tempo music plays in the background, like a movie soundtrack for a fight scene.
Keith flipped on the light switch, walked into the office, put his gym bag on the table, and went into the kitchen to prepare a pre-workout drink. The music starts and her stretching routine begins. As Maria’s first client walked through the door, greeted with smiles and hugs, the office door closed. Keith begins his training by warming up with a series of power cleans. Rouge’s wrist guards were tied, while his palms were covered in white chalk. Today was his day, he could only feel it. Grabbing the bar beneath him with both hands, Keith incited himself, delivering words of motivation to lift the 205-pound bar with thick black rubber bumper plates on all sides, with the words Rogue Fitness embroidered on them. On the first attempt, the bar hits the ground on a failed attempt. “Come on, you got this, it’s nothing” Keith said as he coached himself. As she approached the Olympic bar once more with her palms whitewashed and her feet shoulder-width apart, the bar lifted against her collarbones for a split second, then dropped to the ground. “Wooo!” The energy from his voice instantly caught Maria’s attention while she was in the office. Keith just hit his highest goal for Power Cleans, hitting 205 pounds.
These couple of minutes define Bulldog Bootcamp & Nutrition. A passion for fitness, health, clean eating and words of encouragement aren’t only what the gym supports, but they’re what excite athletes to come back day after day, to be coached and pushed to the brink by their trainers.
What do you get when you put a loyal nutritionist and a high-octane trainer with a total of over 12 certifications between the two? You get a boutique gym that offers a series of unique classes and non-repetitive exercises that are guaranteed to show results on your body within the first few weeks.
THE BEAST: Q&A WITH COACH KEITH WEISS
With eight certifications under his belt, Keith made clear his admiration for Bruce Lee.
“He [Bruce Lee], never talked about different training styles and techniques. Instead he went out and learned everything. I do not put down all the various styles that other gyms teach. I want to educate as many of them as possible. I want to learn everything.”
What Keith’s crazy about most gyms and their owners is that they teach only one philosophy and belittle others without trying it for themselves.
“Even with a great philosophy, the coaches themselves are arrogant, and that kind of attitude isn’t healthy for the gym. I love Bulldogs [gym] because here we have three highly educated and certified coaches with no ego.”
When asked what makes a gym work hard, Keith stated,
“Being educated, humble and putting the athletes first, and NO ego is what a coach needs to do to make sure their clients get the best. That’s how the gym strives.”
What made you love fitness, and make it your career?
“Growing up with a 7 year old dadth degree in Shorinjiryu karate, he pushed Erick [Keith’s brother] and that I from the age of 6 to be the best. On the mat he does not treat us like his kids, we are his students.”
What happened to the Army?
“I joined after 9/11. After seeing warriors struggle during basic training, it motivated me to become the best coach and trainer. To help people live better and healthier lives.”
What are your future goals for the Bulldog?
“My main goal is to get more certifications. Learn from different trainers, and hopefully in 2 years, launch Bulldog Certification.”
You are certified with Martin Rooney’s Training For Warriors, correct?
“Yes, I would say, Martin [Rooney] is among the top coaches in the world. This July I will be taking my Level 2 Certification for TFW. I’m happy about it.
While I heard so many great things about Martin Rooney as a person and a coach, I wanted to find out more for myself.”
Why did you choose to be affiliated with Training For Warriors and use Martin Rooney’s techniques in your gym?
“I like the system because it has it all. Detailed warm-up, strength training, resistance training, speed training, and nutrition. In my opinion, this is the most complete system I have experienced so far.”
After interviewing Keith, I made a decision to contact Training For Warriors to find out more about how certified trainers become affiliates. After contacting John Annillo, Director of Business Operations at TFW, I asked him what stood out most about Keith, and why he chose to affiliate with his gym. John states,
Keith has a fire type personality, and is actually able to influence and inspire other coaches throughout the certification process. We keep our affiliations small and intimate, but after seeing what Keith represented, I saw that our missions aligned with each other, so we felt it was a perfect fit to be affiliated with his gym.”
BEAUTY: Q&A WITH NUTRITIONIST MARIA CORSO
Business owner, personal and group nutritionist, and mother of two, Maria Corso handles the day-to-day office work at Bulldog, while finding time to coordinate training and small group consultations for client nutrition and health. I had the opportunity to talk with Maria while I was photographing her. A certified and educated nutritionist and fitness trainer, Maria spoke more deeply with me and opened up about her passion for nutrition.
What makes you so passionate about nutrition, health and helping others eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle?
“Coming from a family with various medical problems such as cancer, high cholesterol, and diabetes, nutrition has always been very close to the heart. I want to grow up to be healthy. That’s when I started cooking clean food, and started my own experiments in the kitchen.”
After leading me into their kitchen area, Maria grabbed a number of fresh fruit and green vegetables. Slicing a lemon and squeezing it into a blender, she explains why she wants to become a professional nutritionist.
“After having children, I decided to go back to school. I’m the talk of the town because of what a good job I do making my own baby food for my kids, and how healthy my kids are.”
Maria started mixing the ingredients together, and poured herself a cup of green juice. He handed me a small sample cup and continued, “Everyone keeps saying, you have to become a nutritionist. I decided to go back to school and get my 30 on top [30 credits above your masters degree] in nutritional science. It’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done.”
So what are your future plans?
“I am actually planning to take my education further, and enroll in the Fall at Rutger University for their PHD program in Nutrition.”
This ambitious beauty momentarily takes me into her busy world, which starts each morning at 5am sharp and sometimes does not end late, juggling her career as a full-time mother, trainer, and nutritionist in close proximity. one hundred clients under his tutelage.
One line utterly defines Bulldog Bootcamp & Nutrition, and world-renowned trainer Martin Rooney’s quote does just that. “When your athlete’s success becomes more important than your own, you can officially say you’ve gone from athlete to COACH.”
