We sat down with Fitness Program Director Nick Keeling. See what he said about fitness and personal training.
Bryan University Fitness Program Director Nick Keeling graduated from Fresno State in California in Exercise Science. He had a dream – to play professional baseball. After an injury crushed his dreams to play for a Major League Baseball club, Nick became curious about how to prevent injury. He also developed a desire to uncover everything he could about the workings of the human body. Armed with this knowledge, and his new degree, he also had the will to succeed in the fitness and personal training realm. He used his passion for fitness and began a mission to help others.
“I had an opportunity to host a trainer development workshop in Southern California, and I fell in love with the notion of presenting and educating other fitness professionals.”
Over the course of the next eight years, Nick began supervising personal trainers and managers at several corporate health clubs. Then, he began serving as the Director of Education for the National Personal Training Institute in Santa Monica, California. Nick found he had a real knack for helping personal trainers and other fitness professionals further their careers.
He was just getting started. Nick’s next stop on his fitness journey began when he became a co-founder of the American Fitness and Nutrition Academy in Pasadena, California, as well as a co-owner in Easy Fitness health studio in Marina Del Rey, California. In both those roles, Nick conducted nutrition and exercise programming seminars for trainers and fitness coaches. He also was involved in several weight loss seminars for the greater Southern California market. He even found time to co-author a book: Survival Handbook for Personal Trainers and Fitness Enthusiasts. Given Nick’s admiration and love for fitness, writing a book was a no-brainer.
When asked about how his career impacted his life, Nick states: “Many people would say that work always gets in the way of them adopting a lifestyle of exercise and wellness. I get to say that I enjoy taking my work home with me.”
Nick’s journey to Bryan began with a quick Internet search. He saw a teaching job offer on CareerBuilder and was granted an interview to “test teach.” Shortly after this, he was offered a full-time instructor position based on the positive feedback from other faculty and students who observed and learned from him.
When asked about how he lives the Bryan University mission statement, Nick says: “A lot of people go to college – not all graduate. The mission statement to me means that students need our help to be prepared for college, and they benefit from our mentoring and support to make it through.”
Nick talks about how Bryan University inspires him: “It has made me cognizant that not everyone has it easy. Some folks really need to try very hard to succeed. Others, not so much. We grant an opportunity for students to receive the personalized support they need to be successful.”
When asked about what the best part of his job is, he answers: “I get to practice what I love to do and make a living out of it!”
If you are not a student, but are thinking of a career in personal training and fitness, what are you waiting for? Contact us and set up a time to speak with one of our admissions representatives. Or, check out program options at Bryan University:
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