Ten years ago today, Limitless Personal Training first opened its doors, originally as Limitless Specialized Core Fitness. After a name change and multiple location changes, we’ve been settled in the current location in Rohnert Park for the last 5 years.

Opening this studio ten years ago was a surreal experience and wouldn’t have been possible without all of the support from family and friends. Reflecting back on this time in my life, it’s interesting to think about the relationship between adversity and breaking new ground. This was a pretty tumultuous time in my life having gone through a breakup a few months prior, competing in jiujitsu seemingly every other weekend, and suffering a collapsed lung in a freak competition accident. I was in and out of the E.R. for a week or so and several more in recovery. This turned out to leave me with not much to do other than work on my Limitless business plans, and so, what seemed like a setback turned into a moment that really propelled my life forward professionally.

No doubt I’ve learned a lot when it comes to training clients in the last ten years. Looking back I feel like my skills were so much more rudimentary, from communication to business skills, even my understanding of training the body and nutrition have evolved immensely. I am a firm believer that if you’re not at least somewhat embarrassed by the version of you from ten years ago then that just means you’re not growing enough.

I’ve met so many people through Limitless. Some for only a week or two and many I still work with today several years later. I am always grateful that people decide to spend their time and money with me and all I can do in return is give as much value back as possible. Here’s to the next ten years!

Happy end of 2014 everyone, and what a year it was.

Most definitely this second year of business for Limitless has been a year of growth for me, both personally and professionally. The amount that I have been forced to learn and adapt to as a fitness trainer and especially as a business owner and entrepreneur has been great but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love it because as I look back, it is apparent just how far I’ve come. It excites me imagining where I will be and what I will feel like next year when I look back on 2015.

Limitless has matured substantially since 2013. It has developed from a dream, to a passion project, to now, a real business. Like I am all grown up or something. I have met numerous new people through Limitless this last year and I am eternally thankful for the clients who are still going strong since 2013 (each of which have achieved Client of The Month recognition I believe).

To everyone thinking about New Years resolutions, I invite you to resolve to invest in yourself in 2015. Not necessarily with money, but investing with time. It can be easy to get caught up in life and neglect you’re own health and well being. So pick up a book and start building a regular habit of reading. Get off that chair, pump out some pushups and squats once or twice a day. Change is always difficult and/or painful at first but the good news about building new habits is that the more you do them, the easier it is to keep them up!

Thank you for your support and I hope your 2015 is full of growth and prosperity!

Brett

Oct 2014
Dermot B.

It has been a long time coming for October’s Client of the Month, Dermot is one of the first clients to join Limitless back in mid 2013. He is also the other half of the Shailee-Dermot plank power-couple! (See the previous COTM). The two of them have been consistently coming in each week for well over a year and their dedication is paying off.

Dermot has an impressive list of accomplishments here at Limitless SCF including doubling the amount of times he can bench press 115lbs well into the double digits, 20% increase in pushups completed in one minute (to almost one per second!), and increasing the number and depth of squats completed in one minute. The accomplishment Dermot is most known for around the gym, however, is the max front plank. He has held the overall client record for front plank for nearly a full year now, bringing the record to a seemly unreachable 8 minutes, 2 seconds! His perseverance in setting and keeping this record has no doubt inspired many clients and opened their eyes up to what is possible.

Besides being a client, Dermot is also a good friend and mentor of mine. I learn at least as much from him in our sessions as he does from me. He is a huge support for me and I consider myself lucky to be able to see him every week.

When he’s not getting big bicep pumps and breaking plank records at Limitless SCF, Dermot works as a radio host and a highly recommended life coach as The Celtic Coach!

Here’s to smashing more records and working our way towards conquering that elusive 10 minute front plank!

“Brett has a vast knowledge of how the body works and how everything is connected. I know this because I love to learn new things, so I quiz him often.  I would highly recommend Brett to anyone and everyone. He is a terrific fitness trainer and a truly wonderful person inside and out.”

-Dermot B.

September 2014
Shailee M.

Our September Client of the Month is one of the most disciplined and focused clients of the whole gym. It’s no surprise that she is also the longtime female client record-holder for the max front plank with an amazing time of 7 minutes and 10 seconds! Not only does that make her the first place female in the plank but she’s behind only one male client (Who is now in her crosshairs, Dermot beware!).

Shailee is very self motivated and does the majority of her exercise at home but enjoys coming to Limitless SCF for most of her strength and core work. As a regular, one day a week client, Shailee has accomplished a lot since joining in June of 2013. Besides the aforementioned plank domination (almost 4x improvement from when she started!), she has also nearly doubled the amount of knee pushups she can do in 60 seconds from 26 to 43. Her legs have gotten considerably stronger as well going from 33 squats in 60 seconds to 47 at a much lower depth!

I really enjoy training Shailee because I feel like I can really throw anything at her and she powers through it and then is immediately looking for the next challenge. The fact that she’s constantly looking to be pushed actually pushes me to be the best trainer I can be and because of that I am grateful for her as a client.

When she’s not breaking records at Limitless, Shailee is a pediatric dentist who enjoys long hikes and yoga. I have a strong feeling her current records will be outdated yet again by next month but I am excited to see how far she can go. Shailee seems to truly be limitless!

June 2014
Amy, Jamie, and Cheri

The first trio clients of the month are here and these women earned it big time! This Sister-in-law, mother, daughter combination has dedicated themselves 2-3 times a week since January and they have really begun unlocking their inner athletes.

These three ladies were referred to Limitless by Jena, the Feb COTM, after hearing about the great success she has had. They were a little apprehensive and weren’t sure what to expect at first. They decided to go for it and their results speak for themselves, especially with their improvements in core strength and general athleticism. The most impressive stat for this crew is their maximum front plank hold time. On their very first session, a base level of core strength was assessed. Amy, Jamie, and Cheri were able to hold the plank position for 41, 53, and 33 seconds, respectively. In under 5 months, Cheri has increased her hold time to 2 minutes and 18 seconds, Jamie to 2 minutes and 36 seconds, and Amy to a whopping 3 minutes and 18 seconds!

This is not just a testament to the strength and shape these women have achieved but also to the mental fortitude and ability to push themselves that they have developed on the way. This is what I am most proud of because the ability to persevere is something that will translate across all areas of their lives.

Whether it’s listening to family drama or having them beg to not have to do burpees that day, these ladies are always entertaining to work with. (They have since realized that burpees are not nearly as difficult as they once thought.) I look forward to the future and to what they will achieve next.

Congratulations to Jamie (and her proud mom) on graduating high school this Spring and moving on to Chico State. Also, congrats to Cheri on celebrating her birthday this week. 50 years young!

May 2014
Samantha Smith

Does she even lift?… Yes, she does bro.
Sam has been lifting a lot the last few months and the hard work has been paying off. She has been really fun to work with because her goals give a nice little change of pace compared to a lot of clients, especially females. Sam is all about strength.

I always look forward to Sam’s training sessions because she has made a habit of not just breaking her previous records, but smashing records every single workout. One of her main goals was to be able to squat and deadlift her own bodyweight, which she accomplished within the first 10 sessions. Her maximum squat started at a respectable 140lbs for 1 rep and has since shot up to 165lbs for 3! The other big lifts have had similar improvements. Sam is also no more than a week away from accomplishing her other goal of doing a full, unassisted pullup. While getting to the point of being able to lift more than many of the male clients, Sam’s bodyfat % has also been steadily dropping (averaging about 1% drop every 5 sessions).

When she’s not squatting her friends or impressing guys at the gym, Sam plays an active role at Sonoma State as a student, researcher, and mentor. So congratulations to Sam not only for being the May “Client of the Month”, but also for graduating with her bachelor’s degree from SSU this Spring.  A big month indeed!
Up next: Grad School at UC Davis!

“I’ve always been a strong person but I knew that I could be stronger if I trained. So for christmas the only thing on my list was to be trained at Limitless with Brett. Over the last two months, with two sessions a week, I have broken nearly every personal record we’ve set. For example, I can now squat more than my body weight and I feel more confident than ever! I am looking forward to keeping up the intensity and hard work that Brett has taught me to achieve all of my goals I have for my strength and shape.”
-Samantha

Today is the one year anniversary of Limitless SCF!

Thank you to everyone who has helped support this humble little studio. Big things coming in year two, this is only the beginning! (The first big change is the addition of the early morning boot camps, a great way to get fit fast without breaking the bank, check it out!)

April 2014
Bianca Wilmott

Bianca is one of those people who was not exactly in horrible shape before she started training but she has become a completely different person and athlete since she first came in to Limitless last Fall. Especially in the last few months.

The fitness bug has most definitely bitten Bianca recently. She has been doing the occasional fitness private training and regularly attending group classes at Limitless. Through hard work and perseverance, she has begun outworking many of the members in group classes that were hard to just survive through at first.

Her improvements have been noticeable both physically and functionally. Since she began, Bianca has more than tripled her max grip hang hold time and tripled her max plank hold time to well over 2 minutes! She also holds the unofficial record for pound for pound most chiseled triceps muscles!

In addition to all this, she follows her passion for Brazilian jiu jitsu training multiple times a week around the corner at Esteem BJJ. The endless hours of training all cumulated on March 23rd where she got her first real win in Brazilian jiu jitsu competition. This really solidified it in my mind that Bianca is a serious athlete with tons of potential.

Bianca is a real pleasure to work with and her determination is inspirational. I feel like if time constraints such as school and work weren’t an issue, I would be seeing Bianca at Limitless 7 days a week! Keep up the awesome work!

“I really don’t know where to begin, there is a lot I could say. When Brett told me I was going to be client of the month I was a little embarrassed. I was honored and appreciative for him to believe that I put in the work to have earned that. I met Brett when I started training Jiu Jitsu last June. I then started training at Limitless, to accompany Jiu Jitsu, because I was extremely out of shape. Not ONCE did Brett ever make me feel like it though, no matter how many times I have had to pause on an exercise or rest, he is always extremely positive and encouraging. It is for that, that I am most thankful. Brett is a wonderful trainer, he really knows how to challenge you and your ability in a positive and life changing way. Not only do I look up to him as a personal trainer but also as a Jiu Jitsu competitor and martial artist. I feel through our private Jiu Jistu lessons I have really improved my own Jiu Jitsu. I think the thing that stands out to me the most was going down to Irvine for the Pan Am Jiu Jitsu Championship in mid March. Our coach Michael, Brett and some of our other teammates were there. Brett helped me warm up, stood with me in the bullpen while we both waited to fight, and I was honored to have him there with me. It was an experience I will never forget. At a recent tournament following the Irvine trip, I received my first real win in a match, by points. I owe a lot of that to Brett!! I am SO thankful for Limitless. Brett is a good friend, teammate, trainer, person….the list goes on and on. TRAIN AT LIMITLESS SPECIALIZED CORE FITNESS!!”

-Bianca