Gretchen Eisenberg, CPT

A Louisiana Native and proud Cajun, Gretchen spent most of her youth in Louisiana and Mississippi. With a strong desire to travel and a love of languages, Gretchen joined the Air Force at the ripe age of 17 to become a linguist. When she was only 19, she married a young Marine. Nearly a year later, her first child was born. Gretchen often says that she got out of the Air Force to join the Mommy Corps. At the age of 28, Gretchen gave birth to her fifth child. Being a young Marine wife and mother afforded Gretchen the opportunity to travel the country and make many friends, but the frequent relocations made it difficult for her to settle into a career. So, she poured herself into her family and spent her spare time with her favorite hobbies (scrapbooking, exercising, cooking, reading and writing). Life seemed perfect.

Gretchen's "white-picket fence" life came unraveled when, at the age of 29, Gretchen found herself alone with five children. A passion for helping others feel good about themselves was born out of a very difficult separation and divorce. Gretchen's strong faith guided her through the hardships of raising five children on her own and fighting for survival in a world where experience and education mean the difference between going without and living comfortably. She came to the other side of those struggles with a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of others. That desire combined with a strong passion for fitness prompted her to become a fitness trainer. Gretchen knew that being a fitness trainer would allow her to motivate and encourage people in such a way that they would not only feel good about themselves but they would be able to be a blessing in the lives of those around them.

Gretchen believes that if people are healthy and fit, then they are better equipped to take on the challenges that life has to offer, whatever they may be. Realizing that it is difficult for most people to stick to an exercise program without accountability and help, Gretchen decided to become a personal trainer.

Gretchen and her husband live in Frederick, MD with her five children. She also has a lovely stepdaughter who lives in Olney, MD.

She currently does fitness training both in-gym and in-home in Frederick, New Market, Rockville, Potomac, and North Potomac. In addition to being certified through NSPA, Gretchen stays updated on the latest fitness trends and training techniques through continued education. She trains children, men and women of all ages.

I can be classified as part of the "senior" sector of our population and have had the challenge of osteoarthritis for some time now. Both knees, an elbow, and my ankle were all affected.

I was a bit hesitant to begin a physical workout program, fearing it would only make the pain I was suffering from, worse.

When I was introduced to Gretchen and was informed that getting involved with physical training and exercise would help improve my condition, I was skeptical, especially since my condition was exacerbated by normal physical activities.

"Working with Gretchen has been my saving grace as far as the pain and discomfort is concerned. After only a couple of months training with Gretchen, my body is more flexible, stronger, and definitely in better shape than it was before!

Gretchen is excellent at gauging just how far she can take me during our sessions. Her keen knowledge and expertise gives me complete confidence in knowing I'm in good hands. I have lost fat, gained strength and flexibility, and am now able to return to many of the activities I once engaged in. Gretchen's warm and cheerful demeanor is a BIG PLUS to the benefits I am receiving from the workouts!"

After an abdominal surgery last year, I was hesitant to work out and get back in the gym. While I waited to recover, I put on extra pounds and lost strength. During my fitness evaluation with Gretchen Eisenberg, she was sincere in understanding my concerns and worked with me to formulate a work out routine. "After getting personal training sessions and motivation from her, I now have more strength than before and am also closer to my fitness goals. Thank you Gretchen!"

When we first made the decision to get in shape, we had no idea how to go about it. Gretchen has provided us with guidance, knowledge and inspiration to make positive changes in our health, bodies, nutrition and lives. She has provided us with expert instruction in resistance training, cardiovascular training and general nutrition. "Since we started training with Gretchen we have lost fat, gained muscle and improved our day-to-day health and fitness. Gretchen's training program challenges us but does not overwhelm us. She never allows us to give up on ourselves and encourages us to continuously improve!"

Gretchen is knowledgeable, patient and encouraging. She knows where I have been and where I want to go. "With a smile and a kind heart, she makes me work hard and the results have been thrilling!"

"Not only am I losing weight, but I have more confidence than I have had in years!" Gretchen has shown me that I am capable of doing more than I think that I can. I could not have done it without her."

Below Gretchen explains how she got into the business of personal training, her overall approach with clients, her fitness philosophies and more.

A: I spent years battling my own self-image war and knew first-hand how difficult weight management can be. Watching many in my family struggle with obesity has borne in me a passion for health. Of course there are other motivating factors that helped me make the decision to become a fitness trainer, but I knew that having to make a living to provide for my children and me meant that I needed to do something that I love so that I would not grow weary of what I do. And I'm quite happy that I chose this because I love what I do!

A: --I love people. When I see people, I do not "see" race, color, or size. I look into the heart of the individual to better help them achieve what they need to in order to become the best that they were designed to be. I treat my clients' private information with great care, having a self-imposed mandate that their confidentiality will always be respected. I am much more interested in seeing my clients achieve their personal goals than I am in showing them how great I am. I neither gossip about nor slander other trainers or clients because I want my clients to have a motivating, positive workout atmosphere.

--My focus is primarily on seniors, women, and couples. I do pre-wedding training for brides and grooms-to-be, I do couples' training for friends and couples. I train pregnant and post-partum women.

A: My greatest challenge when training clients is helping to encourage them to live healthy lifestyles when we are not training together; however, more often than not this challenge is overcome once they are in a routine with me as their trainer.

A: I let them know that I am serious about their training because I know that they are worth the effort it takes to be the most fit person that they can be. I usually will ask something like this, "What do you think you are worth?...That hamburger? No you are worth more than that... You are worth whatever it takes to be the healthiest person that you can be, so that you like who you see, so that you feel good at the end of a long day." That being said, I know that there will be the occasional person that just simply will not be motivated to take their fitness or health seriously and take those instances on a case-by-case basis.

A: I am with my clients for one out of twenty-four hours. I will give my clients health my full attention for that hour that we have together, but they are responsible for the other 23. What this translates to is this. Eight hours of sleep for most, drinking and eating only those things that are worthy of going into that client who strongly desires to look and feel good, exercising when we are not training, etc. Basicly I'm telling my clients to treat themselves better because they're worth it!

A: --strengths: I'm diligent and attentive. I have a knack for getting my clients to do more than they thought that they could without asking them to do what they cannot. My greatest successes have been with those fighting obesity, with women and with seniors.

--weaknesses: I have little experience in agilities/speed training for athletes. It is probably the only area that I am uncomfortable with.

A: --First of all, I believe that every "popular" or "fad" diet is the product of someone's particular bias whether they are avid vegans or hardcore Atkins Diet followers. I do not believe that the Atkins Diet is healthy even though people may be seeing instant weight-loss results. I believe that it lacks the proper balance of whole grains, phytonutrient-rich foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. I also have some concern as it relates to saturated fats which are liberally allowed in the diet. I do believe that there are other, healthier diets which focus on the importance of protein-rich diets without neglecting the other vitamin or fiber-rich foods.

A:--"How do I get rid of this?" the question asked as they point to their bellies, thighs, buttocks, etc.

A: I have a few, but Bob Greene is a current favorite.

A: A gentleman in his 50's who I was training for five months. When he came to me he weighed nearly 330 pounds and was quite discouraged. When we quit training together, he'd lost approximately 30 of the 100 pounds he'd set out to lose while gaining an immeasurable amount of confidence. When we started, his strength and endurance was so low that he was easily winded and thereby discouraged. He continued coming anyway, and each week, we'd rejoice in the successes of seeing his lean body mass increase while losing weight. The only reason we quit training together is because he started going through a difficult divorce and needed to take a break from the training. But he speaks quite highly of our training and still has been planning on coming back to the training so that he can get the help he desires to stay the course in his battle to lose weight.

A: Don't give yourself an excuse to not workout. Treat each workout like paying your electric bill. If you don't pay your bill, the electricity gets shut off; so, you pay it. If you see it as something that is a MUST, you won't quit. I ask them to give me a month and to communicate with me their likes, their dislikes, what makes them feel discouraged, etc---all as it pertains to their fitnes goals. I tell them that if they listen to me and follow my guidance, they will almost always see the results that they hope for.

A: I definitely prefer to train one-on-one or one-on-two. I really don't like to train more than two people and I will not train more than three at a time. I want my clients' workouts to be efficient, effective and safe. I cannot ensure that if I am not focusing my full attention on my clients.

A: Professionally, I want my fitness training business to boom so that I can have my kids in the extra curricular activities that they desire, so that I can afford myself some vacation time, so that I can live a financially-free lifestyle. I fully intend to be one of the best educated female in-home fitness trainers in my area so that I can provide outstanding training to my clients confidently while maintaining a competitive edge over the many well-qualified, good female trainers in my area. I am determined to keep my reputation as a trainer pristine, setting out to leave no one with a "bad taste in their mouth" when they have any professional dealings with me. I hope to be a blessing to those I come in contact with, whether they are clients, sub-contractors, other fitness trainers, etc.