About
About me
I'm Russell Johnson. I've been regularly going to the gym for 15 years, but I only started trying to make progress towards specific goals after I had back surgery in 2020 and wanted to take a more active role in my recovery process and pain management. Lifting weights has made me feel empowered and resilient, and through it I have found a sense of community. My fitness accomplishments include a half-marathon and competing in several powerlifting meets.
Being good at exercise doesn't make someone a good personal trainer. I could be THE BEST at going to the gym, but it wouldn't help me listen to clients, help them navigate barriers to exercise, or apply theoretical models for behavior change. That's where the rest of my background comes in.
I've always been a nerd and a researcher with my hobbies. So researching the scientific ins-and-outs of exercise was inevitable for me. From my education, I bring a great deal of science literacy, teaching, and communication skills.
After some notable success with putting on muscle and gaining strength over a few years and studying exercise science in my spare time, I started getting inquiries from friends and family. This quickly turned into casual personal training, where I found out how much I love it and how good I am at it. After that discovery, I got certified as a personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine and here I am three years later.
My Approach & Philosophy
I follow a movement optimist approach, meaning there are no “bad” or “wrong” ways to move. Sure, certain movement patterns can be more or less efficient for specific goals, but I think moralizing movement is misguided at best and harmful at worst. I also embrace the fact that we are complex, dynamic organisms with uncountably many biological, psychological, and social inputs and outputs. Each individual person is our own complex system. Exercise prescription should be structured to meet that person where they’re at on any given day. My goal is to help clients ride the waves of everyday life and find the sustainable kind of consistency that builds outstanding results for months and years to come.
These perspectives guide how I talk to clients, how I prescribe exercise, and what factors I focus on, or sometimes more importantly, don't focus on. We can drive ourselves crazy obsessing over the minute details of training and easily lose sight of the big picture. Of course details have their time and place - and that's exactly why I'm here. I help my clients figure out what matters and when it matters based on their life and goals.
I try to make sure the gym is accessible to everyone. Gyms in general have not always been inclusive spaces. I enjoy working with clients who are POC, LGBTQ+, or both. I believe marginalized groups should be included, supported, and respected. I'm here to help my clients feel that way throughout their exercise journeys whenever and however I can.
Contacts
Email: Russell@RussellJohnsonFitness.com
Text or Call: 518-285-0387
Instagram: @movement_nihilist