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    Jim Bathurst is an award-winning personal trainer based in Washington DC. He won the award for "Best Personal Trainer" for 2010 from the Washington CityPaper. He is also two-time consecutive winner of Men's Health Magazine "How Fit are You?" contest? He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

He combines years of personal experience with cutting-edge research to develop individual training programs that deliver 100% money-back, guaranteed results. He makes sure that clients not only work out hard, but smart. Contact him today to schedule a consultation.

 

Testimonials!

Carla deadlifting nearly 1.5 times her bodyweight!

 

   "There is one negative side about training with Jim -  turning into one of those annoying people that are obsessed with their new-found fitness and talk incessantly about their personal trainers - I certainly have experienced this phenomenon.  When I met Jim I was a sedentary, wimpy, high-maintenance girl and the extent of my weekly exercise was walking in 4" heels from the front of my apartment building to a cab.  Although I have always been very slim I never considered myself "in shape" or "fit" and I was looking for a trainer that could help me achieve those goals.  My expectations were to look a little more toned, feel a little bit better, and increase my energy level through interesting and somewhat challenging training.  What I actually experienced was an unbelievable improvement in every part of my life. 

Two weeks after I started training with Jim I went on a trip to Toronto and spent 90% of my day walking, expecting at the end of the day the usual vacation malaise of back pain, sore knees, tired feet, and lack of energy.  Not a single one of those things happened, it was so hard to believe.  Now, only after 4 months of working with Jim I have accomplished a level of physical fitness I never though I was capable of achieving.  I am able to do things I thought I could never do, like chin-ups, deadlifts and rope-climbs. Jim has also helped me monitor my diet, re-structure my food intake to provide me more energy, focus and stamina and has provided me with indispensable information about nutrition and health.  I feel and look better than I ever have.

I have had other personal trainers in the past, but comparing them to Jim isn't even effective because his training is at an exponentially greater level than anyone else I've been exposed to.  Jim is a professional, and his knowledge of training and fitness permeates every part of working with him.  He knows the source of all my little aches and pains, and he knows how to strengthen my body to help them disappear.  He recognizes any soreness I have while training even before I do.  He can tell if I haven't been sleeping well, he can tell if I didn't eat enough - Sometimes I feel like he knows me better than I know myself.  Jim also has this amazing and unique ability to encourage me and push me to test my own limits without making me feel weak or ever making it apparent that he could do 5 times as many pull-ups as I'm doing ...with one arm. He's even able to coax a great work-out out of me when I've eaten cupcakes for lunch and only slept 4 hours.  Like I said before, I can't stop talking about him - and it's because I really feel like I have met someone special who has drastically changed my life."

- Carla Cabrera, author of fashion blog

The President Wears Prada

 

 

What can I say that Carla hasn't? We've actually increased her weight (over seven pounds!) But before you think I'm not doing my job, she's healthier and stronger now, and as you can see from the pictures - looking great! This is all while lowering her bodyfat as well!

Chin-ups and climbing rope are no problem now!

 

A weight training body!

 

 

Jayson working his new-found

chin-ups!!

"My plan was to take a few sessions with Jim first before committing to anything long term since I had had a bad experience from a previous trainer.  Everything has worked out great.  I decided to stick with Jim not because I enjoyed all the sweat and pain :-) but because of all the great progress I've made so far.  Jim is a professional.  I have no athletic background so it really helps that he's a great teacher as well; he's excellent in explaining how to do the exercises correctly and the theory behind them.  I'm really happy that I've stuck with him and recommend him 100%."

- Jayson Odulio, Oracle Certified Professional

 

Jayson is incredibly modest with his progress so far. He came to me unable to do a single chin-up and in a short time can now do seven in a row. But besides his incredible increases in strength, by following my simple dietary advice, he's dropped his bodyfat from 16.6% to 13.9% in two months time! He put on solid muscle while losing fat! Way to go!

 

 

 

"Jim is an amazing trainer, motivator, role model, and overall personality. He listens to your goals and does his utmost best to help you achieve the results you are aiming for. Jim knows your potential when you first meet, potential that you never knew existed. In 4 weeks of training with gym, I have learned several different exercises and superb fundamentals of the technique that must be used in those exercises.
Jim caters for all levels, his workouts are a challenge and a great stimulus to improvement for the beginner as well as the conventional "gym rat". From my experiences with personal trainers, Jim's overall knowledge is unparalleled in the diet, strength, and fitness fields.
 
I started training with Jim in hopes of improving my strength and maybe add some more muscle. I believed I was an "advanced" member of the group and presumed that his class would not be a challenge for me. Boy was I wrong. He pushed me to my limits in every aspect of physical and mental states during training, and after the first workout I knew that he was a professional that could detect a person's physical abilities better than they could themselves.
 
As I result I feel stronger, faster, and in the 4 weeks of training with Jim I added 7 pounds of muscle while actually getting leaner.
 
Jim is such an enthusiastic person in regards to his profession that it has actually made me consider going into fitness and nutrition.
 
I would recommend Jim to anyone with fitness goals. Jim is definitely one of my role models."
 
- Leo Dunaev

 

Leo has an absolutely amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm. He applied this intensity not only to his training, but to his learning. He always wanted to know more and more about improving his body and health! I'm glad I was able to help him make amazing progress in such a short time, and hope to work with him again in the future (he's living back in Malta now!)

 

 

 

Mark holds a solid handstand!

  
"Prior to training with Jim, I never had difficulty finding the motivation to get in a decent workout and stay consistent.  My problem was that no matter how frequently or consistently I worked out, I remained at the same mediocre fitness level.  My progress was always one-step forward, one-step back.
 
I initially began with a personal trainer in order to remain consistent over a several month period that I knew would be difficult.  After training with a few trainers, I ended up training with Jim.  I quickly realized a few things about Jim---he really knows his stuff, such as how muscles work together, how they respond to various exercises and intensity levels, and how to make them respond better.  I also realized that he was not simply adjusting his general pre-set training routine for me.  He was creating something completely personalized based on my goals, fitness level and how I was responding to training---both short and long term. 
 
Another important aspect of Jim�s training is that he makes you work out intensely (some of the most intense workouts I have ever had), but not always.  He pushes you when you need to be pushed, and he backs you off when he sees that you need to back off (based on how you are responding).
 
I have been training with Jim for over two years, and I can honestly say that at 41, I am in the best shape of my life, and I feel great about it.  While I am certainly not working out any more that I had been, I am working out smarter.  And although I am still (and am sure will always be) slow to respond to any training, for the past two years I have been constantly improving.   Most importantly to me, for the first time I am confident that I will continue to improve and am no longer treading water in the gym."

- Mark Anderson,

Senior Vice President

Stateside Associates

 

 

Mark always works hard, but also has fun in the gym. Besides being able to chin-up with 35 additional pounds around his waist and pick up almost 400 hundred pounds off the ground, he's learned a handstand for the first time in his life! He's currently training to walk across the basketball court on his hands as well as improve his freestanding handstand pushups! Mark has developed an excellent level of strength and body control! Way to go!

 

 

John killing it on the double-unders (a difficult rope skill)

   "After recovering from a broken left arm, I was having trouble doing anything requiring strength with my left arm.  After looking into various methods to help me build my strength back up, I ended up looking into gymnastic skills/ body weight strength training, which is how I found Jim, through his beastskills website.

My initial meeting with Jim left me feeling confident that I was in good hands.  I am a very active guy and a mixed martial arts enthusiast so having my body performing at sub optimal levels was extremely vexing for me.  I told Jim that my goals were to recover my left arm strength and improve my strength overall.  Jim developed a plan for me which he adjusted as I started to meet my goals and develop some new benchmarks.

Within a few weeks of training with Jim my arm strength in my left arm was drastically improved! Moreover I was starting to see some major strength gains all around.  Despite my martial arts training, I have never really been conditioned for strength before.  But after training with Jim I saw major gains in my body strength.  I thought I was fairly fit before, but training with Jim really shored up my weak areas.  Now I am stronger than ever and can hit much harder than before.  My punches and kicks have some major strength and size behind them!  Jim has given me a solid set of skills and unprecedented level of strength that has and will continue to help me take on any physical challenges!

I was so impressed with my results that I actually had Jim train a buddy of mine.  I had promised my buddy's wife I was going to help him out with training, but our training schedules didn't really work out so I decided to have Jim train with him instead.  He only trained with Jim for a month but the gains I saw he had were clearly visible.

I would highly recommend training with Jim.  I owe Jim an unparalleled level of fitness and I am very grateful for the skills and strength he has imparted me."

-John Chiuco

 

John is a warrior!! His training was a blend of skill and strength exercises. We progressed significantly in exercises like the double-under (see to the left) and the handstand, all while increasing his strength in basic lifts, like the deadlift and overhead press, by over 30%!! Incredible!!
   

 

450 lb. World Record Deadlift!!!

   "Jim Bathurst is an exceptionally gifted coach and trainer.  He starts with a foundation of amazing strength and gymnastics skills. He voraciously seeks new information.  He "reads" his clients and responds to their special needs and goals. He plans his work with you in advance. He understands nutrition, and practices what he knows. He is a great motivator. And he's one of the nicest people you'll meet."

- Bob Vastine,
Masters Deadlift Record Holder
International Powerlifting Association

 

I wish I could take credit for Bob's World Record deadlift, but my involvement with his training was very minimal at that point. Bob sent me this endorsement completely unsolicited. I was there to film that deadlift, and I hope to see him smash many more records in the future!

Update: I've been working with Bob for several months now and in August 2009, Bob competed in a powerlifting meet with a new personal best of 290 lbs in the bench press!!!
     

 

Mark (left, with ball) is a leader on the field.

   "After taking a few years off from professional rugby, I decided to try my luck again at the ripe old age of 32. After finding that my body was not what it once used to be, I enlisted the help of Jimmy to get me back to the good old days! Over the course of 12 months Jimmy guided me through my program, paying meticulous attention to my strength goals, nutrition program, and my general conditioning. Its fair to say that training under Jimmy's guidance, I was able to reach strength and conditioning goals that I had never reached before, not even when I was a full time professional player in Australia. His level of knowledge on the "big lifts", plus his ability to make our sessions specific to my sport, was a huge factor in helping me make the USA Men's Rugby Team in 2007/2008. Not only did I make the team, but I was able to turn up to camp one of the strongest and fittest guys there. Not bad for a old guy!"

- Mark Crick, Member of USA Men's National Rugby Team (Hooker)

 

Mark absolutely attacked each and every one of our sessions. We took his strength above and beyond (doing well over 400lbs for his deadlift for multiple reps), as well as increasing his pullup strength, something hard to do with a 235 lb rugby player!

 

 

Miriam in Costa Rica -

Healthy and Happy!

 

   "I originally approached Jim about personal training to improve my performance for an upcoming surfing trip in Costa Rica. Surfing requires you to be conditioned and strong; Jim helped me get there. Every time I stood up on the board (and also when I swallowed gallons of sea water) I smiled to myself, glad I had worked with Jim prior to the trip sensing that what we'd done really had been great preparation.

If you're looking for a personal trainer who will listen to your goals and help you work toward them in a really effective manner, Jim's your guy! He provides thorough explanation and instruction for every exercise while at the same time being very motivating. Every single time I leave the gym after a workout with Jim, I feel accomplished and glad I went.  I can't recommend him highly enough!"

- Miriam Warren, Yelp's East Coast Director of Marketing

(read the five star review here)

 

 

On Miriam's already small frame, we managed to drop nearly 3% bodyfat, significantly increase her strength, and give her those toned arms she wanted! Way to go! Next stop - a powerlifting meet!

 

Great arms! We're ready to rock!
     

 

 

"I started training with Jim because, after becoming tired of doing the same old magazine workouts and having tried a number of trainers in DC, I wanted to learn some of the more "hardcore" weightlifting techniques and increase my strength.  Well, little did I know that Jim would help me reach both of my goals but in ways that I would not have imagined.

Let me just say that when I started, I had a very limited view of how to get strong.  Basically, that involved lifting the heaviest weight I possibly could in about 10 different exercises.    Week to week, I would reduce the reps and increase the weight and that was my strategy.  It made sense considering that all of the trainers that I had worked with put me through similar programs.  Enter Jim who after a few short months not only got me stronger than I'd ever been had but also introduced me to olympic weight lifting movements, bodyweight exercises, helped me focus on my weak points (legs), balance (I had none), and put a lense on my diet.  Other trainers that I've worked with have helped me get stronger in the basics but Jim was the only one who did that really quickly and also introduced me to an overall program that is athletic and fun.  For the first time ever, I have real functional strength which feels great.  I have more energy, I feel faster, and my flexibility has never been better.  What's more is that I play tennis and rock climb and I've become faster and stronger in both. 

Jim is not your average trainer.  Jim is a consummate professional, always attentive, a great listener, and, most importantly, fun to work out with.  I would absolutely recommended him to both hard-core fitness fanantics and those just starting out alike because he really is one of those rare individuals who has fitness technical savvy and is fun and motivational.  He's definitely the best of the best."

- Antonio Gomez, Senior Associate Consultant - Kforce Government Solutions

Antonio was always a pleasure to work with. He's a young, busy professional but we still managed to dramatically increase his flexibility so he could enjoy playing tennis and rock climbing without hurting himself! His strength also sky-rocketed, as we increased his squat strength by 34%!! Way to go!!

 

 

 

"Dude, I had my best performance on a Pft [personal fitness test] ever this morning and I'm pumped. 13 pull ups, 100 sit ups and 22:05 on the 3 mile run. My total score is 240. Anyway, thanks for the help on the pull ups thus far because it made a big difference."

- Aaron Leonard, USMC

In just ONE session I was able to increase Aaron's pull-ups from 11 to 13 so that he was able to pass his Marine Personal Fitness Test. Way to go Aaron!