Jeremiah Glasenapp has been an iconic
figure in the fitness industry for over 20 years. Jeremiah has pioneered the
personal training and fitness competition path here in Idaho as a coach and gym
owner. I sat down with Jeremiah to pick his brain about fitness, competing and
general healthy living.
Jeremiah and his team at Fit Physique
continue to set the standard in fitness performance and competition.
Name: Jeremiah Xavier Glasenapp
Age: 40
Education/Certification: Attended UTD
(kinesiology) then got my PFS at the Cooper Institute. NASM, ISSA, and IPFA
Location: Boise ID.
Number Of Clients: 60 +
Rates: Vary depending on what client
needs
LC: When and why did you become a
trainer?
JXG - I picked up my first muscle
magazine in the summer of 1986 and was hooked. I read that magazine from cover
to cover and absorbed the info like a sponge.
that Christmas i asked for a weight set and received the concrete set
wrapped in plastic. Im sure every other kid in America received the same one
from Kmart back in the 80’s lol
I worked out like a mad man every day
after school and slowly started to see results.
I competed in my first bodybuilding contest in a year later and took a
top 3. The next year I came back and won
Mr. Teenage Texas in 1988. Ive competed in 15 bodybuilding shows over the years
from 1987 through 1999. My crowning
achievement was winning the super heavy weight class at the 99 NPC Mr.
Southwest USA in Dallas.
I was approached by a woman that owned
her own personal training company in side of a Golds gym in Dallas in
1994. She said she had been watching me
workout and liked my form. She asked if
I would be interested in training a few of her guy clients and the rest is
history....
LC: how did you make the transition
from competitor to coach?
JXG - I started coaching my first
competitors back in the late 80’s. people saw my passion for the sport and knew
I was a wealth of knowledge and I would just help friends for free cause I
wanted to see what I could do with them physique wise. To me there is nothing more incredible then
to see a person transform their body with hard work.
It may sound silly but I like to think
of myself as an artist. I can take a person even if they are outta shape and
envision how i’m gonna sculpt them like a hunk of clay into a beautiful
aesthetic master piece. I think this is
my gift from above...
I have also been a certified judge for
bodybuilding, figure, and bikini over the years and have Head judged over 10
shows of the last 10 years... So its
pretty safe to say I know what to look for as a judge and how to help people
look their best on and off stage...
Im proud to say I have trained and
coached over 200 athletes for Bodybuilding, Figure, Fitness, and Bikini. Our TEAM FIT PHYSIQUE has had too many to
count 1st places along with a lot of overall wins and even a few Pro Cards in
various organizations. My 2013 Team goal
is help a client receive their IFBB pro card....
LC: How do you keep your clients
motivated?
JXG - It's easy to motivate a client
when they are sitting on a bench right in front of you, but the real challenge
for a trainer is to have that motivation exist even when you are not around.
I tell my client that motivation is all
around them. It's in a simple memory. It's in a picture. It's in that pair of
jeans you want to fit into. It's in a song. It's up to them to find it.
Compassion and communication. Compassion for those you are working with creates
a stronger passion for your job and good communication is the only way success
can be achieved.
I honestly believe why I am so busy and
in demand as a personal trainer is because I make working out fun for my
clients. I love to make then laugh and I
make them feel good about themselves.....
LC: Rumor has it that you have trained
a few celebrities over the years? Can I ask who famous you have trained?
JXG - Wow, looks like you have done
your research on me huh? In the mid 90’s i managed a GNC vitamin store in Las
Colinas Texas. A very upscale suburb of
Dallas. Right next to the shopping center is the Four Seasons Resort ( home of
the PDGA TPC @ Las Colinas golf tournament.
A lot of celebrities stay at the resort and they have a huge state of
the art fitness facility there. I was a
great friend of the manager there and was brought in to train a few of his
special guests.
I have trained Tiger Woods, Sandra
Bullock, Tom Hanks, Troy Aikman, and Herschel Walker of the Dallas Cowboys to
name a few. A lot of A list client make you sign confidentiality waiver’s so
you cant disclose their names..... One of my favorite A listers I have trained
was a former Batman and he may of been in the movie Top Gun......
LC: Do you feel as much like a
psychologist as you do a personal trainer?
JXG - You can't help but become a huge
part of your client's life when training them one on one. It's a very personal
thing, to train someone. The client is telling you they are ready to be
vulnerable and they trust you enough to help change their life. The mind and
body work together so by the 4th week of training, or sooner, they are telling
you everything.
Something you just have to laugh off,
but some of the issues they come to you with have substance and need to be
dealt with. That's when we, as trainers have to be even more understanding and
compassionate towards the client. When you've done this for almost twenty years
you get pretty good at giving advice and problem solving for your clients.
Weight loss is a very emotional journey
so you must be able to stretch your training skills past the physical results.
LC: Jeremiah, thank you very much for
spending time with me and doing this interview with me. How can People get ahold of you if they want
to possible train with you or be on your Team Fit Physique?
JXG - Thank you Lady Coats for giving
me an opportunity to tell people about myself and what I do. I do want people to know that I do train every
day people that have goals of fat loss, muscle gain or just being healthy as
well as physique athletes. I get asked
all the time if I train “regular people too”
lol, of course I do and that is 80% of my clientele..
