Personal Trainer Bios
Brenda Alexander (She/Her) - Not Accepting New Clients
- Personality: Benevolent, humorous, and dutiful
- Training Specialty: Corrective exercise, injury Prevention, special populations
- Experience: Professional trainer since 2003, Various ages and populations, Lumbo-pelvic stabilization, Shoulder and knee rehabilitation. Author of Everything’s an Elephant: Always Brace Your Core!
- Credentials: ACE Certified Personal Trainer, YMCA Fitness Testing Specialist
- Languages Spoken: English
- Contact: Brenda.alexander@pdx.edu
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
When contemplating hiring a personal trainer, you should know a little something about them. The best way is via referral. If someone you know and trust has had an experience with that trainer, they could then give their personal and hopefully accurate account. If that method is impossible, then you can either observe the trainer in the gym or read their "Bio". If you're reading this, I'd have to deduce the latter.
What can I say in this format that would help you identify if I might be the “right” trainer for you? I could say that I'm punctual, prepared, personable, polite, positive, practical, (aka professional), passionate, perceptive, progressive, persuasive, proactive, precise, performance-driven, productive, and patient...am I? I believe in all those P's and try to emulate them, but I am NOT perfect. A past client once said that a well-rounded workout with me has 4 components: I must miscount the reps (counting to 10 is hard), planks must be performed (my favorite exercise), I must tell a lie (decide to do more reps or sets than originally communicated) and they must drop an F-bomb. Dare I say more.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I can't possibly do everything all the time, so how does one find balance? I prioritize first (that should've been included in all those "P's"). What's most important to me? Well, that gets pretty fuzzy sometimes. It varies a lot. I must calculate every morning, the thing that will get my attention for that day.
I do use what's commonly known as habit stacking or layering. Building new habits upon established ones. I have to get to work, so I either ride my bike (~5 miles) or walk 3/4 of a mile to and from work. Once I'm at work, I've delegated space on my calendar for the briefest of exercises (6 exercises for 8-12 reps). I have Zoom workouts with my niece on the weekends (yes, I still Zoom). The Universe has forced me to find balance. If I obsess on something, it usually hurts in the long run.
I find moments to relax, restore and replenish. I love gardening, walking, working, and wildlife videos.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
As you can surmise from the reading thus far, I use much humor and storytelling. I use some variety, but not so much that it complicates the workouts or the program.
Bryan Abrego (He/Him) - Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Hard-working, funny, charming
- Training Specialties: Strength/Weight Training, Powerlifting, General Health and Fitness
- Certifications: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer
- Major: Applied Health and Fitness
- Languages Spoken: Spanish and English
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
When considering fitness and wellbeing, I value enjoyment. I think that enjoyment is what keeps people going on their fitness journey - if you enjoy something you are going to keep doing it and keep pushing yourself to do better. The second thing I value is being able to have fun. Being able to have fun with something I enjoy doing is key to longevity. I also find that if you have fun with what you are doing you look forward to it. It turns from a chore to a hobby. The third thing that I think is most important is discipline. Discipline is what helps you get to your goals and do the things you might not want to do. Later down the road you thank yourself that you kept going even when you didn't feel like it.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I always try to stay as active as possible throughout the day. Whether that is walking to a destination as opposed to driving. My favorite way to stay active would have to be the weight room. There is just something about picking up heavy circles that brings me peace. I also really enjoy going on runs and taking hikes in nature. Although a lot of my time is spent staying active because I really enjoy it, I also try to make time to hangout with friends, traveling, or stay indoors, cook and hangout with my cat named Harold.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
I want to make the environment fun for my clients by celebrating all wins big or small. No matter how big or how small, all wins are important because you are a step closer to your goals and are heading in the right direction. Additionally I want to show that I care. Making sure I am catering to your needs and really listening to what you need at that point in time to make you feel safe and welcomed.
Eddie Morales-Baca (He/Him/His) - Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Openness, empathetic, reliable
- Training Specialty: General health/fitness, bodyweight training, corrective exercise, injury prevention
- Credentials: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer & Weight Management Specialist, American Red Cross CPR/AED/First Aid Certified
- Major: B.S. in Applied Health & Fitness, Minor in Aging Services
- Language Spoken: Spanish
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
One of my biggest priorities as a trainer is to create a positive experience filled with enjoyment and learning. I want to ensure my clients find joy in exercise that can result in lifelong change while learning what they are capable of. My second priority is creating a pain-free experience that works with your strengths to improve weaknesses. I want to ensure you know it's about you and fulfilling your needs. I believe everybody is capable of so much more, but pain prevents us from enjoying the joys of life. My goal to become a Physical Therapist allows me to learn the safest and best way to work on our bodies. My third priority is to ensure you feel respected, seen, and heard. Whether it's personal training or something else, communication is critical, and allowing input from others is essential in creating positive experiences. As a trainer, I look to you to ensure your goals are being met and your input is heard, not ignored.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I pursue an active lifestyle by allowing my body to get some form of exercise every day. For me, this is a combination of weightlifting, hiking, basketball, and walking. I also try to pursue an active lifestyle by enjoying what I do and not having it feel like a burden. I follow a balanced lifestyle by not just focusing on exercise but working to improve things such as my mental health by taking 5-10 minutes a day to reflect or write down my thoughts and listening to music. I also work to improve my wellbeing by getting enough sleep, having fun with my friends and family, and laughing and enjoying the things in my life, big or small. By taking an overall health approach instead of one specific area, we can work toward a long-term well-balanced lifestyle.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
A couple of strategies that I use to create a fun environment for my clients is to understand who my clients are. With that, I can allow my client's personality to shine. I try to make any situation fun by giving you a new challenge, joining you in your workout and creating small competitions, or by creating new goals for you. I also don't take myself too seriously, we are not perfect people so I let loose and create an environment where you can just be you.
Jonathan Mccanless (He/Him/His) - Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Supportive, determined, optimistic
- Training Specialties: General health/fitness, strength training, bodyweight training
- Certifications: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer
- Major: Applied Health and Fitness
- Languages Spoken: English and Spanish (fairly fluent)
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
Enjoyment: I value the enjoyment of exercise. I especially find enjoyment in lifting weights. Doing exercises in ways that aren't fun can feel discouraging and isn't something anyone would want to spend time doing. I want to prioritize my clients’ enjoyment with exercise above anything else so that they feel happy in the gym and outside of the gym. There is evidence that shows enjoyment in the gym can stem to enjoyment outside of the gym too. Determination: I highly value determination. Even though I love exercise, I understand that sometimes there are days where we just don't want to go, but through determination we can push ourselves to go anyway and find that we feel better for it. It is important to stay determined and consistently exercise to achieve goals in exercise and goals in other aspects of life too. Getting school projects and work projects done feels easier when on a consistent workout schedule because of the mental benefits that come from exercise as well as the boost in confidence. Overall Health: I value the physical and mental health benefits of regular exercise. Movement is key to a healthy body and as a result a healthier mind. There are studies that show mental health benefits from physical exercise by lowering anxiety and boosting cognitive function.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I often look forward to the gym, especially weight lifting as it is my favorite form of exercise. I feel better after a good workout and feel like I am better able to take on the other challenges of life. Sometimes if I'm having a rough day or feeling overwhelmed with school there is a temptation to just skip out on the gym, but I push through and go anyway because I know that after the workout I'll feel better, happier, and ready to take on all of my challenges. I try to eat mostly whole foods, drink plenty of water, and sleep at least seven hours a night. I also make sure to leave some time to hangout with friends and relax with tv.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
I will give every win, small or large, recognition. Small wins being things like completing the rep and set goal for an exercise and a large win being new records in progress. I want to make my clients feel welcomed and proud of the work they're doing, give them reason to come to the gym again, and a sense of progress. To make things fun for my clients I will incorporate a fun challenge in their sessions that works towards their goals.
Kendra Curry (She/Her) - Not Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Compassionate, encouraging, and enthusiastic
- Training Specialties: General health/fitness, Circuit Training
- Certifications: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer
- Major: Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Communications
- Languages Spoken: English
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
When it comes to fitness and wellbeing, I believe it's important to prioritize your mindset, enjoyment, and most importantly, your WHY. When performing physical activity, you are your biggest motivator, so it's key to have a positive mindset entering your workouts. With that being said, in order to feel motivated to get your body moving, it's vital that you enjoy the workouts you engage in. For instance, I like to sprinkle in exercises that I find fun in every one of my workouts because it leads to motivation and removes feelings of apprehension over time. Lastly, understanding your WHY for wanting to be active is essential when staying disciplined and turning physical activity into a lifestyle. Some days I wake up lacking motivation, but when I remember WHY I want, and love living a healthy lifestyle, I’m able to overcome those days of low motivation.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
To pursue an active and balanced lifestyle, I aim to achieve health in all aspects of my life: relationships, fitness, work, emotional wellbeing and so on. By prioritizing fulfilling and engaging activities that add meaning to my life, being healthy and active is exciting and easier to sustain. Personally, this looks like getting in a form of physical activity every day such as going on walks, participating in an intense workout, or taking on hikes with my friends. Some of my favorite activities to do during my free time include anything related to arts and crafts, watching classic movies and a recent hobby I’ve picked up: baking! The art of a balanced and active lifestyle relies on doing activities that you enjoy and can incorporate into your daily routine that integrate health in all aspects of your life.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
I like to incorporate mini goals and tasks for my clients to embrace gamification. For instance, a classic game of bingo with a twist: the bingo card is personalized with your fitness goals. Once you reach bingo by checking off different goals in and outside of our sessions, you not only win bragging rights for fulfilling your goals, but you might treat yourself to a healthy reward that encourages you on your journey. I believe incorporating light and fun competition is a great motivator, aside from your accountabili-buddy: me!
Margarita Hernandez (She/Her) - Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Passionate/determined, kind, reliable
- Training Specialty: General health/fitness, strength training, circuit training
- Certifications: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer, American Red Cross CPR/AED/First Aid Certified
- Major: B.A Applied Health and Fitness (Expected 2023)
- Languages Spoken: English and Spanish
- Contact Info: her32@pdx.edu | 541-415-6114
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
When it comes to fitness and well-being, I would say that my main priorities and values include enjoyment, balanced training, and overall bettering myself.
I believe enjoyment is essential to any activity. It’s important to remember that what one person finds enjoyable might not be what the next person does. For example, I personally love weightlifting and athletic-based training. These types of training styles are exciting and empowering to me. I enjoy setting goals for myself, working towards them, and looking back at my accomplishments. When it comes to fitness there isn’t a right or wrong type of exercise to enjoy, there’s something for everyone.
When I first began my fitness and wellbeing journey, it wasn’t always balanced. This led to some discomfort in my body as well as restrictions. Balance in my training is now an aspect that I prioritize. I make sure to not only engage in the types of training that I enjoy but also incorporate important movements and techniques that will benefit my body overall. For example, while I work on goals such as becoming stronger, I’m also working on staying mobile. I enjoy weightlifting but I also make sure I incorporate cardiovascular training. I’ve come to know my body well and know what works best for me, as well as the importance of maintaining a well-rounded exercise routine. Balance is also crucial for overall wellbeing outside of the gym.
As I mentioned before, exercise and wellbeing has improved many aspects of myself. So naturally, it also motivates me to always strive to better myself, whether it’s getting stronger or working on career goals. Every time I reach a goal, I think if I can do this, I can do even more. Exercise is something that has helped my physical and emotional wellbeing in transformative ways. It has caused me to become more confident and not only physically stronger, but mentally and emotionally as well. I believe that exercise is one of the best forms of medicine that you can give to your body.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I've always enjoyed being an active individual, and I know from experience that it can transform your life for the better. Different forms of exercise have helped me in all aspects of my wellbeing. Ever since I began my fitness journey I have not only become physically stronger but also mentally, and I feel empowered when I set goals both inside and outside of the gym. Aside from my scheduled gym routine, I also enjoy hiking, biking, and engaging in activities such as badminton or going out to dance with friends. I feel happier when I’m moving so I try to incorporate movement in my everyday life as much as I can. I also try to cook and consume fulfilling and well-rounded meals and snacks (one of my favorites are nutrient packed smoothies!) and get enough rest so that I can continue to maintain an active lifestyle.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
I cater to the needs of my clients through an individualized and well-rounded exercise program that focuses on building a stable foundation first while creating a welcoming atmosphere for them. I make sure that my clients are always heard and that your exercise program is as enjoyable as it is effective. I will work alongside you so that you accomplish your goals both big and small, as well as be there to celebrate the accomplishments with you. I will provide guidance, support, knowledge, and encouragement so that I can help you in incorporating the beauty of exercise into your life and to help amplify the best version of yourself.
Pricila Orduno (She/They) - Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Hard-working, Caring, Optimistic
- Training Specialties: Strength Training, Powerlifting, Behavior Change
- Certifications: American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer
- Major: Psychology
- Languages Spoken: Spanish and English
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
My first priority when it comes to fitness and wellbeing is that we feel good in our body. That can mean a variety of things to different people. For me it is feeling good to run to work if I'm running late, trusting my body can handle stress, and waking up with energy. Another priority for me with fitness is feeling strong. Bodies are resilient and can handle so much more than we can imagine. It is important for me to feel strong, and be strong, as it allows me to feel confident throughout my day. Lastly, a priority for me in fitness is that I enjoy the way I am moving my body. Moving our bodies and exercising is a lifestyle change that will greatly benefit our health, so if I am going to spend a good portion of my life doing it, why not enjoy it?
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
I personally pursue an active lifestyle by powerlifting 4/5 times a week, focusing on a compound movement (squat, bench, deadlift) and doing accessories that will help support those compound movements. Outside of that I enjoy hiking and I try to complete at least 10,000 steps a day, which has made the biggest difference, especially with so much time being spent at a desk. I can get burnt out from lifting really heavy, not sleeping enough, etc., so on those days I listen to my body and take it easy. This same mindset carries over into taking everything in moderation, such as fitness and diet- you don't need to be super strict and push yourself to a breaking point in order to achieve your goals. Instead, moderation ensures we continue making progress and don't hit a burn out point! This doesn't mean one is unmotivated and doesn't prioritize their fitness, but rather are not too critical and can recognize when working hard your body will need rest, we are all human.
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
I love getting to know people. The biggest motivator in me continuing my fitness journey is my gym community! I want to know why you have a goal, how it will help you, and overall just know who you are as a person. Our time together will be like two old friends who are motivating one another, but also making jokes along the way, to keep a light environment.
Zéa Abreu (She/Her) - Not Accepting New Clients
- Personality Traits: Outgoing, honest, passionate
- Training Specialties: Strength training, functional training, flexibility and/or mobility, athletic performance
- Certifications: ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Positive Coaching Alliance certified coach
- Major: Applied Health and Fitness Major with Spanish and Business Administration Minors
- Languages Spoken: English and Spanish
When considering fitness and wellbeing, what are your top 3 values and/or priorities?
When it comes to fitness and wellbeing, through years of training I've come to value these three things most highly: Mind (mental health), Body (physical health inside and out) and Strength (mental, emotional and physical). All three of these things tie in together; when one area is strong, so are the others and if one is weak, so are the other two. The state of our mental health affects our willingness to accomplish daily tasks and goals we’ve set for ourselves. Physical exercise and breathing work is a great way to clear the mind and center one's thoughts; that's why it's important that we incorporate movement into our lives, because as we get the body moving we also get the mind moving away from stagnant thoughts. You may have heard the sayings “our bodies are our temples” or “you are what you eat” and these things are very true. What you put in is what you get out. Our bodies are strong vessels that do so much for us everyday and learning to appreciate the body you’ve been given and what it can do for you is liberating. Bodies are constantly changing, growing and evolving just like our minds so we should take care of them with the same respect. Appearance means very little when it comes to physical health, what’s going on internally is what matters the most. Through physical exercise we can create stronger, healthier and more capable bodies and empower ourselves to feel strong in our own skin. Lastly, I value strength. Strength is not just how much weight you can lift or how many reps you can do, it is also mental and emotional. With training in a way that pushes one’s body and challenges our abilities it also pushes our minds to expand and grow in the same way. We learn to fight urges to give up when things get hard and accomplish things we may have convinced ourselves we were not capable of before even trying. If we are always comfortable we will never see true growth and that's why it is so important to challenge ourselves mentally, physically and emotionally to learn what we are fully capable of.
How do you personally pursue an active and balanced lifestyle?
To keep myself physically healthy, I workout 5-6x a week either in the gym or outdoors. My workouts include cardio, strength training, runs, walks, hikes and even water sport activities in the summer. I also enjoy playing basketball with friends and coaching sports to children. To keep my mental and emotional health strong and happy I enjoy reading, journaling, cooking meals and taking myself out for a sweet treat here and there. I love spending time with friends, exploring Oregon’s nature and new viewpoints around Portland. Additionally I love finding new, delicious places to eat out around town, especially delicious new bubble tea shops!:)
What strategies do you use to create a fun environment for your clients?
To create a fun and exciting environment for my clients I love to incorporate a slight variation on one of the exercises we've been working on or a new challenge every session. I enjoy pushing my clients to get 1 more rep out, 1 more pound added to a lift or 30 more seconds of cardio in every session. I vocally encourage them and I have the goal in mind to make my clients stronger and more confident every time they enter the gym, with or without me, building upon their self efficacy and capabilities. Having the goal in mind to be intentional and get better every time that you workout, even if it's the smallest accomplishment, is the best way to get results, stay motivated/disciplined and build your confidence within yourself and at the gym. My goal is to have every one of my clients fall in love with the process of bettering themselves and their health and not be hyper focused on their "end goal" which is typically ever-changing as one progresses.