Kirsten Wegner, San Diego

I have been training with Sam Davis at the Mission Valley YMCA for slightly over a year. I am a medical professional with a strong sport and fitness background, so I have high expectations for my personal trainer. When I discovered Sam, with his outstanding qualifications and experience, was training at the Y, I was lucky enough to get on his client list. Sam is clearly an athlete himself, but he is highly educated and dedicated to helping others achieve their fitness goals. He is current on the latest training techniques, and on the latest physiology and nutrition research. He applies this mix of science and skill in his training, but adds an element of personalization which makes him so unique and empowering as a trainer. Sam designs work out plans after getting extensive information from his client on health and fitness history, as well as current needs and limitations. The training program he has developed for me is designed to not just meet, but exceed the training goals I have. He teaches me new exercises weekly so I can continue the work outside our sessions, and gives me safe, effective self-assessment guides for my own workouts. He adapts the program as my abilities and skills develop, and reviews my goals frequently to make sure he has my interests in mind. It goes without saying that he is always on time, neat and professional, yet he is quick to laugh, joke, and even tease to remind me this is supposed to be fun! Yes, he pushes me hard, often in ways I don’t always recognize as a push. Therein lies one of his real gifts as a trainer: he can empower me to push myself, push through limitations I think are there, but which he knows are not. I am never pushed too hard, but I have routinely been encouraged to work at a level I didn’t realize I was capable of! It is truly inspiring. He is sensitive to where his clients are for a given training session. I’ve trained with him after long work days when I’m really far from at my best, and have trained with him following an illness. He tailors a very challenging training session to what I’m capable of so I get an excellent workout without being injured, discouraged, or wasting my time. I have watched Sam work with an amazing cross section of people as clients. He seems to have a 6 th sense of how to encourage and challenge people of any physical ability. He is patient and supportive if his client is really trying, but I admire his unwillingness to allow a client to waste his time or theirs. He is very popular as a trainer because of this integrity as well as his obvious talent and enthusiasm. I am lucky to have gotten on his schedule and am extremely happy with the physical and mental progress I’ve made as his client!

Lindsey Back, San Diego

"It wasn't until I met Sam that I truly began to see visual results. I have always been athletic, but have never been able to lose weight. I had hit a plateau at the beginning of 2006 and only with Sam's help and dedication have I been able to see visual results. My pants have gotten looser, my arms are more defined and I have lost a ton of inches and weight. I feel better about myself and am so grateful that I met Sam. He knows what works for me and is unbelievably dedicated to seeing results with his programs. He not only takes on a client, he sticks with them to achieve their desired results. "