Athlete Training Center

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Recent release
Silfies Becomes CSCS Certified
Lincoln, Nebraska- Brian C. Silfies of Concord, NH has become certified as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) by the NSCA Certification Commission®. The CSCS certification is for professionals who design and implement strength training and conditioning programs for athletes in a team setting.

To earn the CSCS credential Silfies passed ...

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Articles

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Strength in Numbers
New fitness center offers athletes the next best thing
to a personal trainer:
by Joelle Farrell, Monitor staff
Concord Monitor, Concord NH

How's that New Year's resolution going? You know the one where you stop eating cake and pizza and get to the gym every morning without fail? You think that bikini stuffed in your dresser drawer will get larger before summer?

Or maybe you're a weekend warrior aiming for a personal best at an autumn marathon this year. But you've had nagging injuries in the past, and let's face it, you're not getting younger.

If you were rich, you'd hire a personal trainer like the celebrities do and you'd never have to police your diet and exercise regime again. But since you're frugal, you've typically stuck to the gym, sometimes making it, sometimes not.

Now there's another option. Brian Silfies, a personal trainer with more than 13 years of experience, offers classes for strength, flexibility and conditioning at his Athlete Training Center at 2 Pillsbury St. They're group classes, so you have people to motivate you, and you won't feel awkward doing one-legged squats or tossing medicine balls by yourself.

Silfies and other personal trainers work with each class, but the sessions are more affordable than personal training. Each class runs 1½ hours, and you can try one before you buy a class package. Two classes a week for 10 weeks costs $305, compared to paying up to $50 for each 50-minute personal training session.

Silfies, 35, holds a bachelor's degree in physical education from Plymouth State and five certifications, including certification as a strength and conditioning specialist. He decided to open the Athlete Training Center last March.

"I just really loved working with the athletes, and it bothered me that they couldn't all afford to do personal training," he said.

No matter your fitness level or goals, you'll see improvements, at least according to those who've tried the Athlete Training Center.

"I still brag about the fact that I can do a chin-up," said Lisa Poole, 41, a claims specialist from Pembroke. Yesterday, Poole finished three sets of 12 on the chin-up bar, some with the help of a thick rubber-band to steady her while she builds strength.

Kathleen O'Shea, 39, the field hockey coach at Concord High School and a part-time spinning instructor, has been coming to the center since it opened.

"I've played sports my whole life and have worked out every day since leaving college, and this is strength I haven't had before," she said.

As a coach, O'Shea knows athletes need to strengthen smaller muscles and improve flexibility and explosiveness to perform their best and avoid injuries. But when it came to her own workouts, she usually stuck to riding a stationary bike.

"When you try to do it by yourself, you just can't," she said.

At the Athlete Training Center, Silfies keeps groups small so he can make sure people squat, lift and stretch correctly. The center is small, so Silfies staggers the groups so the equipment isn't crowded.

The workout starts with loosening muscles and bringing motion into the joints, sometimes rolling a tube or a stick over muscles like the calves and glutes to release tension. Tightness can cause injuries or make people favor one side during a workout, causing an imbalance, Silfies said. Some people don't even realize they have tightness or are compensating for injuries until Silfies sees them move and corrects them.

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