In July 2012 shortly after I turned 26 I stood 6′ 3″ and weighed 327lbs. I had a gym membership with no idea where to start or what to do. I contacted Gary about personal training and began working with him August 1st 2012. Over the course of the last 16 months I have lost 105lbs while working with him four times a week. His knowledge and expertise are unbelievable and it’s hard to believe now that I used to weigh what I used to. My life is forever changed because of him and I couldn’t thank him enough for all the hours he spent helping me. I couldn’t recommend him enough whether you are looking to start your own weight loss journey or become stronger especially if you’re searching for a personal trainer in the Pasadena area.
- Andrew C.
I’ve known Gary for some time now. Before approaching him I thought about his background. He graduated from culinary school, so he has a background in cooking and food. Then he started working as a personal trainer out of a private gym in Pasadena. I picked Gary as my personal trainer because he had the best of both worlds to offer!
We started off meal planning where he gave me several options that I can make at home for every meal. Everything was simple and full of flavor. No bland meals here! If I ever need any advice on for food to make, Gary was always there to help. Even when I told him I was having a family party or going out for a celebration, Gary would always suggest food to eat and what to stay away from.
When came down to it, Gary listen to you on what you want, then figured what’s your body’s limitations are. Everything can be improved. Working out with Gary was fun. He would cater to your preference. I’ve never like cardio but Gary turned it into something else and made it fun. Gary is always watching out for your movement and form. Gary takes his time on correcting everything.
Losing the fat was simple for me but the hard part was maintaining. Everyone is different. I saw results is 2 to 3 weeks and soon after all my friends and family noticed too!
- Jimmy L.
Gary is the best personal trainer I have ever worked with. He was a chef in a previous career and he brings to the table a lot of knowledge about how to eat healthy and how to prepare foods that are healthy. His technique gets you to lose all the pounds you want to mostly through weight training and without a lot of annoying cardio work. This is something I’ve never encountered before and I love it. He is extremely knowledgeable about lifting technique and that ensures you are not going to get injured. I highly, highly recommend him. He is affordable and is very accommodating with his schedule. He is just an absolute pleasure to train with!
- David F.
I initially sought out Gary’s personal training because I had a cervical cancer scare. The only thing I could do personally was exercise and eat healthier to boost my immune system, said the doctor. Along with that, I had scoliosis so I wanted to strengthen my back and just not get any fatter. Oh I also wanted to see if I could sculpt a nicer butt but I wasn’t expecting it to be possible. Gary has been my personal trainer for about 3 years now. I got rid of the cancer threat in months, my back can handle so much more and as a plus I’m more knowledgeable about how to be self-sufficient in the gym when I’m by myself. Oh not to mention my butt looks 10x better. He is so knowledgeable about the human anatomy and how it relates to exercising. He never ceases to amaze me. This being said, if a particular exercise isn’t giving me the results I need or I have a specific injury (scoliosis) then he is knowledgeable enough to be able to give me a different exercise that will trigger the same muscles. Needless to say, he is an awesome trainer. I couldn’t be in better hands.
- Crissie A
The best part of personal training with Gary Heshiki Fitness is the amount of catering to an individual’s goals. He asked what I wanted to achieve and was able to give me the game plan to face it. I underwent the movement assessment and covered lifts that I wanted to ensure form and stability on. Bring a notebook, you will not be able to remember all the little tips and tweaks you can improve on. Gary opened my eyes to weak tendencies, but without a drill sergeant mentality. He has the patience and communication skills to coach properly. I learned how to stretch muscles that I did not know I had. My mobility and flexibility are at an all time high. I no longer have waves on lower back pain. I corrected my lifts and increased my knowledge and various upper back and triceps workouts. Not only did i hit a PR in my session(believe it was the 3rd week of October ) with him, I have also lost 12 lbs since that time, while increasing my PR on dead lift by 20 lbs and bench press by 10 lbs. Best in Pasadena for sure.
- Gilbert T.
I have so many wonderful things to say about personal training with Gary, but if I had to be brief, then these are the words that come to mind: extremely knowledgeable, professional, patient, passionate, and inspiring.
To elaborate, Gary is very experienced in the fields of personal training, as well as nutrition. When I trained with him, my ultimate goals were to get stronger overall and to finally do some pull-ups, 10 to be exact. With his detailed training plan, I am very happy to say that I exceeded all of my goals. His guidance was invaluable throughout the 10 months that I trained with him, and although I am no longer a client, I incorporate everything he has taught me into my current workout routines. It is also important to note that my nutrition was very sub-par prior to training with Gary. Even though I loved working out, my poor health choices tended to cancel out some of my progress. Training with Gary allowed me to buckle down on my diet, and boy has that supplemented the progress I was previously lacking.
Gary is also very professional. I was good friends with Gary prior to formally training with him, but he took every training session very seriously. He always asked how I was feeling to make sure my training session was just right (intense enough but not to the point of death lol). Although I only trained with him twice a month, he consistently checked up on how I was doing with the workout plans he prescribed and whether I had any questions. It was very easy to communicate with Gary, and he responded quickly to e-mails and text messages.
And even though Gary and I are close friends, he was still very patient with me during the training sessions and throughout my entire training experience with him. He taught me new exercises and lifts, and naturally, some of them made me feel uncomfortable. For example, the previous gym he worked at installed a glute ham raise machine, which I was very excited about. However, I am extremely afraid of heights, and even though that machine was not every high at all, I still had a very difficult time performing a proper glute ham raise without a spotter. I must have wasted at least 15 minutes every single time trying to get over my fear, but in due time, I was finally able to perform one without hesitation.
Additionally, I hit some plateaus a couple months into my training and even suffered a slight wrist injury while training on my own. For at least a month after, Gary modified all of my exercises that involved a lot of wrist movement and showed me ways to remedy the injury quickly. He consistently emphasized proper form and technique, and for that I am forever grateful. He teaches all his clients to never sacrifice form for higher weight. When training with him, you learn to leave your ego at home and focus on proper technique until you can add more weight. I’ve had a horrible experience with a different gym and with awful trainers and almost injured myself after they kept yelling at me to add weight and finish a workout in “x” amount of time. You’ll never run across that problem under Gary’s guidance!
Lastly, Gary is truly inspirational. He is very passionate about what he does – he breathes and lives fitness and nutrition, but also knows how to have a life. In the summer of 2013, we both made a commitment to take our passion for fitness to a higher level and compete in our very first bodybuilding competitions. Because he was in much better shape than I was, he decided to compete in a competition a couple weeks away. Gary added about an additional 15 lb in one month while maintaining a very low body fat percentage. His transformation was phenomenal and truly inspiring, and I was extremely proud of him for stepping on stage in such a very short period of time. He taught me that with a concrete plan, hard work, discipline and desire that anything is possible and that any goal is attainable. His advice and guidance during my competition prep were priceless and truly invaluable, and I could not have confidently stepped on stage without all of his help. I can’t thank Gary enough!
So if you’re looking for a personal trainer/nutritionist who truly cares about his clients, look no further. Try out Gary Heshiki fitness for yourself, and reap all the benefits he has to offer!
- Donna P.
Gary is a very knowledgeable personal trainer who understands the clients he is working with. I initially consulted Gary to correct several of my lifting techniques having come across several plateaus. He not only corrected my form and increase my PRs, he gave insight into where my power leaks are and how to fix them. Besides that, he also addresses proper stretching and how to get focused in a lift. Everything about his training is professional and helps you understand what exercises you should be doing to prevent serious injury.
I recommend Gary for beginners who do not know where to begin and also for more experienced people as well who want to try different things or reach a goal. Whatever the case if you’re in LA or Pasadena area, Gary is a pretty cool dude who knows his stuff. And he’s a pretty good chef too!
- Brian E.