Austin Valentine is a certified personal trainer with experience training all ages for strength, hypertrophy, weight loss and people with illnesses and those competing in sports.
Valentine was born with a birth injury called ERB’s Palsy. This caused damage to the nerve root that branches from the spine and began to run down his left arm. It has also affected other areas of his body.
When he was 15 years old, he went to a doctor to see what could be done about it, as it was becoming very noticeable.
He was told that he would need a career in an office that would not have any heavy lifting involved.
Valentine was disgusted to hear this, so he joined a close friend who was training consistently at a fitness centre, and they began to work out. Not just working out but hardcore dedication to fitness.
He continued with this vigorous workout and at the age of 20, felt his purpose in life was to help other people achieve their goals despite anything holding them back, including physical disabilities.
Valentine has dreams of opening his own facility to help others in the future.
He worked full time as a personal trainer in Calgary from 2019-2022, then moved to Carlyle and is now working for Purechem but wishes to continue with his love for fitness.
Bootcamp is part of his dream and will begin in January 2024. With word getting out, he is already in high demand.
The classes will be offered starting on Jan. 8 and run four nights, with different times to accommodate people who work.
The class will begin with an introduction of what is to be expected, along with technical information. Every class will have the proper education on how to lift safely and effectively.
Power lifting and strongman activity usually brings out the competitive nature in people and Valentine said this is the fun part of it all.
The value in this class will revolve around what Valentine calls the three C’s – coaching, community and competition – for the Carlyle Strength Camp. The tailored class is for all.
“Every single person will see benefits from this class,” said Valentine.
As a coach, he specializes in power lifting, which will be suited to the individual, and the ability they have to lift. As they progress the lifting will increase.
Within the community he feels it will offer goals and push people further as they work together to reach their goals. He feels when doing this sort of thing alone people have the tendency to talk themselves out of things, but with support all things are possible.
Having a friendly competition brings out the "I can do better" and the "If they can do it so can I" attitudes, he said. It allows people to compete against themselves as well, bringing out a better version of themselves at the same time.
It is Valentine’s plan to also host a strongman competition in the summer for the southeast corner.
There will be prizes to go with this and a chance for bragging rights. It will be open to all who want to attend. This event will be known as the Carlyle Strongman Classic.
Valentine looks forward to getting things rolling in the new year for his bootcamp, and does not want anyone to miss the chance to improve themselves, not only physically but mentally.
He feels that this is a fantastic way to get out and get people involved into the world of fitness.
