Get to Know Your Personal Trainer and Owner of Premier Personal Fitness, Veronica Rasicci

I've been a personal trainer since 2013. I thought it would be a great way to gain hands-on experience while I was in college earning my degree in Exercise Science. What started as a side job throughout school became my career when I was able to help my clients achieve their goals - their success became my success - and seeing, first-hand, how fitness could change lives, I fell in love with being a personal trainer!

Fitness after 50 is my specialty. I also focus a lot of rehab & prehab exercises, depending on the individual and what their goals are.

Bachelor and Master of Science in Exercise Science, NASM Senior Fitness Specialist, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, NASM Nutrition Coach, AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, 3D Movement Coach, Exercise is Medicine credential, presented at various Exercise Science and Fitness conferences, Master Trainer status.

I use a holistic approach to my program design. Based on clients goals and needs, I'll incorporate various balance and core strengthening exercises. I also am a big advocate of proper warm ups and cool downs, so you'll never see my clients skipping those, recovery is just as important as working out! Strength training is the main component of my program design, focusing on progressive overload, to make sure my clients stay challenge and get stronger in both their muscles & their bones.

It's important to listen to your clients, and hear what they are saying, but also, what they aren't saying. It's also important to read their body language, to see how the body is responding to the different exercises.

I love strength training, especially leg day with barbells and heavy weights. I love how it makes me feel strong and powerful!

It's important to meet every client, and their body, where they are at. It's important to assess one's abilities from the start, so I know what the appropriate approach is. There are multiple fundamental movements a body goes through in a day that we can mimic in exercise, so it's important to find what each person can do with each fundamental movement, even if it's the baseline, and work slowly and consistently from there.

Warm-up with dynamic stretching, mobility work, core & hip activation exercises, and balance work; body of the workout is often circuit style training, to maximize our time together, final 10 minutes or so is assisted static stretching.

I love to learn about what the latest fitness trends and research is. Staying connected through my various professional organizations gives me insight to the latest trends and newest research.

The best part of being a personal trainer is watching my clients shock themselves at what they become able to do. Whether that's leg pressing 100lb, being able to get off medicine, or getting up and down off the floor to play with their grandkids, it brings tears to my eyes to watch them succeed!

The most important thing to do when getting started is to find consistency in being active. Start small, even if it's just 10 minutes, once those 10 minutes become a part of your routine, build from there. And don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it's a friend, a family member, or personal trainer, there is strength in asking for helping and leaning on someone to help you get to where you want to be.