For anyone who is seeking to optimize his or her time in the gym, I would highly recommend training with Matt of Bodysmith Performance.  Before signing up with Matt I was a longtime exercise enthusiast who was struggling to make progress in the gym.  My training lacked focus, structure and consistency, my diet was a mess, and as a result, I was unhappy with my body and level of fitness.

Thanks to his very sophisticated understanding of training and nutrition, I have lost body fat while adding over 100 pounds to my deadlift and squat, and 50 pounds to my bench.  More importantly, I have gained a passion for training that keeps me dedicated to my program.

Before I started training with Matt, I had never picked up a dumbbell heavier than 5 lbs because I believed in a stereotypical nonsense of getting bulky from lifting weights. I had started running and doing simple workout DVDs probably 6 -7 months before I started training. You can’t really learn proper form that way… so obviously I had no progress on my own. And there he was Boom! One of the happiest days of my life.

I’ve seen powerful changes. My whole life, I just wanted to be skinny, and was never as “skinny” as I wanted. I was never happy with myself. With Matt’s guidance and everyday improvements, my perspective on things changed. I no longer wanted to be skinny. I wanted to be strong. My whole outlook on life changed and I have a positive body image now.

Matt’s positive energy, and the diverse, challenging, yet fun workouts helped exercise become a lifestyle for me. He helped me to set realistic goals, advised me on nutrition but most importantly he introduced me to weight lifting.

I would absolutely recommend training with Matt, no matter what your fitness goals are. It wasn’t easy, but it’s totally worth it!

Matt, I do not know how to thank for setting me up on a weight training and nutritional program. After 2 back surgeries and a more sedentary lifestyle, I needed to make a big lifestyle change. Your program over the period of a year has helped me build core strength, stability and muscle definition that I have not seen on years. I have seen tremendous changes in my legs and stomach and my face. In terms of my legs, I have muscles in my quads that I have not seen in years. Even better….I have dropped two pants sizes and 23 pounds. The diet and nutrition piece had been a challenge, but your tips and patience have kept me motivated for me to go for another 10 pounds. You have really helped me change the way I eat and live.

I have always been slim. I started training with Matt to prepare for a beach wedding. At the wedding, everyone, Cougars included, kept saying they didn’t know I was built like that. At my own wedding, my friends were calling me Hercules and the 300. Thanks for 15 pounds of muscle.

Matt is unlike the vast majority of trainers. I had no idea a trainer could know so much about the body and proper biomechanics, and I immediately realized this when talking to him.

He kicked my ass 1-2x/week. It was the kind of work out that built tons of muscle, burnt fat, and that you could never get on your own. About 6 months after we started, I was at the beach and for once in my life I actually felt like I had a man’s body. My shoulders had a V shape and my legs had definition. It was awesome.

The shape of my body transformed permanently. After I left Philadelphia and traveled for 9 months, my body – though it lost strength – broadly maintained it’s previous shape. It made it much easier for me to get back into shape when I went to the gym again. I honestly think you would be an idiot not to train with Matt. You won’t see the same results on your own, and you won’t find nearly as knowledgeable a trainer.

I first started working with Matt when I moved to Philadelphia after getting married. I used to be one of those people who did not like to think much at the gym: I would get on a cardio machine and spend an hour and then go home. I was having lower back pain and thought it was a chronic, genetic issue that I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. Matt made me realize that I could manage the pain by strengthening my back muscles and becoming stronger and fitter overall.. Working with Matt has made me deliberate about the time I spend at the gym now, taking care to exercise all muscles at different times. Although weight loss was not an explicit goal of mine when I worked with Matt, it was a happy consequence, along with less back pain, better posture, and being able to do some real pushups!

When I started, I couldn’t even do one pull up. Now I can do nine, ridiculous progress! Matts tailored training programs enable visible improvement in dramatic time. Great guy to work with who gets results.

I started personal training a few months prior to my wedding – I wanted those wedding pictures to be great! I had worked out sporadically since graduating from college and I thought personal training would be a good way to get into shape.  My original goal was to lose weight, but Matt made me realize that fitness and health goes beyond losing weight.  We worked on strength and flexibility – and I not only achieved my goal of losing weight, over 20 pounds, but also increased my strength and endurance.

Matt was an incredibly patient trainer who pushed me to achieve my goals without being a drill instructor.  He was able to teach me how to work out effectively, and more than a year after I’ve ended personal training with him, I use what he taught me every time I go to the gym.  Working with Matt is an investment you make for life and there’s no question it pays off many times over!

Matt is a highly knowledgeable, effective and fun personal trainer. Matt helped me to achieve significant fitness goals in less than 60 days that I had been working towards for more than a year by myself. Through this experience Matt has become a trusted friend and I highly recommend anyone in the Philadelphia area who is serious about improving their health and self-confidence to schedule a training session with him.

Training with Matt has really been a tremendously positive experience for me. As a law student, I allowed myself to fall into a routine of rarely exercising and eating poorly. After two and a half years I had enough of feeling out of shape and lethargic. After the first session where we discussed my goals and Matt measured my flexibility and stamina, he had a roadmap that included dietary suggestions and lifts specific to my ability level.

After about three months I had lost over 20 pounds and had gained a significant amount of muscle. The pace of the weight loss felt just right – I wasn’t starving myself or eating weird foods, but my transformation was dramatic.  My athleticism went through the roof. As an advanced golfer, I added nearly 40 yards to my drives and could feel how beneficial the strong core was to making a good golf swing. I added almost 6 inches to my vertical jump. I also bowled a 235 after having not bowling for over a year. The results of the plan Matt had developed were extremely clear.

Matt is by far the most educated person I’ve met when it comes to training. He spent a significant amount of time tailoring a plan to my goals – a program he changed every 3-4 weeks. His lift technique coaching is incredible and ensured that I got the most out of every repetition. I can’t imagine a more productive 5 months of training. I’ll be training with Matt as often as I can now, despite an hour drive

I found myself out of shape and frustrated. I had always wondered if I could achieve the“ideal” body with tight abs and glutes and toned arms. But I did not know where to start, and my knee hurt. So I decided to try Matt—a great decision! You helped me realize my fitness goals by making my program progressively challenging, but not overwhelming. When I started, I was a size 8. Now I am a size 4 with great definition and curves. I understand proper body mechanics and why some things work, while others don’t. The first day of training, I couldn’t even do a bodyweight squat without shaking. Now I squat my bodyweight on a barbell with ease! I never thought I would be able to do that in my lifetime. On top of that, my knee rarely bothers me. Matt changed my life! Under Matt’s guidance, you will see amazing results, especially if you give it time. I saw change within the first 3 months, but 6-12 months was when I was completely transformed. Stick with it. It’s worth it.