Rick Lamark Owner & Personal Training Coach Contact Rick

 

We chose athletic nation over the "big box fitness centers" for several reasons. Being into sports all my life and interested in training techniques that push your body and mind to the extreme made the Nation very appealing. The no nonsense, accountability and gym atmosphere is what I believe every man pictures in his mind of a real workout arena.

This is how the "big boys" play, and this is a way I can bring that style to the male population. Another reason this concept is so appealing is the "one on one" training I can provide in an arena where a man can be a man, where there is no waiting for equipment, no continuous adjustments to the machines during your personal workout, no trying to find space to fit your client into during their training session and no distractions from outside sources.

The final reason is the idea behind fitness is to improve your physical and mental outlook, you can't do that by just going through the motions, you have to push your body to the max and strive for improvement each time you walk through the gym doors, the concept and the flexibility each gym has to make this happen brings out each owners individuality and strengths, which reflects on the founders beliefs of a "team" concept. The trust and belief that Dennis, Manny and Tommy have in their gym owners makes this a very appealing franchise.

At age 18 I became interested in body building, made a make shift gym in parents garage. At age 24 I joined my first gym, Jack LaLanes, I also married for the first time and had a son by that marriage in 1979. In 1981 I moved my family to Mt. Shasta, CA and opened up a Plumbing contracting business, which I operated for 12 years. During this time I joined the Mt. Shasta Fire Dept and became interested in 911 medical responses. In 1993 I went thru a divorce and walked away from my business after I completed all my contract obligations. I continued to stay active in the gym throughout those years.

In 1994 I went back to school and received my Paramedic License in the state of California. 1995 I went to work for American Medical Response, where I still work today as an Operations Supervisor. In 1997 I took my weight lifting to the next level and was in the gym six days /week and was in the best shape of my life. In 1999 I married my wife Darlene and helped raise two stepdaughters by her previous marriage. We are still currently married and she is my silent partner in this venture.

In 2001 we bought 3.5 acre outside Redding and constructed our own house from the ground up, this took 16 months of hard work and my gym life and nutrition suffered and became flabby and out of shape. I went back into the gym sporadically the next few years and got back some of my fitness, but still not what I was in 1997. In 2005 during the real estate boom I purchased a fixer upper residence and remodeled it completely, again doing most of the work myself, and again my gym life suffered. I again was hitting the gym sporadically and let my health suffer once again.

About two years ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, this was a wake up call for me, as I was always healthy. I have been very consistent in my workouts and nutrition for the last year and a half and have started to feel and see the difference in myself. This inspired me to help others find their way into healthy lifestyles and for me to see results in clients on the front end before they become patients on the back end who need my assistance when their ill.

Rick Lamark