Meet Our Ballston Trainers
Joanne Anderson, Operations Director
Joanne is an accomplished fitness professional with a Masters in Health Promotion & Exercise Management from the Univ. of Cincinnati and an ACSM Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, as well as a soon-to-be certified nutritionist.
She has worked in corporate fitness for several years managing multiple fitness centers for a federal law enforcement agency, helping her members stay active at work and fit for duty. Joanne has a passion for strength training the benefits it provides, and she has even participated in bodybuilding competitions! Our favorite thing about Joanne is the structure she brings to the Training Ground organization!
A passionate trainer who is driven to help people accomplish their goals, Joanne does it all!
Chris Crockett, Lead trainer
A 12-year career in personal training sprouted when knee surgery after knee surgery led this three-sport athlete to find himself over 100 pounds overweight. It was then that Chris decided to dedicate himself to health and fitness.
He earned his personal trainer certification and graduated with a 4-year degree in Exercise Science, all while losing over 130 pounds and doing pain-free squats on his surgically repaired knees!
He is known as a fun-loving coach with a results-focused mindset. Ask his clients if they’re happy with Chris and they’ll sing his praises for hours!
Rahim Olds, trainer
Rahim’s love for people drives his passion for helping others reach their fitness goals. With a vast knowledge of training and nutrition, Rahim can create personalized training programs that cater to your unique needs, ensuring that you receive the attention and support necessary to succeed.
Rahim’s experience with several injuries throughout his eight-year fitness journey, including severe knee sprains and a broken foot, have taught him the importance of injury rehabilitation, incremental progression, flexibility, and mobility.
Rahim’s commitment to personalized training programs means that he understands the importance of taking a holistic approach to fitness. He recognizes that everyone has unique needs when it comes to training and nutrition, and he tailors his programs to address those needs.
Reggie McFail, trainer
Simply put, Reggie’s clients LOVE him. He delivers results, makes it fun and most importantly, he has that intangible we love - he cares.
Both an experienced trainer and nutritional coach, Reggie has the well-rounded background that gets results to create happy clients! He got into training when he realized that combining his active lifestyle with his passion for helping people could be the right ingredients to make an awesome trainer. He was right!
He’s specializes in athletic performance, fat burning and weight loss, and even once trained a family of 4, which is no easy task!
Pablo Limpias, Trainer
It’s easy to tell what a great trainer Pablo is when you see how much his clients love him! Nothing makes Pablo happier than helping someone have an experience that makes them feel pleased, confident, and strong. In other words, he is the type of person who derives his own happiness by making others happy! It's that type of motivation that makes Pablo a perfect fit at Training Ground.
Not only a personal trainer, Pablo has been a head trainer for a local HIIT and Kickboxing studio. On top of that, he's also a physical therapy assistant AND he is currently studying to be a nurse!
Lila Roades, Trainer
Lila has always loved exercise and movement and turned her passion for fitness into a career as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. She studied History at Loyola Marymount University, and began personal training as she finished her history degree. She is also a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist and loves to use her wealth of knowledge to create pain-free, enjoyable training sessions.
Lila has worked with clients of all ages and ability levels but is most passionate about working with women and LGBTQ+ clients, focusing on fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment in the gym. She believes in creating life-long habits that improve overall health and wellness. She hopes to help clients feel safe, confident, and empowered in the gym!
Darren Ayar, Trainer
Darren is a passionate trainer who focuses on strength training and overall holistic wellness while delivering results to his clients. With a deep-rooted belief in the importance of mental health and a passion for fostering balance in our fast-paced world, Darren has dedicated his career to helping individuals understand the importance of growth that comes outside of one's comfort zone. With a never-ending urge to learn and grow, Darren is excited to accompany anybody who is ready to take the first step on their fitness journey! Outside of the gym, Darren loves hiking, experimenting in the kitchen, and traveling the world. He also has a background in wrestling and track and field with sprinting, discus, and shotput!
Kevin KorniEk, Trainer
Kevin is a Collegiate Athlete with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Growing up playing sports, Kevin became more involved in fitness to improve his game. In our experience, collegiate athletes can make excellent trainers, which Kevin exemplifies.
What sets Kevin apart is his knack for understanding the “why” behind each client's goals, which helps him deliver an optimal and efficient training experience. He also has a specialization in Kettlebells and continues to gain information to will help his clients. Living a healthy, active lifestyle, Kevin also enjoys healthy cooking and playing basketball, hockey and pickleball.
Whether it’s preparing for an athletic competition or just wanting to move through life pain-free, Kevin is dedicated to improve his clients each and every day!
Joe Dattoli, Trainer
Joe has all the elements of a great trainer - passion, experience and education. His mantra in life is "Make a difference in someone's life every day," and he's been doing that for over 27 years in the fitness field!
Joe is also not your typical trainer, aside from having close to 3 decades of hands-on experience. He can work with any type of client, from sports performance to injury rehab! Better yet - he also lives what he preaches. In addition to his numerous PT certs, he's currently working on his IronMan Triathlon Coach certification - not an easy task!
Bri Wynn, Trainer
A physical therapist as her day job, Bri's a rock star trainer when she's not in the clinic. She’s always had the passion for helping people live a healthier, pain-free life, but it was her physical therapy patients suggesting she do personal training that started her on her path.
Bri works with sports medicine patients, has both her USA Weightlifting Level 2 cert and Barbell Rehab Method cert, and will even be adding a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist to the mix...as if her current education wasn't enough!
Oh, and she also practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so her clients and patients know they better do as their told :)
NIck flynn, trainer
A passionate personal trainer with 20 years of personal fitness experience, Nick’s fitness journey is truly inspiring, as he battled childhood obesity from age 8 to 17, shedding over 125 pounds by the end of high school. This transformative experience ignited a lifelong commitment to exercise and well-being.
Beyond physical fitness, Nick has been a self-studied student of personal development and goal setting for over a decade. This unique perspective allows him to delve into the underlying reasons for your fitness goals, making lasting changes possible.
Nick is more than just a trainer; he's a living example of what's possible through dedication and resilience. With Nick as your guide, you'll not only find the motivation but also the unwavering support you need to reach your fitness goals. His mission is to assist clients on their personal fitness journeys, recognizing that fitness is a deeply transformative experience.
Corey Hobbs, Trainer
Corey's fitness path started early, doing pushups, pull-ups and jump rope before he could ever join a gym. Once he was old enough, he was hooked. He now has had multiple successes with clients to show for it, including a client who hit their goal of losing 40 lbs as well as a client who more than doubled their deadlift strength.
He coaches OTF classes in the area, and he enjoys being able to focus his attention on just his client at TG.
That's not all! He also plays the guitar and drums in his spare time, making him quite possibly one of the fittest musicians in the area. :)
Michael Szymanski, Trainer
It’s easy to tell what a great trainer Michael is when you see how much his clients love him! Nothing makes Michael happier than helping someone have an experience that makes them feel pleased, confident, and strong. In other words, he is the type of person who derives his own happiness by making others happy! It's that type of motivation that makes him a perfect fit at Training Ground.
Not only a personal trainer, Michael is a teacher by day, so helping people comes naturally to him. He also is a phenomeanl group class instructor!
Christian Christoffersen, Trainer
Christian was once a licensed optician before he switched from helping eyes to helping strength, health and reaching overall fitness goals! He started off with a degree in Sociology and his interest in human behavior is what helps him stand out as a personal trainer. Once he committed to a career in personal training, he quickly added additional specializations to his base of knowledge. He now is also a Senior Fitness Specialist, as well as an Integrated Balance Training Specialist! He is committed to helping clients of all ages reach their goals and live long, healthy, pain-free lives! Best of all, his clients love him! If you’re interested, we’d love to share some of their testimonials with you! :)
Richie Ellebie, Trainer
Richie comes from a unique background, playing professional football in Japan for 4 years before answering the call of moving back to the States to pursue a career in personal training. Exercise and fitness have longtime been staples in Richie’s life, and he has a knack for sharing his knowledge with his clients, in addition to keeping them motivated and accountable to reach their goals. What Richie’s clients love best is his funny, caring personality that keeps clients engaged throughout their session.
He also can work with any type of client, from sports performance to injury rehab! Professional athletes can make phenomenal trainers, so if you’re eager to see results, give Richie a try!
Chris Wade, Trainer
Chris is not only a NASM certified trainer, he also holds a degree in Exercise Science from George Washington University. He has been a fitness professional for over a decade, but he’s been active in the fitness industry for twice as long! He’s impressively worked his way all the way up to blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
What Chris loves most about training is helping his clients with weight loss, muscle growth and body recomposition. He also has experience with boxing and kickboxing, allowing him to be a very diverse, dedicated trainer!
Devin Gray, Trainer
Devin’s not your average trainer - his experience and thirst for knowledge is as extensive as they come. He graduated Cum Laude in Kinesiology and has acquired multiple certifications since then. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Pre and Postnatal coach, Women’s Coaching Specialist, as well as TRX and FMS specialized. He even holds a nutrition certification!
His experience and knowledge allows Devin’s coaching to be highly specific and customized to not only each client’s goals, but also their body. Helping his clients hit their goals is not all Devin works towards; he is focused on helping people move better, feel better, and to improve or regain their athleticism. the end result is extremely happy clients!
Andy Schaefer, Owner
Andy opened Training Ground in 2017 so that people of all fitness backgrounds could have access to top tier personal trainers in a comfortable, supportive environment and without the need for a contract or membership.
Andy’s goal is for Training Ground to be the happy place for all the clients that we are fortunate enough to have in our community!