Steve is a lifelong athlete and established coach holding numerous certifications including NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, CrossFit L3, Precision Nutrition L1, Stanford Exercise Physiology Short Course Certificate and USA Weightlifting Level 1 to name a few. Growing up on Long Island Steve was always active in athletics. During his high school years he was involved in several varsity sports including Cross Country, Track and Wrestling, achieving either All-Conference or All-County recognition in all three. It wasn’t until college however that he found his true athletic calling in Rugby, where he achieved both regional and national level success. Steve continued his Rugby career after college with the Long Island RFC, and was appointed captain his first year. During this time Steve also began coaching the Hofstra University Women’s RFC, leading them to a conference championship which resulted in divisional promotion. Steve began his CrossFit journey in 2013 after a knee injury forced him to retire from playing. Previously Steve served as the Director of competition programming and Head Coach at Crow Hill CrossFit. Afterwards he took over as Head Coach and Competition Coach at CrossFit Prospect heights and Dean CrossFit in Brooklyn. During the events of 2020 Steve decided it was time for a change and moved from Brooklyn to Englewood Colorado where he is currently coaching at Rigar Performance while simultaneously pursuing a masters degree in Biomechanics at the University of Northern Colorado. In October of 2022, Steve became the 102kg Colorado State Weightlifting Champion and will be competing in Masters Weightlifting Pan Ams at the end of May and Masters Weightlifting Worlds in Krakow Poland in August. 

My favorite client story

Performance and aesthetic focused results are great but my favorite story is from one of my earliest clients, we'll call him Bob. Bob was in his 60s had been a runner, tried rowing briefly years ago but for the most part was a minimally active 60 something NYC professional who was feeling the effects of aging. Bob had a few different goals in mind, most relating to being able to do things that he used to be able to do...running, hiking etc. One of the things that I noticed very early on was that Bob would always plop down into his seat with an audible "OOF" which he referred to as the "old guy oof" . We started on basic movement, squat mobility, a lot of isometrics at end range, nothing super intense. Bob was a little hesitant of these methods because he couldnt quite see how improving these squat patterns would help him in hiking up hill or running on the streets. Over the weeks and months we spent a ton of time on unilateral and bilateral movements and I constantly challenged his active squat range. Fast forward to a few months later, we were working on a relatively light set of squats and bob sat down on the bench between sets...no "oof". I asked him if he noticed anything and kind of aloof he said something along the lines of "yeah my hips have been feeling pretty good lately not sure why". I showed him some before and after footage of what his squat looked like when we started and a video from that day and I think it dawned on him that moving and challening his range was making sitting and standing easier. Fast forward another year or so, Bob moved out of the city and shortly after that registered for a half marathon which he completed with his partner.

My favorite exercise

Snatch

My favorite quote

"Strength is never a weakness"

My training philosophy

The goal is always growth!

My training experience

I have over a decade of sports specific, personal and group training experience. I enjoy working with clients coming from all backgrounds and experience levels. I boast a personal training client list in the hundreds and have worked with thousands in group or team settings.