Coach Mike could be the Coach for you!
Mike grew up as an avid gamer and massive Batman fan. He had dreams of playing Middle Linebacker for a Division 1 football program and attempted to walk on to the University of Maryland’s football team as a freshman. Long story short, things didn’t work out, but the strength & conditioning coach gave Mike one of the team’s old lifting programs. Mike followed that program religiously and started to see the results.
Following his freshman year, however, the typical college party life started to take over. He struggled to maintain the progress he had built and continued to yo-yo with his weight for several years. Mike began working as a Personal Trainer in 2013, where he began experimenting with all of the major “fad diets” in an attempt to get back on track ~ the fad diets didn’t help though, and by the end, he was in even more need to fix his relationship with food.
Mike’s big turning point came when he learned about Precision Nutrition’s approach to cultivating a healthier lifestyle through healthier behavioral change. While working toward his Precision Nutrition certification in 2016, Mike began implementing their principles into his own life and realized that finding a sustainable and personalized approach to nutrition was the ticket to the success he had long been working towards.
Throughout Mike’s career, he’s developed a philosophy of learning to help others by first learning to help myself. He knows what it’s like to try pretty much every dietary approach out there – and still feel lost on what exactly will work for you. What sets Mike apart is his ability to provide his real-world experience dealing with “quick fixes.” When Mike hears his clients’ struggles, he can very easily put himself in their shoes…because he’s truly been there before. Working with him, you’ll have a coach who’ll not only rant about how he thinks George R.R. Martin will never finish A Song of Ice of Fire, or how they ruined the ending to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie. You’ll also have a coach who can help wade through all of the health industry’s silliness to provide guidance that really works.
Credentials/Education
- M.S. Biomedical Sciences – Neuroscience Concentration, Rutgers University
- B.S. Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University
- Certified Personal Trainer, ACSM
- Precision Nutrition Level 1
- Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1, C.H.E.K. Institute
- Integrated Movement Specialist Level 1, C.H.E.K. Institute
Coach Mike is funny and empathetic. He also likes to tell stories about his own experience to make you feel like you’re not the only one. I enjoy knowing that I’m making progress with small steps, even though I feel like a hot mess with a young baby. The scale has been moving down slowly for me, but my progress (outside of weight) has been even better, with strength, functionality, and confidence. Coach Mike is also there for me in case I get bored with a workout and will change it up for me.
I’ve been training with Mike for 8 months, and he’s truly an exceptional coach. He customizes my workout plans to fit my individual needs and is always ready to adjust them as things evolve. Mike is incredibly knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition, and his support has been invaluable. Thanks to his guidance, I’ve finally developed a consistent exercise habit, something I’ve struggled with in the past. There have been plenty of times when I might have given up, but Mike’s encouragement kept me going. He also offers practical advice on nutrition and exercise, always keeping me focused and steering me clear of distractions. On top of all that, Mike is incredibly personable and just an overall great guy. He’s also super responsive and thorough with my questions, always providing thoughtful and detailed answers.
Coach Mike is a good listener, and because of that he understands my goals and concerns. He is good at trouble shooting situations that would normally trip me up, and that makes me feel more confident about my ability to change. I value his feedback and the ways he motivates me and keeps me accountable. I also really appreciate that he has a positive relationship with food and that he encourages me to eat ice cream on a regular basis!
My two favorite things about Coach Mike is his knowledge and positivity. He can answer all my questions and easily explain why something makes sense or why he is recommending something and provide supporting information. I have confidence that if I follow what he recommends, it will help me achieve my goals.
Overall, I’m more pessimistic, so having someone more optimistic, encouraging, and upbeat is very helpful, especially when I’m struggling to work toward a goal. Sometimes just reading an encouraging message can help make the next choice or workout easier or my day better.
Coach Mike has been fantastic to work with and, many times, seems to know what I’m going to ask before I ever ask him. He’s always right there with a word of support when I need it or ready and willing to change up my program when I feel like it’s getting stale. He’s great at modifying my workouts to target specific goals that we are working towards, as well as just keeping it fresh so that I don’t get bored or burned out of any particular routine. He also appreciates a good dad joke and has a stockpile of his own, which I put to good use as a busy father of 4 myself!
I have been with Nerd Fitness and Coach Mike S. for about a year now, and it has transformed my life! I’ve always started working out and dieting and then stopped. I’d start again and stop. I could never find the consistency to keep it going. When I heard about Nerd Fitness on the Chasing Scratch Podcast, I had to try it. I got paired up with Mike, and I’m pretty sure we’ve become best friends over the past year. I love positivity, what seems like infinite knowledge, and not feeling pressured to do anything that doesn’t make me comfortable. On the flip side, I also like his willingness to push me to further my progress.
We continue to review goals and set new ones. The resources available and the ability to shift gears at a moment’s notice are what truly separates Nerd Fitness from the rest. This is YOUR journey, and they never take credit for any of your accomplishments but are right there to help you when you need it.
I love working with Coach Mike because he rolls with whatever chaos my life throws at me, changing things up so I always have a program that works. He’s helping me undo the consequences on my posture from years spent reading and working in front of a computer, as well as helping me build strength and stamina after a pretty sedentary decade. It sounds melodramatic, but I just finished a year with Coach Mike, and I feel like I got my life back. I’m more active than I’ve been for such a long time, it’s bonkers.
I really appreciate that he happily gives me lots of info when I inevitably ask him why and how things work with exercise and nutrition. If you’re curious, ask! We frequently nerd it up, he’s extremely knowledgeable.
Star Wars or Lord of the Rings
LotR, hands down. It’s tough to compete against a series that has a literal history book written, complete with origin & creation stories (how many authors are actually that creative? Not many)
Favorite Video Game of All Time
This is a tough one…but I’d have to say the 1st 4 Assassin’s Creed games (can I technically pick 4?). Having the “modern-day” Desmond Miles storyline woven into the Crusades and the “Ezio Trilogy,” to me, created a level of depth that I wasn’t used to from other games.
What are you passionately nerdy about?
I’m nerdy about many things. My stereotypical fandoms include superheroes (mostly DC, but I’m also a pretty big X-Men fan), fantasy novels (especially LotR and ASOIAF), and early 2000’s Will Ferrell movies (as well as rewatching old SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches). Besides these, I’ve been diving deep into ancestral eating, so my wife and I pretty much make everything from scratch…and our 2-year-old attempts to help; with metabolic/mitochondrial health; and studying the Bible (I jokingly tell people I’m becoming a “Word-Nerd”).
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