Michael Villa is a certified trainer with the American Council on Exercise. Training for over 11 years, Villa has been a professional Personal Trainer for the past two years. He is a regular contributor to publications such as Austin Fit Magazine and writes the feature column "Ask Mike" for LifeSMART Solutions Magazine.

A Message From Mike

My goal is to provide and direct you through a comprehensive program that meets your current physical ability and is tailored to meet your desires. I want you to see results!

Welcome to my website! In here you will find some important information about me, my training philosophy, my rates and some free exercise information to get you started. I specialize in beginners (but not limited to) and people that can’t seem to get past the frustration of slow progression. I don’t want to discourage you but if you are looking for someone to tell you there is a secret to losing weight or that it’s easy then I am not the trainer for you. Fitness is a lifestyle and if you’re not already in that lifestyle then you will have to make a huge change. For more than six years people have used my suggestions and ideas to create a better quality of life for themselves. Everyone knows that lifestyle change is difficult, more difficult than changing jobs or schools. You, like others, may need some guidance to wade through all of the misinformation out there. So it makes sense to call upon the experience and knowledge of a personal trainer to assist in an area that you may not be familiar with. Most of us stepped out of one profession and into this one because we have a passion for exercise and helping others. We know what it takes to endure this change in your life because we have already made that change in our own. I understand that placing your trust into a total stranger may seem a bit “scary” and you have to decide for yourself if you can commit. But I want you to keep in mind that we too had a beginning and felt all the emotions that you probably feel right now. The fear of change, the intimidation of being the only one not in shape and the humiliation of not knowing what you are doing, are normal emotions. My question to you is “are you going to let those emotions stop you?” I encourage you to give this some thought and if you’re willing to take a chance please continue to read. I assure you that it is a step in the right direction.

I believe in being a positive role model by practicing what I preach. Let me tell you getting and staying in shape isn’t easy. You will have setback after setback but the reward outweighs the frustration. I use a traditional and functional type of training technique using a combination of fixed machines and free weights in conjunction with balance and stability type exercises. You will have good workouts and bad ones, we all do, but as long as you show up and try and that’s all I will expect from you. You should expect me to be there for you and remain positive when you feel like you can’t and I will. You should also expect me to be fair and non-judgmental and I will. I will also be creative, knowledgeable and committed to you but I can only lead you to the water, I can’t make you drink. You will have to accept some responsibility.

Along with being a personal trainer I am a father of three beautiful kids, so I know making time to exercise can be challenging. I have a full time position as a Lifestyle Trainer and am self employed part-time providing training at Hyde Park Gym. I love what I do for a living. I have set backs in my own training all of the time but I squeeze my workouts in daily and I jog around Town Lake or Brushy Creek Trail whenever I can. In the beginning (and now) I used exercise as a way to de-stress (I’m a former corrections officer), the gym became my escape. Now that I work in my escape my stress level is low. I’m not saying I don’t have stress because I don’t think there is any way around that but I do manage it well. I love to box and practice it regularly. Very therapeutic! I have also helped with a self defense class at the Austin Martial Arts Academy. Tristan’s group is great and they provide an invaluable service. I learned a lot from them.

Home Page  ::  About Mike  ::  Training Philosophy  ::  Rate Information
Testimonials  ::  Training Tips  ::  Contact Mike  ::  Ask Mike  ::  Links

© 2005 Michael Villa