MY VALUED CLIENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCES

I CAME TO ARTTU WITH SEVERE BACK PAIN

I had already gone through PT and doctors appointments with no success. I thought I wouldn’t be able to perform at my highest potential.

When I started working with Arttu, we began assessing my pain and why I felt that way. He gave me opportunities to share my thoughts and guide me through the proper training I would be doing. We started by creating a strong foundation for my back through building a solid base in my lower body. Through this process, Arttu would explain why we were doing each exercise so that I didn’t feel confused.

When I reached my baseball season after beginning to work with Arttu, I felt an immediate difference. I felt stronger than ever and confident that I can withstand running, hitting, and fielding without any pain. This growth ultimately helped me get the opportunity to play division 1 baseball. Arttu continued to help me whether it was strength training or matters outside of the gym, he would always have an answer to my questions.

Reflecting on my time with Arttu, it is easy to see his immense passion for helping others reach their goals. He is a deeply educated trainer and will change the lives of clients as he did mine. After working with him for about 3 years now, I can confidently say that I feel absolutely amazing and my performance on the baseball field has skyrocketed. Through the past couple years of training with Arttu, I have been educated about what I need as an athlete and gained a mentor.

JAKE D.

HIS METHOD WAS PRACTICAL AND PURPOSEFUL

When my dad first brought up seeing Arttu, I immediately said no. I didn't want to take the step outside of my comfort zone and commit to learning and adapting to another environment. I had no idea what to expect when I finally walked through the doors of the gym, but what I ended up finding was exactly what I needed.

Coming out of organized sport and a year of inactivity due to Covid, I had some reservations about beginning this new journey, but with Arttu's help, we set out to redefine my relationship with exercise. He, one by one, dismantled my preconceptions of what exercise should look like, how it should feel, and what it should do. He was incredibly patient with my physical and mental progress, taking the time to explain the purpose behind everything we were doing and slowly implementing manageable changes to my everyday routines.

His flexibility was a key factor in creating sustainable habits and his understanding created an environment in which there was no reason to lie or hide any concerns. Furthermore, he simultaneously showed me that working out didn't mean killing yourself every time you went to the gym and that my body was capable of far more than I expected. He never set limits, verbally or through his actions, on what I could do and continuously set me up for success. Every part of Arttu's methods was practical, purposeful, and sustainable. Ultimately, having the opportunity to work with him has changed my perspective on how I live my life for the better.

JULIA E.

INCOMPARABLE CARE AND EFFORT

I am a D1 beach volleyball player at Tulane University. I started training with Arttu my summer going into sophomore year of school 2020. I have worked with many trainers in my life time and none can compare to the effort and care that Arttu shows.

My highest priority first was to fix my shoulder pain I had been having for some time and no one was able to help me progress it back to optimal and not show up during my games. Arttu was able to heal my shoulder and get rid of the pain. He has also been the first coach to get me doing pull ups as I was unable to do any and explained the reason behind the movement in terms of shoulder strength and its correlation with spiking volleyballs.

He is hands down the best coach. He genuinely cares about my progress and pushes me in the weight room and with health, and is extremely knowledgeable. I saw a huge improvement in my athletic game since working with him. He is very specific and gives me great correction in the weight room and teaches me what does nutrition for health vs. performance look like because I am playing the long game and still want to be healthy when I no longer play competitive volleyball. All of my weight room numbers have increased significantly working with him and they show in my game.

Kendall Peters, 20 - Beach Volleyball

HEALTHIER, STRONGER, HAPPIER

As a soccer player, I was constantly moving and pushing my body to new limits. Eventually, I reached those limits and pulled both hamstrings, along with multiple ankle sprains. I have been working with Arttu for about 3 years, originally to help strengthen my hamstrings. I was 18 at the time and thought fitness was only about how much weight you could lift or having strict diets. Through my work with Arttu, I have learned that fitness isn’t just about weights but about building a healthy mindset and learning more about what my body needs in my day-to-day life.

As a young woman, there are so many different topics that I need to start taking into consideration when looking at my overall health. We talk a lot about stress, nutrition, weight, body image and yes even my menstrual cycle. Managing these topics are important to understand as they can affect people in different ways. With Arttu’s guidance, I have learned a lot about my mind and body, and what I needed to do in order to get through my more stressful days.

He strategically plans out my programming so that I don’t feel overwhelmed, which really helps me as I work through challenges associated with school. I have learned a lot in my time with Arttu and continue to learn as we work on different topics. As I exit college, I have a better idea about my overall health and fitness. Arttu has really cemented these ideas with me and over time I have felt happier and healthier.

Rachel Barrantes, 21 - Soccer

FROM ACL INJURY TO COMEBACK

I suffered a torn ACL at the age of 12 playing soccer, it was one of the most devastating things I have had to go through because it forced me out of soccer, my passion and my life.

I had some help from a physical therapist after the surgery and thought I would get back to playing soccer within a few short months. But 4 years after, I am now 16 years old my knee has still been hurting and getting in the way of soccer performance and my everyday activities. I stumbled across coach Arttu and asked him if he can help me fix my knee and get me back to my old self playing competitive soccer.

He first asked me about my life and not about my knee. I was a little confused what that had anything to do with improving the health of my knee. He was been the first person to connect a deeper meaning into performance, why recovery & improvement is not just achieved inside the gym. I thought it was only about what exercises I needed to do in order to heal my knee. I have not received any education in school on nutrition, sleep, managing my stress, on bowel movements and why water intake is so important for me. I have heard about all of them but never really understood if and how they might be effecting my health & performance. He has been the first person to start teaching me how they all connect with my knee rehabilitation, my health and goals of playing high level soccer.

7 months of working with coach Arttu my knee has never felt this good, I am stronger, going to bed earlier because I know what it does to me and starting to play soccer again without fearing of having pain in my knee. I am truly grateful that I found coach Arttu and for his guidance.

David Espinoza, 16 - Soccer

FITNESS AT ANY AGE

When I turned 60, I wanted help to improve my strength, flexibility, aerobic fitness and overall health. Although I had been an athlete in high school, I had not spent any significant time in a gym since then. I’ve had the very good fortune to work with Arttu consistently over the past year and have become a devoted fan. He has been a fantastic trainer and coach for me. He looks at where I’m at in my own journey and designs training that’s appropriate for my goals and current level of skill.

I particularly appreciate that Arttu focuses on progress over the long run rather than driving for short-term, more superficial results. This has enabled me to make significant improvements in my health and fitness without hurting myself or burning out. He gives me just the right degree of support and challenge to keep things interesting.

Additionally, Arttu is an encyclopedia of physiology and nutrition knowledge. He provides lots of useful information about food, sleep, how my body responds to stress, and how best to adjust my behaviors in order to improve the quality of my life.

I wholeheartedly recommend Arttu to anyone who is searching for a knowledgeable trainer and coach who really looks at where you are and creates a personalized program that addresses your specific goals.

Tim Schaaff, 60

FINDING BALANCE AND STRENGTH

I came to Arttu with 5-6 years of experience in Crossfit group classes. I was looking to restore hormonal balance after a long history of restrictive dieting and to build some foundational strength that I felt was lacking despite the number of years I participated in group fitness.

We immediately dove into my lifestyle behaviors and my history with food and exercise. He listened to my story and honored my experiences. I noticed how he really took our conversation and what he discovered in my assessment into account when prescribing my individualized program.

Over the past two years, Arttu has helped me regain hormonal balance and take control of my health. We addressed all aspects of hormonal health including movement, nutrition, sleep, stress, and even lab work. Because of Arttu, for the first time in 5+ years, I have a normal, natural menstrual cycle!

Arttu has helped me shift my perspective on health and fitness to one of longevity, enjoyment, and balance. He’s inspired feelings of strength and confidence that go far beyond the gym. His programming truly evolved with me as I grew and as my goals changed. Not only did he address my movement, but we also unpacked potential barriers to having great energy, focus, and recovery throughout the day. He even guided me towards identifying and realizing my career as a professional fitness coach. I would highly recommend Arttu to everyone.

Jillian Chacon, 26

FROM BEGINNER TO OBSTACLE RACER

Trusting Arttu to be objective, honest, and caring has been one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my health. I cannot recommend him strongly enough.

I was never a very active person, barely able to run a mile. When I signed up for a 13 mile Spartan obstacle race with some friends, I knew I’d need help. I met Arttu with 10 months to prepare for the race and three simple goals: be able to finish the race, be able to help my friends, and finish better-than-last among my friends.

I did that race and crushed every one of my goals, plus completing more obstacles than I’d ever imagined possible, while having lots of fun with my friends. In the 3 years since then I’ve done over a dozen more races while Arttu taught me all kinds of movements -- whole body, specialized isolation, injury prevention, and specific rehab -- all with nutrition and lifestyle advice to support my goals.

When first getting to know each other I took the leap to trust him completely -- to evaluate my body composition and mechanics, make a realistic plan, and take my feedback along the way. It was a little frustrating at first as Arttu literally made sure I could walk before I tried to run. But, since I was trusting him, and the process he built, I kept at it. The initial nutrition components were simple: just keep track. No restrictions, no macros, just observing.

Training progress was very sustainable: I never felt burned out, I always wanted more. Arttu was able to temper my desire to push with realism to help me stay healthy. Best of all, he was teaching me from his vast background at every step. Arttu doesn’t just teach how to do specific exercises, but why I was doing them and how they were going to help me reach my goals.

Nutrition progress was similarly sustainable. Arttu took the needs of my individual body, my family and lifestyle, and my habits & tastes into account. Arttu didn’t prescribe meal plans, he taught me how to listen to my body and use food to fuel it while maintaining my health. When I had questions he was always there to truly listen and answer “why” first, and then “how”.

Dave Gadling, 40

FITNESS WITH PURPOSE

When I came to Arttu two years ago, I was looking for more structure around my approach to fitness . Although I had two separate gym memberships at the time — one close to work and one close to home -- I was training with neither purposes nor consistency. In other words, I didn’t truly understand why I was going to the gym, so it’s easy to find excuses for not going. I also have a very demanding job so time is of essence.

During our initial consultative conversations, the first thing Coach Arttu told me was not how many times I needed to train a week or how much cardio I needed to do. It is consistency: regardless of my goals, Arttu made sure we built a sustainable process around it. He also took the time to understand what I was trying to achieve (eg. “Why do you want to deadlift 300lbs?) and gave me a lot of clarity. I immediately knew I found the right fit.

Since I started with training with Arttu, I’ve been able to make training a foundational part of my daily life. There were times back in college when I spent more time training, but I’ve achieved more with less time: feel better and lift more. Arttu doesn’t just make training plans; he also invests in the growth of me as we navigate the ups and downs of my fitness journey. There were times when I failed to show up on time or cut my workout short, and Arttu always tries to proactively communicate and more importantly, go one layer deeper and understand why I was having issues.

Most important, Arttu is a good human, who I could trust to always have my best interest. He knows fitness & nutrition inside out, works hard and trusts the process, qualities of a great coach. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

Casber Wang, 27

TRAINING FOR LIFE AND GAMING

Training with Arttu has been one of the best components of my adult life. As a lifetime gamer and part-time streamer, I owe much of my fulfillment and accomplishment over the past few years to how my body has supported my work, lifestyle, and hobbies.

Being a gamer has been known as the opposite of being an athlete, at least from a stereotypical viewpoint. However, due to the understanding I’ve developed of movement, taking care of my body, recovery, and prioritizing mobility in the gym to compensate for long hours of sitting and gaming, my world has been changed by the perspective gained under Arttu’s training.

Take into consideration food. Gamers are seen as processed food grazers that disregard their physical wellbeing. That stereotype has a grain of truth to it, in that gamers often don’t see themselves as needing healthy foods to sustain their long hours of gaming. Arttu has taught me that having a healthy nutrition plan with a well-designed exercise regiment has made me a better gamer, and given me the sustained mental acuity to perform as a livestream entertainer with constant high energy. He even helped me prepare for a 24 hour stream, explaining the costs of sacrificing sleep in such a way and developing strategies for food to sustain me all 24 hours, plus how to course-correct my body’s natural rhythm after such a sleep deficit.

While I wouldn’t recommend a 24 hour stream (it takes quite a toll!) I am grateful to have had Arttu’s guidance on how to recover from such a feat, and encourage all gamers to take seriously the food they eat and how physical exercise can make them a better gamer.

Ryan Sicotte, 27

FIT AND STRONG AT 40+

I have had the privilege to work with Arttu for the last year and half. I have always been athletic, exercised and taken care of my body. I also had a decent amount of overuse injuries stemming from what I would define now as an unbalanced approach to fitness. From the onset Arttu worked with me to identify my goals, limitations, and expectations around what fitness, physique and performance should look like in my mid-forties. This included addressing the whole body (mental and physical). Most importantly he worked with me to trust the process and to realize my potential.

I couldn't be happier with my results. I feel as fit as I did twenty years ago. I am able to alpine ski all day and rarely get sore, I am able to hike for hours without getting tired and have strength that I never imagined possible for someone at my age. Thank you Arttu for the journey. It has been a pleasure and one road I am glad I traveled. Looking forward to my next set of successes!

Garrett Dunwoody, 43

arttu@themovementlinks.com
Instagram