Russ's Bio

Russ Erikson

My passion for fitness grew through my love of sports.  I was very active as a child and played many different organized sports.  Starting with soccer, hockey, and tee ball as a youth and football and track in high school.  I’m pretty sure there were a few years of basketball mixed in there as well.  Haha!

I have always held a passion for sports, both as a spectator and participant, but most enjoyed the active lifestyle myself. It was in high school, around the age of 14, that I started weight-training.  This was something I really come to enjoy and knew would be part of my routine for the rest of my life.  To this day, I still love the feeling of accomplishment physically and psychologically upon completing a workout.

After high school, I went on to participate in college athletics and played football at Bentley College (now Bentley University).  Weight training was required for everyone on the team.  This was fine with me since I had been doing it for 4 years already.  During these years I had the benefit of working out with other guys on the team, which was good for motivation, having a lifting-partner and for spotting purposes. We were fortunate to have an athletic trainer at Bentley that provided our training programs during and after the season.  After school, I moved home and quickly got a gym membership. I continued to work-out out consistently, but never really thought about becoming a personal trainer until a friend of mine told me about Ann Marie and Cutting Edge Fitness.  I met with Ann Marie at Cutting Edge Fitness 6 years ago when introduced me to this unique style of training.  She put me through my first high-intensity, slow-speed weight-training workout and I was hooked.  I started training with Ann Marie, and soon became a trainer at Cutting Edge, the rest, as they say, is history.

Some of the hobbies I enjoy are of course working out, skiing, and other recreational sports.  I've participated in many road races over the years including Reach the Beach, Samaritans Run, Smegs Legs, Jingle Bell Run, Santa Speedo Run, Boston Marathon 5K, and one Sprint Duathalon.  The races are fun and help keep me active outside of the gym.  I love personal training, connecting with clients and helping them achieve their goals, improve their fitness and lead a healthier life.

Through my experience as a fitness professional I refer to this quote to sum things up for those looking for motivation to start a fitness program, as I use it to motivate myself:

“If it is important to you, you will find a way.  If not, you will find an excuse"

Russ hails from Rockland, MA, which is about 25 minutes south of Boston, and now lives in South Boston.