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Columbia Association's own Darrell Gough is truly a fitness master.
He is a group fitness instructor, martial artist, and one of CA’s professional class of personal trainers. His journey into physical fitness began at a young age.
Just seeing my father and how active he was I mean he was really motivational because he wanted his boys to be really active and do the sports that he did.
The earliest memories of my father in baltimore were him doing pull ups, chin ups, all different assortments of push ups, and a set before he would go to bed at night. He originally tooks us to the YMCA
when we were younger, but then we moved out here to Columbia and we started to go to Columbia Association.
Growing up Gough idolized karate legend, Bruce Lee. Lee was the epitome of strength, power, and fitness to Darrell. That is what made him study different styles of martial arts.
It really gave me a real good foundation. I tell anybody in terms of your kids, if you're going to get them into any type of programs, to get them in martial arts programs.
The flexibility, the different body weight calisthenics that they can do with that, just learning the actual forms to because with the movement of the forms, they actually condition your body too. It’s just an overall body conditioning benefit from the martial arts.
My martial arts background, I originally started in a shernaroo and a little woshoo from my cousin when I was younger training in Baltimore at the rec center. Then I started studying a system called Tien Shen Pai - its a kung fu system.
Kenpo Karate, Jujitsu when I was younger, I do a lot of break forms in basic training, and people are always like where did he learn that from?!
Wing Chun Kung fu, which is a female based system, and Jow Ga Kung fu, which will be my last major system, I absolutely love that.
Darrell joined the Columbia Association family as a camp counselor in his teenage years. He not only talks the talk, but he walks the walk as well.
And that is what makes him such a great personal trainer. He is an advocate in helping people make positive changes in their lives and become fit and healthy.
A good personal trainer needs to live what they do. I really feel like it’s hypocritical for a personal trainer to actually have someone do something or to have someone tell you,
you need to eat right and they are not eating right as well. I am a real stickler for that and that actually motivates me to step my bar up as a personal trainer.
The most important thing for the people that I train is to definitely have a vision, know that you can make that change, change is difficult, but you gotta get out of that comfort zone.
If you give yourself a month to 6 weeks to see that first initial change, through assessments whether you're taking circumference measurements or your weight, you will definitely see a change,
but it is difficult- whether its the nutrition or the actual weight training, change is difficult.
Darrell’s love for CA and helping people reach their fitness goals is one of the main reasons he still enjoys his job today. It is a great to know that he calls Columbia Association home.
What I enjoy about my job is I love the interaction with the people, my co-workers are awesome,so that’s another thing too. It’s just great overall!