You’ve read the articles, watched the videos, and done the workouts – now meet the coaches. These coaches are the best in the world at what they do. We count ourselves very lucky that we get to interact with such inspirational and passionate people on a daily basis.
We’ve gotten to know them pretty well, and have put this together so you can get to know them a little better too. These are real coaches, doing real work out there, sharing real knowledge with you.
Coaches
Amber Lee – When technical specialist meets movement instructor, you get Amber Lee. When she is not furthering her knowledge of movement, you can find her researching fitness software and gadgets.
Andrew Read – As a Master RKC, Andrew has a wealth of experience not only in kettlebells, but also in martial arts and endurance training. He combines this with a passion for performance and writes with a deep knowledge on these topics.
Becca Borawski – Becca is Managing Editor of Breaking Muscle, and as you would expect, she has a fitness resume to match. Starting in martial arts and progressing through CrossFit, Becca’s passion now lies in educating coaches.
Ben Musholt – Ben is a licensed physical therapist with a diverse movement background including board sports, martial arts, and gymnastics. These days he is a parkour athlete and coach who likes to have fun and help others to move better.
Bethany Eanes – With a childhood nickname of “Taz,” you can bet that Bethany is full of energy. She now channels that energy into an athletic-inspired yoga style, and extols the virtues of good rest and recovery.
Bob Takano – Bob needs little introduction as one of the most respected Olympic weightlifting coaches in America. He provides advice on all things weightlifting, in particular technique and coaching considerations.
Brooke Thomas – Largely through overcoming numerous personal challenges, Brooke has become particularly knowledgeable about rehabilitating the body. She is dedicated to liberating bodies from chronic pain, mobility issues, and subpar performance.
Chet Morjaria – Chet is a strength coach who uses a combination of Olympic weightlifting, strongman, and powerlifting principles to help people achieve their goals. He writes on all things strength and also puts together our strongman workouts.
Doug Dupont – Doug’s experience ranges from martial arts through powerlifting to fitness business management. This helps him to provide commentary for us on the complete spectrum of health and fitness news and reviews, along with programming our MMA & BJJ workouts.
Dresdin Archibald – As an Olympic weightlifting historian, referee, and athlete, Dresdin provides a unique perspective on the world of weightlifting.
Dusty Hyland – As a high level gymnast from a young age, Dusty is the proud owner of an NCAA record perfect 10 on the still rings. Today he works with all athletes, from your everyday joe to elite CrossFitters, athletes, and teams.
Eric C. Stevens – With a background in fitness and the martial arts, Eric enjoys fusing together martial arts concepts and fitness conditioning. He also likes to add sports psychology principles to the mix.
Jeff Barnett – A former U.S. Marine, Jeff now sits on the news team, and particularly enjoys reporting on fitness, nutrition, and leadership. Jeff also owns his own CrossFit affiliate.
Jeff Kuhland – If you want to find Jeff, he’s probably outdoors adventure racing, kayaking, wakebording, or engaging in other such extreme sports. Otherwise you’ll find him writing about corrective exercise and outdoor fitness.
John Annillo – John is a fitness professional and a hard-working firefighter. He combines the two to write from a first-hand perspective about fitness for the military and first-responders.
Julie Rader – Julie realized the potential of yoga and meditation to enhance sports performance as a teenager. Since then she has traveled the world to learn more, and now uses yoga and visualization to help professional athletes reach their full potential.
Katherine Derbyshire – Katherine combines her training as an engineer, her vocation as a writer, and her background in martial arts to explain scientific and fitness issues to all as part of our news team.
Katie Chasey – Katie specializes in Olympic lifting, the Russian kettlebell, and strength, speed, and agility training. As a coach, programmer, and instructor, Katie writes on a range of strength and conditioning issues.
Logan Christopher – Logan is a physical culture Renaissance man, with a particular affinity for kettlebells, bodyweight skills, and strongman. He also knows his stuff on hand balancing and acrobatics.
Megan Clements – Megan played every sport on offer as a child and teenager, so it’s not a surprise that she describes her first walk into a CrossFit box as “love at first sight.” Megan is now centered on nutrition.
Michelle Baumann – Having competed in many cycling events, Michelle is now most passionate about bringing people up to speed about CrossFit and the world of functional fitness.
Nicole Crawford – Nicole is our Editorial Coordinator here at Breaking Muscle, and her main passion is helping women stay active and strong during and after pregnancy. She writes on women’s, family, and kids’ fitness and puts together our mommy workouts.
Orion Lee – Orion is a martial artist with two decades of varied experience, including sanda (Chinese kickboxing), muay Thai, and wushu. Orion has specialized in the art of muay Thai for the past ten years and writes expertly on all these topics.
Pat McCarty – Pat is a CrossFit trainer, CrossFit Games veteran, and masters athlete. Pat provides insightful commentary using his first hand experience of competing on a world level.
Sally Arsenault – Sally’s passion lies in martial arts, specifically Brazilian jiu jitsu, and she is constantly researching training methods, supplements, nutrition, and gear, along with following leaders to learn their strategies to become a better athlete and fighter.
Samuel Spiegelman – Sam holds a degree in exercise science and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. He combines his knowledge of the two to provide BJJ practitioners with training information designed just for them and their sport.
Simon Kidd – Following a swimming pool accident around the age of forty, Simon took up competitive cycling. Since then he has qualified as a personal trainer, sports massage therapist, and cycling coach.
Tom Gannon – Tom has a head for business, logic, and fact-based decision making. As one of the owners of CrossFit Ireland, he uses these principles to drive the business forward, and creates videos for us along the way.
Tom Kelso – Tom is a highly qualified and well regarded strength and conditioning coach. He is a strong advocate of safe, practical, and time-efficient training and his writing reflects this. With this in mind, it’s no surprise he also puts together our mature athlete workouts.
Vanessa Bennington – Vanessa found her way into the health and fitness worlds through a unique combination of education, personal experience, and self-experimentation. She writes from this personal perspective for all to learn from.
Workout Coaches
Chris Lofland – Chris has been a competitive gymnast for over ten years, and believes everyone should do gymnastics at some point in their lives to develop body control and awareness. He currently puts together our gymnastics workouts.
Dini Leopoldo – After finding incredible personal results with kettlebells, Dini decided to make them her specialty. Striving for excellence in this field, she has obtained numerous prestigious certifications, becoming a leader in the field. She programs our kettlebell workouts.
Hannah Caldas – Hannah started CrossFit in the summer of 2011, and in 2012 competed in CrossFit at Regional level while simultaneously training and competing in swimming. Hannah is a world record holder and uses her experience to compile our frogman workouts.
Mindith Rahmat – Mindith is the founder of Breaking Muscle. She has a passion for health and wellness, and writes our women’s, bodyweight, and awake & evolve workouts.
Athlete Journals
Allison Moyer – Allison is a nationally ranked figure athlete, internationally published fitness model, and an avid CrossFit athlete. Her passion is paleo nutrition and primal training, which she has structured for physique and elite athletes. This makes for interesting reading in her athlete journals.
Charles Staley – Charles is recognized as an authoritative coach and innovator in the field of human performance. He currently competes at the national and world level in weightlifting and powerlifting on the master’s circuit – and details all in his mature athlete journals.
Chris Duffin – Chris is strong. He is one of the top deadlifters and squatters in the world with a 801lb deadlift and 1008lb squat. He maintains single digit body fat year round, and engages in the occasional endurance event or strength and conditioning feat. You need to read his athlete journals!
