“I have been weight lifting with Chris for over a year. I have developed more muscle than I ever thought possible with Chris’s expertise. Not only does he motivate me through my workouts, but he also makes sure my nutrition and supplementation are on track. Chris gives me the extra push I need to reach my fitness goals.”

Kelly Ferguson
National Figure Competitor
Ms Buffalo Figure 2009

“Like many people, I didn’t really think about my personal fitness when I was in my twenties. I am a vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean that I was a health nut. I lived on pasta, bread, frozen pizzas, Pop-Tarts and low-fat cookies until I finally learned how to cook in my late twenties. Dinner was sometimes just a package of glorified macaroni and cheese. Once my thirties rolled around, I was ready to do more for my health. I cut out processed foods, invested in many cookbooks, taught myself some things about nutrition, and started working out from home. In 2009, however, my home workouts just weren’t getting me anywhere, and I finally joined a gym.

My gym membership, of course, came with a few free personal training sessions. At first, I was assigned a female trainer; she, however, never returned my calls, and I became frustrated with her lack of professionalism. I finally went to the front desk to speak to someone about the issue, and as it turns out, the guy at the desk was Chris. I signed up for my free sessions with him instead, and today, I am very glad that original trainer didn’t call me back.

Working out with Chris over the last year and a half has helped me to fulfill fitness goals I would not have been able to achieve on my own. I have learned that my body is far stronger than I ever thought; when I started working with Chris, I couldn’t do squats with a 20-pound barbell. Just last week, I did them with 265-pounds on a Smith rack. I have also learned that it is, in fact, possible to build muscle on a vegetarian diet; Chris is unusual as a personal trainer in that he helps his clients create food plans that work for their lifestyle, fitness goals and beliefs. I have been able to remain dedicated to my vegetarian lifestyle while still meeting my fitness goals.

I cannot quantify the quality of Chris’s expertise with a total amount of weight lost – I started this process not to lose weight but to become strong and athletic, two things I’d never been before. But I can certainly testify to the patience, determination, understanding and knowledge Chris brings to every client he trains. After all, any trainer could’ve shown me how to do squats. But only Chris would create an individualized program just for me and my goals.”

Kristen Perillo
Blog: FollowingFit

“I’ve been training with Chris now for six months. When I first met Chris, I could never get my weight over 200 pounds. I was 190 pounds. Now I’m weighing in at a solid 207 pounds and am just getting bigger. I also could barely bench 225. Just the other day, I was repping 315 on the bench press.

Chris is a great trainer and person. He knows what he is doing and is very good at it. No matter what you are trying to accomplish in the gym, Chris will definitely help you reach and exceed your goal. Right now, we’re training for competitive bodybuilding, and like I said earlier, he’s helping me to get where I need to be quickly.

There’s nowhere but up when training with Chris! Chris hasn’t just helped me in the gym but also in life. Everything from the way I eat to the way I think to how I lift to my attitude toward everything that crosses my path. He’s really helped me accomplish my goals, in the gym and in life, that I have set for myself.

I know if you talk to anyone else who knows Chris, they will say the same thing. Thanks, man.

Sam McFarland

“My name is Rick Basher. I am 26 years old and work as a manager for a bank. I was in decent shape when I joined the gym and was just looking to get in better shape. I have spent many years going on and off diets and exercise plans. I usually have little to no success with any of them. I would always see quick results but nothing long lasting.

I had never considered personal training before joining the gym. I always thought that it was for really out of shape people that did not know how to work out. I figured that, since I had read Muscle and Fitness magazines, I knew exactly what to do to get in shape. Then my girlfriend and I both joined together, and she decided to take advantage of personal training. She started training with Chris, and she was immediately happy. She felt great and really felt like she was learning and being challenged each day.

So I decided to talk to Chris and see if he would do an orientation with me. I was really surprised at not only how knowledgeable Chris was but how down to earth and interested in my fitness he was. After the orientation, I decided to have Chris work with me full time as my trainer.

Immediately upon deciding to start personal training, Chris was really excited and felt very confident that I could reach my goals. Within the first few sessions, Chris had helped me with not only my nutrition but my workout strategies. He set up a day to day workout plan/guide and daily nutrition plan. He started monitoring my food log and workout logs to ensure that I was working properly towards meeting my goals. He has helped further my confidence in weight lifting and improved my overall form. His wealth of knowledge on diet and exercise is second to none. His background and experience also helps shed some light on why he had me doing certain things and what had worked for him in the past.

Chris is fantastic to workout with. He challenges me and knows my strengths and weaknesses. He is always positive and keeps me on track to meet my goals. He has also educated me in the proper supplements to take to help meet my goals.

In the first month working with Chris, I have lost over 25 pounds and inches off my waist. I have increased my strength ten fold and can see a noticeable difference in the way I look. I have more self confidence and feel better every day. Working with Chris was the best decision I could have made in my exercise career. I will continue to utilize Chris as a trainer and recommend him to anyone looking to start working out for the first time, get back into it after a break, or just looking to jump start through a plateau. So thank you, Chris, for getting me on the track of success!”

Rick Basher

“I joined Best Fitness in April of 2008. I was one of those people who had been a member of multiple fitness clubs in the area and never really utilized my membership. I swore to myself this time would be different. I started with what I thought was a ‘good’ workout routine that I had created from reading magazines and watching videos, then realized after a month this was not effective because I did not see any results. I felt just as fat and unhealthy as I did when I joined in April. I then remembered that, when I joined Best Fitness, I was to receive two complimentary personal training sessions with a trainer and thought to myself, ‘What could it hurt for the personal trainer to meet with me and actually give me a workout routine that would be more effective to help me reach my weight loss goals?’ I signed up at the front desk to have a personal trainer call me and schedule an appointment. A few days later, a trainer named Chris called me. When I spoke with him, he was so enthusiastic to meet with me and discuss my fitness goals.

On May 21st, I had my training session with Chris, and immediately, I could not believe how knowledgeable Chris was about fitness and nutrition. I was impressed. I thought, ‘Wow, I actually might be able to make my weight loss goal a reality.’ I completed my session with Chris and realized I would need a lot of help and more motivation to make those goals a reality. Chris mentioned to me that I could sign up for him to personally train me, and I thought this would be the best ‘investment’ that I could make for my health, so I did it. I signed up for 25 sessions of personal training.

I met with Chris three days a week, and during those training sessions, Chris would review my food log, coach me on how to eat properly, and show me how to effectively workout. He really took a personal interest in my goals. Chris was so knowledgeable that my training sessions with him started to payoff. I gradually saw the weight that I wanted to lose coming off, and I had never felt better. I met with Chris on my final appointment, and on top of the weight loss, I had lost inches everywhere and three percent body fat in a short period of time. I had never been so excited. It felt amazing, and to date, I have lost over 25 pounds. My training with Chris was so effective, I signed up for 45 more sessions!

My workout sessions with Chris have been so effective, and I cannot explain how thankful I am to have him as a personal trainer. His knowledge and enthusiasm cannot be matched, and as I said before, this was the best investment I have ever made!!!!!”

Kellie Davis
Age 27

“I started working out with Chris after I had been a member at a couple of other local gyms in WNY. I had always felt I got a good workout in and was in reasonable shape. I had been an athlete all my life and, having recently graduated from college, was looking to keep up with staying in shape. However, I could not seem to put on those extra few pounds of muscle that I had been looking for. Within the first few workouts with Chris, I knew that this would now be possible.

The workouts with Chris have proven to be some of the most challenging and rewarding workouts that I have ever done. I leave the gym really feeling like I had a strongly challenging workout. I have seen vast improvements in my strength over the few months that I have worked with Chris and am looking forward to the many more. I have also learned more exercises than I had previously ever known, and I know how to do them with the correct form. Chris has in addition helped me with a nutrition plan that has allowed me to add muscle weight. Since the start of our sessions, I have been able to add over 10 pounds of muscle and have seen results that I had never experienced before. I have made such a change that family and friends are starting to take notice that I am in better shape than ever. I can attribute this to the workout and nutrition program that has been set in place for me by Chris.”

Michael Paul

“My personal testimonial is that Chris Rombola is one of the best trainers around. He is professional, knowledgeable, and knows his profession well. You will have to drink a lot of protein shakes, but you will get results!! Chris makes it fun and very much worth your while! I would highly recommend him if you want to get in shape.”

Peggy Grenauer
Owner, Excuria Salon and Spa
Owner, The Salon Professional Academy

“I have never thought of myself as a fit and active person. When I decided to join the gym no one I knew actually believed that I would stick with it. Now at 31years old I am in the best shape of my life! I owe that to the expertise and knowledge I have learned from my trainer Chris Rombola.

When I began working out, I had no idea what I was doing. I was the girl who would make excuses to get out of gym class. I would never play softball with my friends, and I can’t even rollerskate. When I stared working out, I felt uneasy and out of place. I could barely lift a 5lb weight. I was very unsure of myself. Bottom line: I was a WIMP!! Then i decided I needed a personal trainer to help and teach me.

I knew that I wasn’t going to just choose any random trainer. I wanted someone who was not only highly qualified but someone who lived the lifestyle himself.  I found that in Chris.  Not only is he a certified personal trainer, he is a sports nutritionist as well.  So Chris understands the importance of finding the right combination of cardio, weight lifting, and eating healthy.  He sets a great example for us because he follows what he teaches.  Chris is very educated and will explain each exercise you are doing, an anatomical explanation of how it is working and what the end result will be.

Another great thing about training with Chris is that he treats each of us like a friend not a client. Chris will find a personalized workout to fit each individual.  He understands no two people are alike, and each person needs different things to progress, grow, and maintain. He takes our positives and negatives and builds from that. He is always up to date on our progress, but he is never pushy or over bearing.  Chris provides a fun, professional, and comfortable work out environment. Working out with Chris, I have found myself being pushed to a capability I never would have never thought I had. Chris is always positive and encouraging, and he really does want each of us to succeed.

From my training with Chris I have not only built a better me physically, but I have found a new confidence in myself. I lead a happier, healthier lifestyle. I am learning to step out of my norm and try new things.  I look at myself sometimes, and I can’t believe I have come this far. I know that there is more to come and plenty more to learn. One thing I do know is that I could not have done it without Chris. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about him. I am very thankful for the dedication he gives each and everyone of us, and I am truly grateful to not only call him my trainer but my friend.”

Melissa Gomez

“Chris has became my lifesaver, new friend, and inspiration. I have joined other gyms in the past, but none offered the same enthusiasm and care as Chris. I lost over 35 pounds in 4 months thanks to my trainer and won 2nd place in the Fitness 19 weight loss contest. The IPOD touch I won wasn’t my only reward; becoming healthier and fitting in my clothes was too!”

Mrs. Nicole Nnawuike

When I first met Chris, I was already a member at a different gym and worked with a personal trainer, that I really liked, two days a week. After working with this trainer for nine months, I wasn’t getting the results I wanted mainly because I kept asking for a nutrition plan that was promised to me when I signed the contract to join the gym, that no one was ever able to come up with.

I shared my frustration with a friend of mine who was training with Chris, and she told me that he could set me up with a nutrition plan to go along with my current weight training program. I agreed to meet with Chris, but I wasn’t going to let him talk me into switching over to his weight training program, because I did like my trainer, and the gym I belonged to was close to my house.

The day I walked into Fitness 19 and sat down with Chris Rombola has, over the past year, changed my life! He not only gave me a nutrition plan to follow, without even asking me to switch over to his program, he told me about his “Boot Camp” class that I just absolutely became addicted to. Soon after that day, I was already losing weight and getting the kind of exercise I needed to reach my goals. I began to see for myself how knowledgeable and truly dedicated Chris is to his clients, and I asked to switch over to his weight training program.

Not long after I started training with Chris, there was one time that I didn’t lose weight that week, so Chris was going over my food log. Now, I had been following Weight Watchers previous to Chris’ nutrition plan, and I had come up with the idea of combining the foods he told me to eat with the points system so that I could still cheat once in a while but still stay within my points. After he looked at my nicely typed log, he looked me straight in the eye and asked “Why aren’t you following my diet?” I didn’t know what to say and actually the whole reason I started out with Chris, was to get the correct nutrition, and here I was sabotaging myself. From that day on, I was more serious than ever to stick with the plan he gave me. He also made a comment that has stuck with me since that day. He told me that “Following this diet is a small price to pay to always feel sexy.”

Today, after working with Chris for a year, I have lost 35 pounds and have gone from a size 12 to a size 4. I no longer hate shopping for clothes, and I have achieved “feeling sexy” for the first time in my life. I have so much passion for this way of living that I read everything I can get my hands on and I intend on making it a career in the near future so that I can help others feel the way I feel today. Thank you Chris!

Shari Carlson