DiG Fitness HQ

My first job as a trainer and in less than 2 years, I climbed to the top.

Simple: The more certifications you had, the more you made per hour. After accumulating 2000 sessions with maxed out credentials, you became a "Master"

This was the peak of the Biggest Loser Show (before they got ousted for unrealistic treatment of contestants) and I started with zero clients.

I posted a before and after picture of myself, walked the gym floor every hour, got to know just about everyone that set foot in the doors of that gym.

Within a few months I was doing 30+ Sessions weekly. Within the first year, I had maxed out my credentials.. and while I was fast on my way to reaching my 2000 hours goal, I had already convinced the manager to give me a Master Trainer shirt and allow me to charge the higher rates.

At one point, I was forced to double down and service 2-3 clients per hour together to handle the demand. I set myself a schedule that I would train my 3/week clients on Mon/Wed/Fri and my 2x/clients on Tues/Thurs. Then on Saturday morning, ALL of my clients would show up to the gym to do a workout. I was there, just doing "office hours," but they all had something to do. I would walk into weight room floor watching over them.

One Saturday the sales manager saw my group and asked me what was going on. I told him, "these are all my people."

He replied, "I hate that. Wanna see my favorite people?"

He then took me into an office and opened a file cabinet. In there he pulled out a cardboard case with maybe 500 gym membership cards. "These are all people i sold prepaid 1-3 year memberships to. they never came to pick up their cards. Free Money."

I had already been planning my exit before that day, but after seeing this, I knew the corporate gym life wasn't for me.

I broke down a lot of walls in that gym.. both figuratively and literally (as shown by the broken med ball on my head)

And you know what? I a m glad I found out quickly that this wasnt a fit for me. I am glad I had the courage to risk leaving a secure environment to jump into my own self made career.

It worked out well!

I have always put the people who trust me first.

I always will.

Hey Community,

Just a friendly reminder that no matter where you are on your journey, it is absolutely the right place to be right now.

We often find ourselves starting a goal because we dislike our current situation. We arent pleased with our bodyweight or how we look in the mirror without a shirt on, or how out of breath you got playing basketball with your friends.

But the truth is, whatever you are feeling, its strong. Strong enough to motivate you to do better. And that is a good thing. A great thing that you can feel that strongly about something.

So please, try to see your journey through the eyes of positivity. The ups and downs, day in and day out. Its all for your betterment and you should absolutely love yourself every moment for pushing through and challenging yourself to be better.

Results can be earned 2 ways:

1) Through Personal Experience
or
2) Through Personal Guidance

When I began training to lose weight in 2004, things were not as available as they are today. I had trouble finding information on how to eat, what to do for workouts and how to eat after training.

I mean, it took me a month searching online to find someone who could sell me a Kettlebell.

(I saw one at the Dollar Tree Store the other day 😲😲)

So I began experimenting. Along the way I realized something:

I wanted to be the best Drummer, so I got a teacher. I sought out the best teachers at the best college I could get into and studied from their experiences.

So I hired a Coach. A coach who, through their experiences and education, gave me a more clear pathway to my goal of losing weight. As I began my pursuit into discovering strength, I found another coach. I have a coach for Jiujitsu and I currently have a coach who programs my strength and conditioning for me.

With what we have available to us today, compared to how it was when I began this journey, it almost feels like cheating.

But its not. In every aspect of life, we learn from those who did it before us.

And it is not a bad thing to take advantage of the resources you have.

That result you are digging for... You're the only one that can do the work to get it. But the guidance makes the process so much more efficient.

You don't want to waste your time.

Shoot me a message and I will listen to your wants and needs and see what we can do.

The commitment happens at the right time.

Chris and I have known each other through fitness for well of 20 years having met through old fitness forums on MySpace!

Now, a busy man with two careers, a wife and a little man, I am excited to be helping him explore the evolution of his body and establish new standards, habits and systems to give him what he needs right now.

I always get excited when a new person makes the commitment to themselves… but this one really has me thrilled!

Need help? No matter where you currently are on your fitness journey: Day one or 20 years in like Chris… having coach is something we all benefit from.

Shoot me a message and we can talk about what you need.

What have you done today to further your goals?

Sounds kind of cheese ball but really, when you are trying to figure out what path to take to make changes, it is typically going to be in a different direction that what you are currently doing.

That's because what you are currently doing, got you to today and if you're not happy with who you are right now, well, things need to change.

So, how do we identify what needs to be changed?

Self Audit.

When you list the good things you do for yourself within the category of Health, Wellness and Fitness, what's left tends to be the negotiables.

Here are a few of my recent efforts in discipline:
1) I recently gave up cream in my coffee

2) I Purchased Blue Blocker Glasses to wear while I am on the computer

3) Instead of eating horrible quality food at the venue of an event I went to last weekend, I planned ahead and visited a store and got myself big breakfast food. Each morning I ate food I Prepared before heading to the venue for 14 hrs. I brought with me the cleanest jerky I could find as well as a piece of fruit. My goal was to not indulge on any venue foods.

I was successful and the feeling of accomplishment and triumph feels much more rewarding than the temporary satisfaction I would have received from eating dry fried chicken fingers.

Now it's your turn. List a minimum of 1 thing you did this week outside your comfort zone to help pursue your desires in Fitness, Wellness and Health.

be as descriptive as you want!

I look forward to reading!

- Coach Johnny

It’s taken me a long time to realize that my purpose is not just to show people how to move well in the gym, but also to help them re-educate patterns in their lifestyle and self talk too.

Life gets really hard. Everyone’s value system is unique and determined through trial. What you find of the highest priority may differ from others.

Where I find most begin to suffer in health and wellness is when people forget to prioritize their own health.

And in conversation, it becomes easy to spot when this pattern has taken its hold.

“I can’t run because…”

“I can’t go to the gym because…”

“I can’t weigh my foods because…”

We all have obstacles. Some maneuver them better than others. Some parents feel overwhelmed and cannot get ahead of the daily tasks associated with child care. Some parents run marathons pushing their kids in a race stroller. Some ruck their kids up mountains.

We choose our level of challenge. But there is no such thing as a life without challenge.

Thinking life is better without challenge is a thought pattern that needs re-educating.

Life presents challenges that we rise to and grow from. The goal is to create and keep a baseline of self care, health and wellness while handling the more challenging times.

No more “I can’t because..”

You CAN because…. It’s important and you feel better when you take care of yourself. It gives you more energy and you need that energy for all the life you want to experience.

Yours in health,
Coach Johnny Di Gregorio

There have been some big changes around here, with a lot of new people jumping in, so I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself again:

I am Coach Johnny. I have been a personal trainer for 18 years.

I started my passion for fitness by changing my own lifestyle. I left my career as a professional musician (Drummer) to address my health. In a 2 year time frame, I was able to reduce my bodyweight from 470lbs down to 212lbs.

My obsession with "method" took me to the top tier as a musician and its that same obsessive nature that has made me the Coach I am today.

I have apprenticed under many of the best coaches in the world, forged my own path using the best of the best methods to help people live better and with the higher quality life they deserve to have.

I am blessed to have worked with thousands in my career.

A few interesting things about me:
- I am a Father of a wonderful 14 month old boy.
- In addition to coaching, I am also becoming a Certified Massage Therapist.
- I can cook one of the best steaks you've ever had.
- I have competed at high levels in CrossFit, Weightlifting and Brazilian Jiujitsu
- I have completed a marathon.
- I love Dragonball Z, but it is the only anime I have ever watched.
- I am extremely competitive.
- I enjoy Hot Saunas and Cold Plunges. I do them 2-3 times weekly.
- I have a long term goal to be the leanest, fittest and healthiest I have ever been by my 45th birthday. (I will be 41 in March)

I have another goal and it is to help 25 People make changes in their health, fitness, lifestyle by the end of the year.

25 doesn't sound like much, but the amount of work I do with my clients makes this a very audacious goal.

Personal Coaching in Pasadena
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Thanks for following this page. I will be posting often and I hope that if you find some value in what I talk about, it inspires you to ask questions and make efforts in personal investments towards better health.

I am always available if you need anything!

10000000% how in love I am with my job and those moments when a client comes in with Pep in their step and the weights look light.

I can already tell why they are this way.. but when they can see why? Oh man. They get the “love eyes” from Coach!

The greatest part about being a Coach is witnessing the evolution of personal care in the people I help.

Everyone has different goals and over time, each person’s goal evolves.

I have been working with Alfredo for almost 14 years.

His goals today are completely different than when he first walked in my gym all those years ago.

Now, as he charges towards his 50’s he has goals to be the healthiest he has ever been.

Body composition is better than ever and this weekend he is tackling a Half Marathon.

After this long working together, we know exactly how to communicate and celebrate his challenges and success.

** Please excuse the amount of Bro-ing down in this text thread **

Interested in Training with a World Class Coach?

Send us a message and we can discuss the details of your goals and needs.