Approved student perspective · Alexis D.
Strength, confidence, and learning how to train independently.
- Activity / goal
- Build strength and muscle while developing greater confidence and capability in the gym.
- Coaching focus
- Build strength and muscle while teaching the skills and reasoning needed to train with increasing independence.
- What changed
- Alexis describes gaining strength and muscle, developing a greater love of movement, and feeling more competent applying what she learned during independent gym sessions.
Dakota knows what he’s doing. He has been my trainer for over a year and my family says “I’m all muscle now!”
Not only has Dakota helped me build strength and muscle mass, he has inspired a love of movement and exploring what the body is capable of. Dakota is an experienced coach as well as educator. Outside of our 1:1 time, I feel competent to take what I learned from him and apply it in the gym safely and effectively. Working with Dakota has been a pleasure and you can trust that he will deliver the best program designed for you and your desired results.
— Alexis D., student
Approved student perspective · Brian C.
Returning to climbing with a stronger foundation.
- Activity / goal
- Return to climbing after stepping away on the advice of his physical therapist.
- Starting context
- Brian describes bilateral elbow pain, limited overhead mobility, and concern that he might need several months away from climbing.
- Coaching focus
- Build broader strength, mobility, and coordination while gradually rebuilding climbing exposure after appropriate professional guidance.
- What changed
- Brian reports returning to 5.9 climbing by the end of week three, indoor 5.11–5.12 climbing by week six, and outdoor climbing later in the season.
I started training with Dakota after my physical therapist advised me to take a break from climbing and address some overuse issues. I was dealing with significant pain in both elbows, limited overhead mobility, and honestly thought I might be off the wall for several months.
What stood out to me was that Dakota didn’t just focus on my elbows. He built the program around developing strength, mobility, and coordination throughout the rest of my body so I could return to climbing with a better overall foundation.
After about three weeks of following the program, I felt ready to start climbing again. By the end of week three I was back on 5.9s, and by week six I was climbing indoor 5.11s and 5.12s again. That eventually carried into a lot of outdoor climbing toward the end of the season.
More than anything, I appreciated that Dakota helped me recognize the physical qualities I still had while we worked on the ones that needed attention. At a point when I felt incapable of continuing something I love, he helped me build realistic confidence and a sense that there was a way forward.
— Brian C., climber
Approved student perspective · Bennett H.
Rebuilding the confidence to climb again.
- Activity / goal
- Return to climbing after biceps surgery and completion of physical therapy.
- Starting context
- Bennett describes having regained elbow range of motion and basic function through PT while still feeling physically fragile and unsure about returning to climbing.
- Coaching focus
- Progress from mobility, shoulder control, and off-wall climbing positions into more substantial strength work, then integrate climbing once it was being tolerated.
- What changed
- Bennett describes gradually returning to climbing and ultimately getting back outside at the Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, and other southeastern climbing areas.
I hired Dakota after rupturing my biceps, having surgery, and completing physical therapy. PT helped me regain range of motion and basic function in my elbow, but I still felt too brittle to start climbing again. When I tried, pain held me back and it stopped being enjoyable. I felt like I was losing access to the thing that keeps me young.
What surprised me was how effective the training felt without ever feeling like we were doing too much. During the first couple of weeks, we focused heavily on mobility, shoulder control, and practicing climbing positions and movement patterns off the wall. Around week three, we began training strength much more seriously.
I started feeling so good that I began climbing again without telling anyone. I would sneak into the gym when I knew Dakota wasn’t there and start with 5.7s. When he eventually found out, and saw that I was tolerating it well, he didn’t tell me to stop. Instead, he started incorporating climbing into certain training days and gave me enough appropriate volume on recovery days to keep me sane without turning every day into a test.
Today I’m back climbing at the Red River Gorge, the New River Gorge, and many of the other southeastern places I love. More than anything, Dakota gave me guidance, structure, and the confidence to trust my body again and return to something that means a great deal to me.
— Bennett H., climber
Approved student perspective · S.J.
Strength goals, known limitations, and a more integrated approach.
- Activity / goal
- Build toward personal strength goals.
- Starting context
- S.J. came to coaching with known injuries and pain points that affected exercise selection.
- Coaching priorities
- Refine movements around those known limitations and organize training around how the body works together.
- What changed
- S.J. describes the coaching as impactful and says the method helped the body move as an integrated unit rather than isolated parts.
“Working with Dakota has been impactful for my strength goals. He refined exercises around injuries and pain points, and his method helped my body move as an integrated unit instead of isolated parts.”— S.J., student
Individual experiences vary. Student accounts describe their own experiences and are not guarantees of specific results. Fitness coaching does not diagnose, treat, or replace medical care. For Brian and Bennett, surgery, physical therapy, and other medical care happened outside Dakota’s role.
