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Joe Arko

Name: Joe Arko

Specialty: Body Transformation
Certifications: Sports Performance Institute Masters Certified, Assess Correct Train Certified
Home Gym, city and province: Elite Performance Center, Burlington Ontario
Training style: Functional Movement, Functional Conditioning, varies dependant on client and goals.

Why did you become a personal trainer? 

My passion for training starting when I was in High School and needed to put on some muscle for Hockey.  I spent my first year reading everything I could about body building and nutrition and hit the gym 6 days a week.  Looking back my knowledge on training and nutrition humors me now, but I realize my drive and dedication allowed me to get results and I continued to fill my toolbox with knowledge.  My passion spilled over into a job at a local gym putting weights away and opening and closing the facility.  After 6 months there I desperately wanted to be a trainer and decided an education was more important than my love for hockey.  I decided to go to York University and study Human Kinetics and my love for Personal Training was born!  My first job was in Ottawa as a Personal Trainer for Goodlife where I later became a PT Manager and then eventually left the big box gym industry for the private studio sector and now into my own facility.

What do you think is the reason your clients gravitated to you?

Clients gravitate to me for a couple of reasons.  For starters most initially come for the education and results.  I'd say 90% of my business is word of mouth and when I produce great results from my clients ranging from UFC fighters, competitors, pro athletes, weekend warriors or stay at home mom's.....clients start to gravitate pretty quickly!.  Secondly, clients realize within our first initial meeting that I have a passion for what I do and my heart is poured into my career.  My business, the Elite Performance Center, is my life, my dream, my passion and the moment people walk into the club they can feel that.  Lastly I bring a very different style of training and nutrition to the table than most trainers do.  I work very closely with a team of people that aid in my clients results and I've adopted a "Project Manager to Your Results" approach with my clients.  From utilizing sports psychologist, naturopaths and a full rehab clinic, I take a very comprehensive approach to designing programs and training my clients.

Greatest client success story.

My greatest success story doesn't come from any of my pro athletes but rather an old client of mine named Scott.  Scott came to me weighing nearly 300 pounds, ate a diet consisting of fast food, take out and hungry man dinners.  Scott wasn't active, depressed, and was struggling.  Within a year Scott transformed not only his body but his life completely.  Getting Scott under 200 pounds, detoxing his body, seeing him able to participate in sports and various activities and seeing him regain control over his life has been to this day one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and one of the proudest moments of my training career. 

Why do you think you can rep BSN like a boss? What do you love about the brand? 

BSN's motto is to "Push your performance past previous barriers"...and that's just what I do!  Myself and the Elite Performance Center is NOT about taking in the Elite...it's about CREATING the elite.  Having the ability to use great BSN products allows me to have another great weapon in my pocket.  The brand has a great spectrum of products from pre-workout, intra-workout, post workout, muscle recovery and essential oils making it easier to forge training and nutrition together with great supplementation.

Why should YOU be Canada’s Top trainer? 

For the last 16 years of my life I have done only ONE thing....and that's train and transform people.  I have made the fitness industry my passion and in doing so people realize that when they train with me, they receive the same level of passion poured into them.  The level of personal growth I've experience in the last decade and a half has been nothing short of shocking and at the same time humbling for me.  From a newbie trainer at Goodlife reading Flex Magazine for ideas and tips, to learning hands on from some the great leaders in our field such as Charles Poliquin, Ken Kinakin, Peter Twist and dozens of others, to now having my own Nationally recognized training facility training pro athletes, writing monthly for major magazines, two TV shows, my own certification program and speaking all over the globe from California, Vancouver, PEI, Australia and many other great cities and countries.  I believe I have what it takes to not only be Canada's Top Trainer, but to also inspire other trainers and educate them on how to be a true leader in this field and to allow them to recognize how much this industry has to offer them and their business!


What is your favourite BSN product and why? (200 words)

AminoX is my favorite BSN product.  I'm such a fan of utilizing BCAA's into the diet, especially when trying to lose fat and on a caloric restricted diet AND for those looking to put on size.  AminoX is a versatile product that can be taken between meals, right before workouts, during workouts and even after workouts to keep the body anabolic.  With its great taste and ability to mix easily, it's an easy product to provide to clients because I know they will like it!