Meet The Team: Dave Engen

Background:
I am a Personal Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach working as Reach Fitness SF, and helped Rachel conceptualize and actualize Aim Fitness as a venue in the summer of 2006. We joined forces to establish a no-nonsense training gym and sport-specific fitness center where we could both work more efficiently towards attaining health and fitness goals for ourselves and our clients, but that would also allow us to reach out to a greater audience and spread the good word.

I grew up in the concrete jungle of Sao Paulo, Brasil, and enjoyed being physically active with outdoor activities as well as organized sports. In my formative years I benefited from healthy-living tenets passed on from my parents and kept busy with lots of beach activities, backpacking/camping, spelunking, snorkeling, whitewater kayaking/rafting, rock-climbing, and swimming, gymnastics, diving off of ocean side cliffs, climbing up sides of buildings and learning some rough-and-tumble with jiu-jitsu. High school was characterized by weeklong backpacking trips in the Mata Atlantica and survival campouts I was on the ultimate Frisbee team and later went to nationals with the Tufts University club team. I played club soccer in college and after moving to San Francisco in 2000 coached a U-12 kids soccer team to number one statewide ranking. I also played semi-pro soccer for a short time until a knee injury sidelined me and got me into sports with less contact. After spending a lot of rehab time on spinners and my mountain bike, I bought a road bike in 2003 to keep from having to commute by car, and then upgraded two years later when I found I enjoyed longer and more challenging rides. In August of 2006 Rachel bought me the entry to my first triathlon as a birthday gift (Treasure Island in November) and with less than two months to prepare my body hurt but bounced back, and I enjoyed the experience enough to cram several more into an already packed work schedule. You could say I like the challenge, but that is how addiction is born (the first one is free!!!).

Philosphy:
My training system involves constructing a guided discovery of the mysteries of physiology and the untangling of lifestyle variables to streamline the journey to better health, wellness, and fitness. I firmly believe that a strong body and mind stem from a solid foundation of nutrition, sleep, and healthy physical and mental activity. Balanced posture and a stable core prepare your body for the rigors of everyday life but also to train for activity-specific fitness, and this happens with ease and efficiency once that foundation is established.

My experience as an athlete and coach, personally recovering from and helping others with injuries, and working to live a healthy lifestyle have offered me exposure to many health professionals and modalities that help shape the holistic approach I now use with my clients. I enjoy working with and motivating people who are ready to consciously explore and challenge the limitations of their physical being regardless of their goals. My degree in Human Factors Engineering (which blends Mechanical Engineering, Cognitive and Experimental Psychology, Biomechanics and Anthropometrics into product and process design) allows me to apply a scientific methodology to creating applicable programs and having tremendous success with my clients.