Two muscular Dallas entrepreneurs are for hire to help those disappointed by the onceover-lightly assistance of a health club or the uncertainties of do-it-yourself fitness training. Bodybuilding professionals Larry North and Doug Murphy are the first to offer Dallas-ites a service increasingly popular with the rich, famous and upwardly supple elsewhere-the individual attention of a personal trainer.
Having your own fitness “coach,” according to North and Murphy, ensures convenience, correct and sufficient training, guidance on diet and other fitness areas and, most of all, motivation. “The most important thing we stress is attitude, the desire,” North says. Whether you want to tone and trim, lose weight or become another Arnold Schwarzenegger, Murphy and North can help get you there.
North, from Long Island, is an eight-year resident of Dallas. Murphy came here from Chicago six years ago. After obtaining degrees in physical education, the two 24-year-olds were inspired to turn their avocation into a vocation by the example of fitness trainer Jake Steinfield, founder of Body by Jake in California. Steinfield was the first such personal trainer to achieve notoriety and success, sculpting the bodies of such famous personalities as Morgan Fairchild and Steven Spielberg.
The expertise and attention of a personal trainer are no longer reserved for movie stars and athletes. Though the cost of the twice- or thrice-weekly training session averages around $50, Murphy/North Personalized Fitness Training’s clients include students, housewives, artists and doctors (in addition to a multimillionaire).
North and Murphy are well-equipped to understand this desire. Both have weight trained since they were high school athletes, first meeting at the Austin Gym in Dallas. They became highly competitive professionally in the sport, and Murphy is fast becoming a man to watch on the professional bodybuilding circuit. He currently holds a Mr. Texas title, was this year’s Lone Star Classic heavyweight champion and will compete in next year’s Mr. America contest. In addition to bodybuilding achievements, North also competes in karate, training in Dallas with world and national champions.
Having champions as personal trainers is more than a bragging point for clients, North says. “If you train with the best, you’re going to look that much better,” he says. “We’re the best at what we do.” With the insights of their personal experience and college degrees in physical education, North and Murphy offer clients a one-two punch that’s hard to beat. They insist on hard work, but can offer short-cuts to maximum results gleaned from seven years as professional trainers.
Don’t be put off by these guys’ muscular prowess-you won’t get bulging pecs or lats unless that’s your goal. Fitness programs are designed to fit the needs of the client like Spandex and can include aerobic training, weights or other equipment.
Convenience is the main attraction for many who hire a personal trainer. Murphy and North meet clients wherever the client can best work out-in their homes, at a country club, spa or gym-anytime between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. for sessions that last on the average an hour and a quarter.
The partners do more than build muscles: They learn about their clients’ personal lives, health histories and long-range goals. “We care. We put our hearts into it,” North says. “The workouts become fun for them and us.” If a client doesn’t get results, he adds, they would consider it their failure as well.
Such a failure, though, is purely hypothetical at this point. By the time someone calls for their service, North says, they’re already gung-ho on the idea of getting in shape. Of the 50 or more clients who’ve engaged their services since last February, North says almost all have remained on the fitness programs designed for them. Eventually, clients learn enough to continue programs on their own with periodic follow-ups.
Murphy and North offer a free consultation and first workout to anyone interested in their service, which is conducted without a contract on a session-to-session or monthly billing basis. Murphy/North Personalized Fitness Training can be reached by calling (214) 691-5784.
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