Team Extreme X-Training is a fully mobile, personal training service that caters to individuals who need extra support in their journey to physical fitness and overall wellness.
Laura Ciliotta of Islip Terrace, Team Extreme’s owner, notes that one of the struggles their extra support members face is one just about anyone can relate to- being physically inactive, which if allowed to persist, can eventually lead to numerous health problems, she said.
“What we do is we have compassionate personal trainers who will go to our clients’ homes. We have adaptive workouts designed for each person's specific abilities,” she said. “We offer a one-hour personal training exercise session in someone's home, or their yard, or even at a local park, and we make it fun. This is totally one-on-one, 100 percent attention.”
Team Extreme’s personal trainers bring all equipment needed for the workout, and everything is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized between each training session. In addition, anyone still leery about COVID-19 need not fear; Team Extreme’s personal trainers are vaccinated and adhere to all established protocols when it comes to personal protection equipment (PPE) and cleaning guidelines. They're all also CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) approved.
“We instill body strengthening to get people back on track to moving,” Ciliotta said. “COVID did a lot of damage, and many families are calling me to say ‘HELP! My kid put on 20 lbs.’Wefigure out what they like to do, and incorporate that into a program that they'll want to stick with.”
Ciliotta recently celebrated a significant milestone in her career: her one-year anniversary doing personal training full-time. Before that, she had worked for 14 years in corporate America, and towards the end of her tenure at her old company she had begun doing personal training in the evenings, inspired to do so by a client at a gym that she was previously a partner at.
“A friend of mine at the gym was part of an agency that serves extra support needs families, and she suggested one night that I work with some of the families that she helps. I decided to give it a try,” she said. “It was like I had been shot in the heart. I loved it. It was incredible! I started doing it at night while still working a full-time job during the day. It was difficult mixing all of that in while still getting in my own workouts.”
However, Ciliotta persevered for love of this new discovery she had made. But a complication would soon arise that would force her to eventually make a significant life choice: the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When COVID hit, I found myself at home. So I started taking on more PT clients and thought to myself, ‘I could do this full time.’ When my company finally called me up and said it was time to come back last July, I gave them my two weeks notice,” she said. “They were like, ‘what? After being here 14 years, are you sure?’ But I knew it was the right decision. When I walk into my clients homes, the kids run up to me and give me hugs, and their smiles…they're always so happy to see me.”
After going full-time last year, Ciliotta said that she started getting more clients than she could handle; clearly, there was a very real need for her talents, and so she took on several other trainers and expanded the scope of Team Extreme’s services.
“What I realized was that this was a very underserved segment of the population. I reached out to other trainers, asking them if they wanted to work with me,” she said. “We make it fun and easy, but it's not always easy for us...some of our clients can't walk. Some of them are in wheelchairs. Some of them have scoliosis and can't even stand up straight or have issues that prevent them from being able to focus. We need to have creative, adaptive exercise programs so our clients may have the best possible workout”.
One amenity that Ciliotta has for her clientele is a high-end Fit 3D Body Scanner, which is capable of taking over 300 accurate body measurements, in addition to ascertaining an individual's weight, fat percentage, body composition, posture, and much more…all in a matter of seconds. It's an important tool that can generate an incredibly accurate report that you can then send to a doctor, chiropractor or trainer, Ciliotta said, and she offers much cheaper access to it than most other establishments do.
In addition, Ciliotta’s trainers have a great deal of workout gear which they bring to a training session, but sometimes just the basics will do; in fact, she says, sometimes a good workout doesn’t require any equipment at all!
“You can do just about any exercise with no equipment,” she said. “Sometimes you don't really need a lot of equipment, just your own body weight can be a great workout!”
At the end of the day, Ciliotta said that she feels a great deal of satisfaction at having finally left the rat race behind and embracing an incredibly rewarding new career where she helps endearing individuals to make the most of what they have.
“I don't call it a job. I don't feel like I go to work every day. I chose the trainers that I have working with me because they have that same passion, and they absolutely love doing this as much as I do,” she said. “The families are great, the kids are inspiring, it just really makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.”
“I have one client that I've been working with several times a week, and he previously needed leg braces. He no longer wears braces and he can walk around on his own, go up stairs, and even jump rope,” Ciliotta continued. “That makes me feel so good…we help clients to build coordination, balance, and strength, which helps them be safe. These are things that a lot of people take for granted, but can really change someones life. And there's no better feeling than that.”
Team Extreme serves Suffolk and Nassau County (both North and South Shores), Queens and, very soon, Staten Island!
To find out more about Team Extreme X-Training, please call 917-771-7389 or visit https://www.teamextremextraining.com. Also be sure to join their Facebook page.