About Martha

After turning 48 years old and completing my 26th year as a registered dental hygienist, I decided that the time was "now or never" to pursue a longtime goal: becoming a certified personal trainer. I want to share my passion for health and fitness with others. Back in my late 20s when I made the commitment to myself to get in better shape, I started working out on a regular basis. I spent many hours in the gym, and with the guidance of personal trainers, I gained an increasing amount of knowledege about—and a great desire for—physical fitness. I spent much time learning and practicing proper form and technique while weight training. I witnessed how getting healthier and more fit changed my life. Not only did I see my physical self improve, but my sense of emotional wellbeing skyrocketed!

I want to share my experience and knowledge with my clients to help them change their lives. Being physically active becomes increasingly important as we age. If we don’t keep moving, we’ll eventually stop moving! In the U.S. population, obesity has become an epidemic in the past two decades. And even more frightening, childhood obesity is rapidly on the rise. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease are also rising dramatically. Overall, we are a sedentary society, and lack of physical activity is a significant contributor to the risk factors for many of the chronic diseases. Physical inactivity also contributes to much of the musculoskeletal pain that many people experience every day, such as: shoulder, knee, hip, neck, and lower-back pain.

Postural deficiencies are also a result of physical inactivity. So many illnesses and chronic diseases that we frequently seek medical help for can be greatly improved and even reversed if we make regular exercise part of our lifestyle.

Why NASM?

When I decided to pursue physical training as a career, I chose to get certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).This certification is considered the Gold Standard of personal training certifications. NASM’s credibility and wide acceptance among employers of personal trainers is largely due to the fact that its programs are strictly science based, and proven through many years of sports medicine research supported by leading institutes and universities. NASM delivers “...evidence-based solutions driven by excellence, innovation, and results.”

NASM developed the OPT or Optimum Performance Training model. This model of training progresses an individual through its different stages of stability, strength, and power. OPT is a systematic and integrated approach to helping any client reach any goal, all while addressing an individual’s structural imbalances and susceptibilities to injury.

What exactly is the OPT model?

The OPT model consists of five phases of training, split into the three levels of stabilization, strength, and power. What makes the OPT model unique among fitness programs is that it starts a client in the stabilization phase instead of jumping directly into the strength-building phase of training as most other programs do. The stabilization phase is the most important phase because it is the phase that establishes a client’s foundation upon which strength and power can be built. The stabilization phase focuses on endurance, stability of the joints, core strength, and posture. Before a client can work on building strength and power, they must first establish a strong core, correct posture, and remain stable while in motion. If the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that stabilize the joints of the body are not strengthened first, then the entire human kinetic chain is thrown out of balance. That is to say, the components of the human movement system—the nerves, muscular, and skeletal systems—will not work together properly, leading to poor posture, poor performance, and cumulative injuries.

Once a client has established a good foundation of stability and endurance, they can then move into increasing levels of strength and power training. In the strength phase, load and mass are increased, which means that a client adds more weight to their training program and moves increasingly faster through their program. This will build stronger muscles. In the power phase, a client works on the body’s ability to move more quickly, powerfully, and efficiently. This is achieved by moving heavy and light weights as fast as possible but in a very controlled manner. This phase, though optional, does not just benefit the advanced athlete; it benefits the average client who is seeking to increase overall performance in any activities that they choose.

No matter what a client’s goal (losing body fat, gaining lean body mass, or increasing overall performance), by following the OPT model and working through its individual phases, the benefits are plentiful, including:

• increased cardio-respiratory efficiency
• increased metabolic rate
• increased strength in muscles, tendons, and ligaments
• increased bone density
• decreased body fat
• increased lean body mass
• increased stability, strength, power, and flexibility

A few testimonials

The year 2022 was a transformational one for me physically. I was troubled with balance issues and a weak shoulder due to rotator cuff issues. Physical therapy helped, but I needed to get stronger and improve my balance.

I have been a member of the YMCA in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and in Nocatee, Florida for 11 years but I didn't work out often. When the YMCA opened in Nocatee, my husband started working out immediately and encouraged me to start by giving me Martha's business card. A phone call later I had an appointment to learn about the Nocatee YMCA's EGYM equipment. From there, I purchased a three-visit pass. At its conclusion, I realized that I had a lot of work to do. A year later I am stronger, weigh less, feel younger and I'm "hooked" on training with Martha, participating in classes and working out on my own.

Martha has become my mentor and friend. I am comfortable recommending her as a personal trainer for members of all ages. I am 76 years old.

–Mary Moyes, Ponte Vedra, Florida

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Martha Rindos has been my trainer at the Ocean Community YMCA in Westerly, R.I. since the summer of 2015. Since that time we have had an average of two sessions per week. Martha is hands down the best personal trainer I have worked with by far. This is saying a lot since I have worked with a variety of trainers in New York, Salt Lake City, and overseas over the last twenty-five years during the course of a busy business career. 

One of the things I like best about Martha is that she really listens to me about what my fitness goals are and she crafts an individual plan to achieve my goals. For example, in the last two years I wanted a plan which focused on golf fitness so the right muscles would be ready to help me execute the complicated motions a golf swing entails. You can’t play your best unless you have flexibility, balance, and strength in the right muscles. Not only did Martha research the right program for me, but she took additional courses and training to make sure I was getting the most up-to-date information. There is nothing cookie-cutter about what she does.

I have periodically asked her to design programs I can use on my own between sessions, and she has always quickly and thoughtfully complied. For example, when I was looking for a workout for a series of stretches I could do to increase flexibility, she not only designed the program, but she also took photos of me doing them so I could remember how to do the stretches on my own.

Martha is also one of the nicest and unfailingly pleasant people I have ever known. I have observed how she always helps anyone on the exercise floor who has a question about an exercise or piece of equipment or just needs a friendly ear to listen. I enthusiastically recommend Martha as a personal trainer to anyone, whatever their fitness goals or limitations. She will help you achieve them.

–Paul W. Eldridge, Westerly, Rhode Island

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I have worked with Martha for three months twice a week. She is very flexible with location of working out; comes to me or meets up at the local track. She comes prepared for our sessions with a workout plan, all the equipment and a smile. Martha has introduced new equipment and workouts that are challenging but provide full body benefits. She is dedicated to me, my health, and my success before, during, and after workouts. Martha's kind nature and passion for health and fitness makes her an outstanding personal trainer.

–Noemi, Waterford, Connecticut

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I am 66 years old and had never worked with a personal trainer before Martha.  What a difference a few weeks with her has made in my fitness level and strength! She assessed my needs and worked hard to design a program that addressed every muscle group in a way that has moved me rapidly toward my goals.  She is dedicated to her job and makes every session fun and enjoyable. I have signed up for ten more sessions with her and am confident that my obvious progress will continue.  I highly recommend this knowledgeable and talented fitness trainer.

–James, East Lyme, Connecticut

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Fully Insured. CPR and AED Certified.