Personal Trainers

Valerie is in her 4^thyear of Kinesiology at UBC. Growing up, Valerie has always been living a very active lifestyle, transitioning from playing basketball to track and swimming. As her passion in living a healthy and active lifestyle continues to grow, she is regularly practicing bodybuilding and partaking in spin classes while using her knowledge to help improve and maintain her physical and mental health. 

Valerie appreciates the benefits of living a balanced quality life, as a result she will tailor a program according to your physical abilities in order for you to achieve your goals and live a healthy and active lifestyle as well. 

Lauren is a NASM-CPT trainer and Spin Instructor who has played competitive sports for most of her life. She is an avid weightlifter and cyclist. Her own pursuit of fitness includes a diversity of other activities including yoga, spin, rowing, and group fitness. She is currently pursuing further accreditation through NASM and NSCA. 

Lauren has worked with a diverse population including athletes, older adults, people with injuries and people with physical disabilities. Her aim is to create an inclusive space where fitness can be enjoyable, technique-based and purposeful. She’s a very passionate and energetic coach but understands when it’s time to work.

Lauren will work with you to develop a program that will lead you toward your goals in a fun and challenging environment. She’ll help you find what is both sustainable and appropriately challenging for you. 

Leuna is a third-year student working towards a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree at UBC. She chose kinesiology because of her lifelong interest in helping people reach their fitness and lifestyle goals. Outside school, Leuna spends her free time hiking, swimming and playing volleyball. She spent the last few years working with various trainers and kinesiologists in multiple gyms, which has provided her with valuable insight into the world of fitness. Through these experiences, Leuna has learned the importance of efficient exercise programs and proper nutrition when it comes to health and fitness.

Leuna will use her kinesiology knowledge and work experience to personalize exercise programs for you, so they are tailored to your goals. She understands that life is all about balance so her programs will be designed to work around your lifestyle and commitments. Leuna’s mission is to help you reach your fitness goals in an enjoyable way so you always leave feeling a bit more confident after each session.

Alex is currently in his fifth year in the faculty of Kinesiology at UBC. He’s always been engaged in an active lifestyle through extracurricular sports including volleyball, basketball, badminton, and weight lighting. Sports and physical activity have played an integral role in his lifestyle today. He believes in that exercise can be a fun activity that can be incorporated into everybody’s lifestyle. 

Alex is excited to apply his sports and health background to help others and watch them succeed. Through his schooling and hard work, he has grown to appreciate the benefits of exercise as it has helped him build his physique, health, and improve his self confidence. 

He will create a program that will push you towards your goals while being enjoyable and supporting you through your fitness journey. 

Karan is a 3rd year Commerce student who is passionate about fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle. Throughout his life, he has led an active lifestyle by playing basketball in high school and then transitioning to weightlifting in university.

Karan believes in incorporating exercise and healthy eating to improve physical and mental well-being. His approach is based on developing sustainable habits that are both effective and fun. 

Jennifer is a third-year Kinesiology student who has always been passionate about all aspects of fitness and health. Throughout her life, she has partaken in many physical activities such as basketball, volleyball, track, and weightlifting. 

After training for the past five years and competing in two weightlifting competitions, Jennifer has incorporated both powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting into her regular training. She believes that power and strength not only builds one’s overall confidence, but also one’s overall health and wellbeing. 

Jennifer will create a well-balanced program to meet your goals through a variety of exercises and will continuously motivate you throughout your fitness journey.

Kayla is a third-year Kinesiology student who is passionate about health and fitness. Ever since she started playing sports at 6-years-old, fitness has been an integral part of her life. Growing up, Kayla was captain on her competitive soccer team and has enjoyed leading an active lifestyle through running, hiking, yoga, teaching spin classes, and weight lifting.

Kayla has worked with youth soccer players, older adults and clinical patients. She believes that building a strong foundation of proper technique, followed by consistency and progression, will allow one to achieve any fitness goal. Kayla will work with you to create a personalized program that will challenge you and contributes to improving your physical and mental well-being. She recognizes that it is important to push your physical limits, while understanding what those limits are and is their to motivate you through the ups and downs of your fitness journey. You only have one body and it is the best investment that you can ever make!

Saba Sedighi is a first year kinesiology student who has always been passionate about sports, health and wellness. She has enjoyed an active lifestyle from a young age – she became the captain of her volleyball and basketball teams at age 12 and won a swimming championship at the age of 16. She has also been practicing dance and horseback riding for four years and has been working out since she was 16 years old. 

Saba is familiar with the difficulty of the weight loss journey, as she has lost more than 25 kg by following her own gym schedule and various diets. She has also been researching different diets and has taken food and nutrition courses at UBC, so she is able to provide helpful guidance to clients in terms of nutrition. She can help clients to move from a beginner to advanced level of fitness by designing training programs with various components including core strength training, dumbbell workouts, cardiorespiratory training, and circuit training. Saba is also active in the community beyond the gym, as shown by her involvement in rehabilitation programs for the disabled elderly, and volunteering at the hospital.

Noah is a high-energy individual with a primary focus on functional and athletic strength. Growing up, he captained his high school soccer, volleyball, and rugby teams; leading them all through regional Southern-African tournaments, and was awarded the Regional MVP in volleyball and soccer two years in a row. Upon graduating, the Athlete of the Century award was created for his many sports contributions to the institution.

Noah began boxing and bodybuilding at the age of 16. In 2014, he took a gap year from UBC to train with a local circus, deepening his understanding of flexibility, isometric endurance, and performance. Since then, he’s ambitiously developed his strength, power, and cardio inside and outside of the gym.

Equally determined to help beginners and veterans, Noah considers exercise life’s best form of stress relief, and an active relationship with our bodies a crucial step toward positive mental health. If you see him in the gym feel free to ask him anything; he’s eager to help!

Jay has worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years at various community and university recreation centres and has gained considerable experience and knowledge in many aspects of fitness. He is currently completing a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Health Sciences option) 3^rd year. Fitness is Jay’s passion and his goal is to inspire and motivate others to exercise consistently so they can enjoy the health benefits and improve the quality of their lives. He personally enjoys cycle fit training, weight training, various styles of cardiovascular training, core training, interval training and of course stretching.