Meet the man behind Hard Corp Training!
Who is Joshua Berthold?
I am not going to bore you with a rundown on my entire life. I usually save that for my clients in their training sessions☺ I will tell you though about some key times in my life that have brought me to where I am now, doing what I love to do!
After graduating high school nearby, Pine Richland High School Class of ‘99, I enlisted in the Marine Corps.
November 10, 2006 - Marine Corps Ball
That’s where I first got into fitness and working out. I was naturally athletic and always did well on my Physical Fitness Tests. My passion grew as I started working out just about every day to help pass the time. I had about five different gym partners because I couldn’t get one to go more than two days in a row with me! I would always subscribe to FLEX magazine and Muscle and Fitness. I loved trying out their latest lifting techniques and would grind out the reps with heavy weights for hours. I always tried to teach this info and gym ethic to my Marines and would stress upon them the importance of physical fitness in our demanding physical job.
The time I spent in the Marines truly shaped me into the trainer I am today.
Being in the Marines has afforded me the chance to travel all over the world, seeing many different places, cultures, and workout techniques. Some of the more memorable places I had the chance to visit include Kosovo, Greece, Macedonia, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Germany. Some of the not so memorable include combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan!
You see for me and my Marines, fitness wasn’t something you did just to pass the time or to lose a few pounds, it was something you did to keep yourself, and each other, alive! That made working out not just a luxury, but a necessity! Think it’s hard to get to the gym and do a workout? Try finding the time and equipment in a remote camp in the mountains of Afghanistan that didn’t even have running water! We had our bodies, body weight, and plenty of heavy objects though so we made it work. I taught my Marines then and I teach my clients now that you don’t need a multi-million dollar gym and equipment to get a good workout, all you need is the desire to want to improve and anything laying around you to lift, squat, bench, pull or push!!
Gym we built in the Afghan Mountains
Later on in my Marine Corps career I had the privilege of being selected to live in the Republic of Georgia where I spent a year training their army. I trained them in basic infantry skills for their upcoming deployments to Iraq. Just as I had applied fitness to my everyday life, and had taught my Marines to do the same, I found myself teaching the Georgian soldiers about the importance of fitness and strength and how that applies to being a good soldier, and most importantly one who stays alive! I always tried to be a good leader and inspiration to every Marine and Foreign Soldier I trained by being in the best shape myself. I would often times race my Marines in quick sprints and told them if they beat me they could have the rest of the day off. Of course I didn’t have the authority to give them the day off, so it’s probably good that I never lost!
There was a time though that I found myself not in the best shape of my life…but I didn’t know why?!
I got out of the Marine Corps in December of 2006, knowing from my experiences that training is what I wanted to do, and what I loved to do. Within a few months I pursued getting my Personal Training Certification. I worked at a couple of clubs in the area, one small one to get my feet wet until I got hired at a big club in the North Hills. It was during that time that I had to come to grips with the fact that I may not be as strong as I wish I was!
Since I took up lifting weights and working out I have always tried to gain weight and grow my lean muscle mass. You can imagine how perplexed I was one day in May 2008 when I stepped on the scale and saw that I only weighed 165 pounds!!!!! I thought the scale was broken because I hadn’t weighed less than 185 lbs in five plus years! I also noticed I was a lot weaker and all of my clothes were a lot bigger than they were before. I was doing everything I could to eat, get stronger , and get bigger so I knew something was wrong. A quick trip to the doctors confirmed what I didn’t want to believe, I have Type 1 Diabetes!
Type 1 Diabetes is a huge life changer, I can tell you that. But I always look at the glass as half full and I try to apply that optimism to my life and my work. As a matter of fact, I took the nutritional guidance that I teach each and every one of my clients from Precision Nutrition, and I applied that to my own life style and within a few months of working out hard, and eating right I gained all of my weight back and more. I have been able to maintain myself now at 200 lbs! I tell my clients I know how hard it is to reach a goal and get motivated and I can say that from my own personal experiences.
Whether your goal is to get in the best shape of your life, lose a few pounds of fat, gain lean muscle mass or increase your bone density, I know it’s hard to start and even harder to make the lifestyle change. I am here with you, ready to offer my experiences, guidance, and knowledge to help you overcome those goals! I can also tell you that once you do….you will look, feel, and most important BE a better person for the rest of your life.
Get Lean. Get Strong. Get Hard Corp
- Joshua Berthold
