JCC Fall Program Guide - Flipbook - Page 7
Meet Our Team
Mike Berkowitz, Fitness Director
What makes
the fitness
center at
JCC Greater
Boston unique
or stand out?
The thing that
makes the
fitness center
at JCC Greater
Boston is the
sense of community and the diversity of the
people. I love that we get the chance to help
everyone from 13 year olds who are just
starting their fitness journey, to seniors
who are staying active to keep up with their
grandchildren, and everyone in-between.
What inspired you to pursue a career
in health and wellness?
At my heaviest in college, I weighed 265
pounds and knew that I needed to make a
change. I found strength training in college
and instantly fell in love with the way it made
me feel and the confidence it gave me. As
I started to see results and got ready to
graduate college, I knew that I wanted to
help people find the same success that I did.
I got my first personal training job in 2015
and haven’t looked back!
What are some new or upcoming fitness
classes you’re excited about?
I am super excited about our upcoming
Women with Weights program! We are
getting a new piece of equipment in the
fitness center which will allow us to offer
this class where women can learn to lift
weights with proper technique in a
supported group. I am also very proud of
the nutrition program that we have built in
the past year and look forward to
continuing to grow that program.
If you could only give people one piece
of advice about fitness/wellness,
what would it be?
Don’t quit! As long as you don’t quit,
you can’t fail.
How do you ensure the fitness center
meets the needs of people of all different
fitness levels, ages, and abilities?
I ensure the fitness center meets the needs
of people of all different fitness levels, ages,
and abilities by being a constant presence
and paying attention to changing trends and
patterns in the industry. I also lean on
feedback from my team and members to
learn what people want.
What’s your favorite workout?
My favorite workout in the gym is an incline
chest press and my favorite workout outside
of the gym is a long walk with my
goldendoodle, Charlie.
To learn more about our fitness staff and trainers, visit bostonjcc.org/wellness
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