Team LP Fitness Playground

The seed of fitness was planted in LP's mind at the young impressionable age of 5 years old by a man named Jack LaLanne. The Jack LaLanne Show was the only fitness show on television in the early 60's and LP followed Jacks routine daily in the front room of his family's home. He was inspired not only by the fitness aspect of the program, but also by the positive message that Jack preached during each episode. At that time of LP’s life, Jack LaLanne became a very important positive "male role model". LP continued to do the push ups, AB crunches, squats, jumping jacks and other exercises that he had learned from watching the fitness show. At the age of 10 he had saved up enough money (by mowing neighbor’s lawns and selling lemonade on hot sunny days during the summer) that he went to Sears and bought his first weight set. That was the beginning of what has now turned out to be a labor of love for LP. A love and passion to inspire and motivate people by coaching them to exercise and move their body, create healthy eating habits and help develop a positive attitude in their quest to being the very best that they can be.

The following is a brief bio-time line from the very start when the seed of fitness was planted to present..... And to think back to the beginning, it all started with a man named Jack LaLanne and a weight set from Sears......

* LP was brought up in the era of male dominated small neighborhood black iron gyms where "old school" weightlifting and bodybuilding were the only training styles known. His early experience in the fitness field as a pre-teenager was cleaning equipment, re-stacking weights and dumbbells and doing whatever it took to earn a free membership at the local gym so he could work out with weights and build strong muscles like his childhood mentor Jack LaLanne.

* In 1979 he moved from Castro Valley, California to

Tucson, Arizona to be in warmer weather and continued to enter and was now starting to win state bodybuilding competitions.

* In 1980 he was on the first wave of bodybuilders who basically "lived" in the gym and were sought out by other members of the gym for their knowledge of weightlifting and bodybuilding skills. He built a strong reputation and following on what he called 'Results Driven Training'. He opened his first business in Tempe, Arizona as a weight lifting/bodybuilder trainer and named the business, "Awesome Bodies Unlimited".

* Flash forward 10 years later to 1990, LP moves to Santa Rosa, California where he knows not a soul except a few members of his immediate family. Burned out on bodybuilding and personal training, he takes a very short hiatus from both and falls back on the trade of meat cutting which was one of his many jobs he had while in high school.

* In 1992, LP studied for and received his Personal Trainer Certificate and Group Exercise Certificate from The Health and Fitness Institute at Cal State Hayward University under the instruction and guidance of Dori Krepton and Dr. Donald Chu. He kept his interest in personal training while meat cutting by training a couple of his friends and eventually regained his passion for sharing his knowledge of fitness.

That year, missing the fun and passion he had with educating people about fitness, he risked it all and quit his full time job as a meat cutter. Without having not one client on his personal training schedule, he went full steam ahead back into the fitness arena and Team LP Fitness was back in business.

* The Basketball season of 1997-1998 brought LP to Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. He offered to donate his time and skill as a fitness professional and became and still holds the position of Fitness Conditioning and Motivational Coach for the Boys Basketball program under Head Coach Tom Fitchie. The highlight of his fitness career is when the pre-season begins and he is provided with the opportunity to work with the kids and help them to prepare for the long season ahead.

* 2002 - present, LP owns and operates his "Dream Come True" creation: Team LP Fitness Playground™ in Santa Rosa.

LP also developed a following in the Group Fitness arena through his innovative unique style of instruction with a class he called "CHIZZLED".

Instructing the longest running group fitness in the North Bay area, he had taught to packed classes of 50 students plus at Golds Gym in Santa Rosa 4 days each week. In the summer of 2006, LP moved the "CHIZZLED" class to Fusion Fitness which is also located in Santa Rosa.

February of 2009, after 14 years of instructing this amazing one of a kind class, 'retired' from the "CHIZZLED" group fitness format.

* After becoming a member of IDEA (the largest fitness organization for fitness professionals in the world) in 1992 a major shift in the marketplace and training styles concerning personal training was taking place industry wide. He decided to get on the new wave of fitness by attending the IDEA conferences and re-educating himself.

Today, through these conferences, LP continues to discover many new and exciting ways to bring more FUN, challenging, motivating and results-driven workouts to his clients. The new research and skills that are being taught today, allow him to think out of the "old school" weight lifting box.

He uses his creative mind to design and put together workouts that challenged his clients in ways their bodies and minds had never been challenged before.   
               

LP has now come full circle by following in the foot steps of his child hood mentor, Jack La Lanne, who this passed on at the age of 96 in January of 2011. 

LP is a fitness professional whose passion, enthusiasm and motivation to share the "gospel" of great health and fitness through FUN, exciting and challenging full body-movement....... is living out his dream.                      

Marla Stephens is our one and only most fabulous female trainer at Team LP Studio Fitness Playground™. She puts the Yin in the Yang environment here at the Studio. Her soft yet charismatic personality and massage and pilates background gives her workouts a unique touch.

Marla has been in the fitness industry for 17 years. She began her career as a high school cross country athlete and swimmer and began training in various gyms to add to her sports performance, learning the ropes from bodybuilders and professional publications. Her first experience teaching fitness came straight out of high school as a personal trainer and aerobics instructor. She loved the industry and followed her fathers’ advice to pursue a field that she truly loved and since her parents insisted she get a college degree, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) from Sonoma State University.

Over the years Marla has taught many styles of fitness and has found her niche in the one and only Team LP Fitness Studio Fitness Playground™. Here she can express her expertise and creativity while incorporating her knowledge of correct body mechanics and core stability and mobility.

Marla’s professional practice has grown to include Pilates core stability training on the Pilates Reformer and Massage Therapy. As a member of IDEA Health and Fitness Association, she continues to further her knowledge and understanding of the human body with continuing education classes and is a regular attendee of the International IDEA Fitness Convention.

While Marla’s professional life is dedicated to health, fitness and helping others achieve their goals; her personal life revolves around her family and two beautiful children. Her personal interests include cycling, mountain biking, and triathlon training.