Hi, I’m Josh Leeger. I am LIFT.
I am dedicated to helping people achieve their highest level of physical fitness and health.
First things first. Here are my “professional qualifications”:
Personal Training:
Certified Personal Trainer (NASM)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) (NSCA)
Exuberant Animal Trainer and Jam Leader
Massage Therapy
Certified Massage Therapist (NCBTMB)
Certified LaStone Hot Stone Therapist
Certified ONSEN Level 1 Therapist
Collegiate Studies:
M.S. Kinesiology (SFSU)
B.A. Classical History (GMU)
Other:
Tom Brown’s Tracker School Standard Class
CPR/AED Certification – Current
Wilderness First Responder – Attending January 2012
Now the story…
My passion is to understand the fundamental principles of human behavior, of health, and of happiness. Couple that with a richly-developed (thanks to good support as a child) sense of creativity and playfulness, and you can get a sense of what training with me is like.
Josh’s Journey
I was a happy kid who grew up during the Energy Crisis of the 1970′s. I was educated by television shows like Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. I fell in love with Kung Fu Action Theater on Saturday mornings. As I grew, I was exposed to books like Musashi’s Book of Five Rings (when I was 13). His statement, that one should train “The pen and the sword in accord,” resonated with me strongly at that early age…as strongly as the Greek dictum of “Sound mind in a sound body” (I was lucky enough to have a father who could draw that comparison for me back then).
My own physical training consisted of playing. Mostly playing. Playing supplemented with football, discus and shotput, an extremely brief stint in Cross Country and even shorter one in Crew. And then in martial arts.
The passion to understand the fundamental aspects of human health and performance led me to become a certified massage therapist (NCBTMB) and personal trainer (NASM) in 2001. Since then I’ve taught group exercise classes and seminars, and trained everyone from competitive athletes to people recovering from surgeries and illnesses, to people with long-term disabilities and illnesses.
In 2007 I attended Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School, taking the Standard course, to learn more about primitive survival and wilderness tracking and awareness skills. The “external” environment is in many ways a primary determinant of human health, and I continue to be engaged in wilderness awareness and urban farming practices.
In 2008 I continued my studies by pursuing a Master’s degree in Kinesiology (SFSU), which I completed in March of 2011.
During my stint in grad school I became an Exuberant Animal trainer, and trained with Mick Dodge, the Barefoot Sensei. I currently travel on a regular basis to lead Exuberant Animal Jams nationally and internationally.
I created LIFT in 2008 to organize the things I had learned and continue to learn as I study, teach, train, and travel. If you want to know what the LIFT Mission is, click here.
In every training session I leverage every ounce of that experience to help you to achieve your highest level of fitness and health.
Here on my site, and in my private personal training practice, I want to show you a new way to train your body and your mind, so that you can be happier, healthier, and live life to its fullest.
For tips and information on how to train, check out the LIFT Blog.
If you’re in the Seattle area and you want to train with me, contact me now.
If you aren’t in Seattle, you can get on board by signing up for the weekly LIFT newsletter on the right side of this page, and by reading my book Physical Culture, Personal Evolution.
If you’re far away and want more assistance LIFT Distance Training Rates 2011.