It’s Time to Re-Activate!

If you want to lose weight, get healthy and/or build muscle, hiring a personal trainer can be a step in the right direction. A good trainer can help you set up a program that meets your goals and teach you the best way to exercise.

CORE brings professionals from many fields under one roof and fosters an environment of integration and collaboration. Our trainers are unique in that they are able to consult with all professional practitioners and therapists at CORE. We work together using this integrative model to keep you injury free while getting you fast results. CORE provides a customized training program to fit every individual’s needs, lifestyle and physical abilities.

All CORE Certified trainers are CPR Certified and Nationally Certified by an accredited national personal training certification program as well as enrolled in the Santa Cruz Core Continuing Education Program.

What to Look for In a Personal Trainer

Education: A personal trainer should be certified through a reputable personal training organization. An exercise science or other related college degree isn't necessary, but the more education your trainer has, the better your workouts will be.

CPR: your trainer should have an updated certification in CPR and/or first aid.

Specifics: If you have a specific medical problem, injury or condition (such as being pregnant, heart problems, diabetes, etc.) make sure your trainer has education in these areas and will work with your doctor.

A good listener: A good trainer will listen closely to what you say and make sure he understands your goals.

Attention: A good trainer will be focused only on you during your sessions.

Tracking progress: A good trainer will regularly assess your progress and change things if necessary.

Personality is important too since you'll be working very closely with this person. Make sure you get along with your trainer and feel comfortable asking questions.

How to Find a Personal Trainer? That’s the easy part: call us at (831) 425-9500 to set up your consultation. CORE will do the rest from there!

Why the Functional Integrative Model?

The functional integrative model is what sets us apart from other gyms and wellness centers of our kind. Applied to Personal Training, functional integration means breaking the cycle. Old injuries, accidents, desk jobs, commutes and busy schedules cause us to feel deactivated and disconnected from our bodies. We want to move and get back to optimal health but our bodies and minds resist. Pain, fatigue and physical restrictions discourage us and understandably so.  Santa Cruz CORE breaks the cycle to get you results.

The Functional Movement Screening

Scheduling an initial health consultation with one of our highly skilled professionals is the first step here at Santa Cruz CORE. One of our program managers will get a full health history and administer a Functional Movement Screening; a valuable test instrument, we interpret the results of the FMS and translate that information into a recommended course of action to provide a healthy and injury free path to balanced health. Our individualized programs are molded from the experience and knowledge of all of our practitioners, a knowledge base that produces timely and healthy results

We provide consultations free of charge with the primary goal of determining the needs of the individual; this is our time to listen to you. Once we determine your functional state we design a program specific to the individual. Your trainer is your partner, your guide, mentor and support system on your journey to optimal health and fitness.

Schedule a complimentary consultation today and let’s get started!

Meet Our Trainers:

Core Fitness + Rehab encourages all employees to continue their education in health and fitness so they can be the best in  their field.  Each individual client is approached as a team in order to specially tailor an exercise program suited for their needs. This way whether a person has past injuries like Ellison herself, or they just want to tone up and lose a few pounds, there is something there for everyone. “By working together, clients get better,” says Ellison. Emphasis is put on treating the whole body and using various techniques to do so. Every new client is given a complimentary health consultation to assess the goals and regiment best for the

Santa Cruz CORE Personal Trainers

Santa Cruz CORE Personal Trainers have 1 or more years experience as a personal trainer, are nationally and CPR certified and are enrolled in the Santa Cruz Core Continuing Education Program.

Jillian Devine                     CORE Personal Trainer

Jillian graduated from California State University Chico with a degree in kinesiology now working as a personal trainer cardio kickboxing teacher. Jillian injects even the toughest workour with innate positivity and humor. She incorporates her martial arts and biomechanical training into her fun, upbeat and creative workouts. She loves invigorating and inspiring her clients with her  boundless energy and work ethic!

Alexis Aumentado                  CORE master personal trainer& fitness trainer

Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, ISSA Certified Nutritionist, Bauman College. Alexis is a caring, fun and motivating trainer who will listen and challenge. She enjoys travelling the world and teaching . Alexis teaches Fitness Challenge, Bootcamps and more.

James Lewis                              CORE personal trainer

After spending twenty years in the Navy, James retired from active duty  he worked as an assistant personal trainer at the University of California, Santa Cruz while completing his studies in Kinesiology and is now a Master Trainer at Santa Cruz CORE fitness+ rehab In addition to training and writing, he loves to DJ and has a collection of over 300 vinyl records. He also does extensive volunteer work at a local stroke rehabilitation center and veterans assistance center. James hopes to resume his role as a Big Brother in the Big Brothers & Big Sisters program soon.

Santa Cruz CORE Master Personal Trainers

A Santa Cruz CORE Master Personal Trainer has 5+ years experience and has completed the Santa Cruz CORE Master Training Educational Course as well as being Nationally Certified and CPR Certified. A Master Trainer is able to prescribe Home Exercise Programs as well as design personalized exercise programs to meet your specific needs, abilities as well as help you attain your fitness goals

Teri Goldner                         CORE personal trainer:

Teri has a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and is an ACE/TRX Certified Personal Trainer with over ten years of training experience.  With a big smile and positive attitude, her upbeat approach aids the client in attaining an optimal state of fitness and health.  She works with all ages and fitness levels and specializes in working with the Mature Adult.  Each training session will be tailored to the individuals needs with an emphasis on Functional Fitness, Core Stability and Balance work.  She has the ability to fully address each client’s desires and goals in a professional and personalized manner.  Her expertise in the field along with sensitive yet disciplined persuasion and continuous motivation, create results-oriented programs with safety and injury prevention being paramount.  She provides the ability to create a foundation to allow the client to attain personal fitness goals and keep them on a path of living a healthy and vibrant lifestyle.  

Originally from Southern California, her love of nature and the outdoors brought her to Santa Cruz where she enjoys walks along the beach and hiking in our local mountains.  She also enjoys cooking, gardening, skiing, biking, kayaking, dancing and helping people and animals.

Nicki Danzer                       CORE master personal trainer

Nicki is a certified personal trainer and massage practitioner with a B.S. in Kinesiology and Nutrition. She started weight training in 1988 and has been working in the fitness industry in Santa Cruz County for 20 years. She has worked with many physical therapists assisting with post-rehabilitation exercise training programs, Special Olympics and in the Santa Cruz City Schools Adapted Physical Education Program. Nicki spent several years working with long time friends and colleagues developing an on-line fitness web site. She specializes in post-rehab and recreational training as well as nutritional programming. Her clients range from high school students to seniors, with programs designed to meet each individual’s health and fitness goals. Nicki is trained in Swedish style massage and obtained her Massage Practitioner certification from Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts. Her love for health and fitness, as well as her comprehensive understanding of the body, made massage a wonderful addition to the services she offers her clients.

Danny Stevens               COREmaster personal trainer

Danny has been a personal trainer since 2006. He has worked with a variety of people including competitive athletes, people wanting to improve movement function and balance, and people looking to lose weight and increase strength. With a degree in kinesiology and a certification from the American College of Sports Medicine, he is equipped with the education and experience to help people achieve their fitness goals.

Santa Cruz CORE Elite Personal Trainers

A Santa Cruz CORE Elite Personal Trainer has 10 to 20+ years experience and has developed a unique training specialization that is part of the Continuing Education Program offered at Santa Cruz Core Fitness + Rehab. Our CORE Elite trainers’ specializations include Physical Therapy, Nutrition, Sports Conditioning, Weight Management and Injury Rehabilitation among others. An Elite Trainer’s time goes well beyond the hour that they spend with you, often researching and modifying programs to fit your very specific needs and goals, as well as administering Home Exercise Programs, Home Rehabilitative Programs, and nutritional advice to overcome stubborn plateaus or to live a healthy life.

Clark Carabelas

Clark Carabelas-Clark is a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He has a B.A. in Psychology and completed two years of graduate studies in Physical Therapy. Clark’s extensive background includes more than 12 years in orthopedics and geriatrics, and the past 10 years as a Personal Trainer and Nutrition/Lifestyle Consultant.

He has completed advanced studies in scientific back, core, and specialized sports conditioning subjects, including golf, motocross, tennis and horseback riding. Clark has presented as a guest speaker at numerous business meetings and healthcare seminars. His experience extends to all ages and lifestyles, from the sedentary to the elite athlete, with or without complex medical histories. Clark also specializes in post injury rehab and re-injury prevention.

With his vast knowledge and experience, Clark is able to individualize programs for each person he works with, and feels there is nothing more gratifying than making a positive difference in someone’s life.

Beau Jansen                         COREelite personal trainer

Beau has been training since 2003 when he joined the US Air Force. As a Physical Training Leader and one-on- one trainer, he garnered valuable experience in motivating clients and getting results. He joined the team at CORE in February of 2009. As a certified Health Coach and personal trainer he specializes in getting results for his clients whether it is in building strength and muscle mass, changing body size, shape, composition and/or function.

Santa Cruz CORE Elite Pro Trainers:

Jaimi Ellison                               owner, ceo, elite personal trainer 

When driving my bike down from the University of California at Santa Cruz I was hit by a car. Little did I know at the time that the accident would be instrumental in my career choice. After five surgeries and lots of doctors appointments, I realized how crucial certain therapies were in achieving optimal health. Through my frustration of having to communicate to many practitioners the same story of my health, not to mention the time it took to get to my appointments everywhere, I dreamt of a place where I could go and everyone I needed to see was under one roof. I later became a personal trainer and decided to open an integrative wellness center June of 2009; Santa Cruz CORE Fitness + Rehab. As an athlete and rehabilitation patient I became aware that massage, personal training, physical therapy, and chiropractic are all integral modalities in achieving optimal health. Through my personal experiences and challenges I have been able to learn how to be a better personal trainer. The importance of effective communication between my healing practitioners. Santa Cruz CORE embodies this. We have it all under one roof and we have something for everyone, where ever you are on your journey to achieving optimal health. Whether you are an athlete seeking to improve your performance, a pregnant mother-to-be, rehabbing an injury, post surgery, wanting to increase flexibility, or lose weight we are here to partner with you on your path. We develop personalized programs to ensure you get what you need. Practitioners all meet weekly to keep abreast at current athletic trands. We interrelate to eachother about the progress on our clients.

Testimonials:

Glad that I met one of their Elite trainers Beau. Excited about working with him!!

Beau has awesome workouts I always feel better not just muscular wise but my back  and core!!

Training with Danny is just getting better and better!

Danny is the light that illuminates by workouts with so much energy!

Danny is so nice to my wife, she always comes back from training happy!

Danny helped me with my posture and imbalance issues - Claire

Beau is my personal trainer at CORE. He brought both my physical condition and mental outlook to an enourmously improved place!

Jaimi Ellison is an awesome personal trainer and a female role model for me .

Teri is so helpful and sweet during training!

Danny and I reached a functional milestone today! Wow high five Danny !

James Lewis is fabulous even for someone as absolutely gymphobic as me- Patty Bazar

Beau is a handsome and professional young man . Very Helpful!

Danny always pushes me to my limit and makes all my stresses go away! Yeah Danny!- Julie Taing- Aug 2012

I took pilates with Aimee she kept me laughing while whipping me into shape. I love her classes!

Aimee is hilarious and her cass is so fun. I laughed the whole session took my mind off working out.

            I have been working out with Beau for over 2 years now and I like that Beau is attentive to my goals. Beau is a top-notch trainer, and a good guy to boot. I had never enjoyed working out, and always felt like I was faking my way through a typical gym workout on my own. Not so once I started training with Beau! He takes you to places that you will never take yourself, pushing you to the max. I have lost weight and put on significant muscle mass, all while training 2 times a week with Beau.

-Paul Flood

            I joined Santa Cruz Core just over three months ago after a running injury stopped me from running.  With the help and support of some really great trainers at Core Fitness I am now getting stronger in all areas that running never used.  I very much enjoy the classes I take with Beau, Danny and Terri - they each have their own style of training which allows for variety in the workouts and they all have great energy.   I feel they really care about me as an individual and my particular issues and their workouts are fun and challenging.

            I have also appreciated working with Clark on an individual basis, he is very knowledgeable and professional.  All in all I appreciate the friendly, caring and professional attitude of all the Staff at Santa Cruz Core Fitness.  I can tell they aim to please and they do a great job of it!!  Thanks you guys!

– Veronica Vanderstoep

            I started working out with Beau a couple of months ago.  Beau has been my friend's personal trainer for a couple of years now.  My friend and I are working out together, which is not only quite fun but I have an accountability partner.....which I really need.  I am watching my body change slowly...for example, my arms have more definition, I feel stronger and my posture is better.  I intend on exercising there as I truly like how I feel and look.  I would highly recommend Beau and Santa Cruz Core Fitness to anyone who asks me. 

-Karen Beeson

            I like Jaimi and Beau. They are the best trainers. Danny and Alex are fun in their classes. I am going to your celebration. I like semi-private and group lessons. I love it. It’s so cool wow so so so so so cool. Weight training is good. Justin is a good and massage and yoga. Jay Negron is a great massage teacher.

-   Rosemary Sanders

            I had joined Core-Fitness in the middle of March. I had just run a marathon March 4^th, and was not happy with the issues I was having with my body. Because the only exercise I have been doing is running, my form was starting to become compromised. The last 6 miles of my marathon I was bent over, which was affecting my breathing. I was shuffling because my hamstrings in my legs were so tight I had caused my right leg to become shorter.

With Jamie’s help and evaluation she found it was my hips that had become tight not my hamstrings. I had no core strength, so that was causing me to lose my form. I signed up for 8 private sessions with Jamie to learn to stretch my body.  Taking semi-private and group classes to build my core and upper body. I also got the side benefit of helping my balance.

My next marathon was June 2^nd. This was the test to see if all the hard work paid off. I hadn’t been able to run as many miles during the week because of the classes I was taking. I was very happy to find that not only was my form better my breathing had improved. I felt better and I even shaved 6 minutes off my marathon time from March and that was with running less miles!

It’s been a nice change to do some cross training. The trainers are great and they really focus on what your needs and goals are. I love that the groups are small and you get individual attention from the trainers. I look forward to new goals to become the best me possible.

-   Robin Stevens

            We have been going to Santa Cruz Core for a year. We have tried other workout facilities in the past, but believe SCCFR is the BEST in town! All of our individual needs can get met at one location. The ancillary support staff, chiropractic, physical therapy, deep tissue massage, etc, is great because they work as a team with the trainers to get one’s individual goals met. We have been able to eat five healthy small meals a day instead of three larger meals a day. Everyone has benefited from this concept and can sustain their energy level throughout the day at an optimum level. No more grumpy moods at our house! I give Jaimi Ellison credit for introducing “MyNet Diary” to our family. We are all eating healthier and drinking lots of water.

            Another reason we like to do strength training at Santa Cruz Core is because we have never gotten injured from any exercises we’ve done under the care of the trainers. The training staff cares about the quality of their work, maintaing standards of the highest levels in the industry.

            The experience we’ve gained from working with the entire staff at Santa Cruz Core has been rewarding. We look forward to our continued relationship with Jaimi Ellison and the Core staff. We appreciate everything we’ve learned to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

-   Francis and Rose Sanders

            One year after foot and ankle surgery for osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, I was discouraged and depressed by the lack of progress I was making with standard rehab.  I was still using a cane, shuffling my feet, unable to balance or walk a block, walking down the stairs sideways.  Since working with Clark, I am now able to walk without a cane, climb stairs without fear of falling, keep my balance and posture, engage in daily activities and have fun again.  Clark applies his keen understanding of body mechanics to provide the most effective holistic approach to training and rehab.  He stresses the connection between mind and body, and relates exercises to daily activities.  While following instructions, he also offers insights and guidance about how to improve performance.  Clark  has been a terrific coach and has made a significant difference in my life!

            I have been working with Beau for almost a year (a little a couple of years ago, and I started seeing him again this year), and he has changed my life. I am 

not only feeling stronger than I ever have, but I have a very positive association with exercise now, which I never had before. He takes a lot of time 

to plan creative and fun work outs for me, and I really feel like I am taking good care of myself when I am working out with Beau.  Thank you so much! 

-Laecee

            Jaimi and Clark have  helped me recover from years of pain in my shoulder, arm and hand. I’ve worked with other physical therapists but Jaimi and Clark have made all the difference in me feeling physically better.

-Beth Dyer 

            I have not walked or ran more than 100 feet in the last five years and yesterday I ran my first half mile without stopping. It may not seem like much to most people but working with Beau has empowered me and made me understand and feel how important making time for me and my body is for my overall well being. I have tried absolutely everything but working with Beau inspired me. I am still doing his A and B days on my own. - Roxy Cross