For Brent Brinkmeier, personal trainer and owner of On the Brink Fitness, starting his fitness journey later than most caused him to understand the intimidation of walking into a weight room for the first time. His interest began in college, where he attended Belmont University in Nashville and graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Louis, Missouri. “I got into fitness in my late 20s when I went back to school and got interested in the sports medicine department. I ended up minoring in sports medicine because I really enjoyed working with people in the fitness realm. What I found in sports medicine, which is typically the sideline athletic trainers, is that I didn’t enjoy the injury treatment side of sports medicine as much. So shortly after graduating I got my first personal training certification and started working for a gym down in Florida for about eight years,” Brinkmeier says.
Through different work experiences, Brinkmeier continued to grow his knowledge and experience toward personal fitness, leading him to start On the Brink Fitness. “I worked in different parts of the fitness industry and different sized gyms– from little community gyms for personal training to some in-home training to big gyms where I was a fitness director managing 15-20 trainers. I got burnt out on that and realized it wasn’t why I started pursuing fitness. So once I left that job, I started On the Brink Fitness in-home training which quickly grew to need a studio of its own so that people could have more access to equipment and advance quicker," Brinkmeier explains. "Keeping it as a private, small studio was important to me because most people are intimidated by the idea of walking into a weight room for the first time. And that’s something I can understand since I started late in college. So when someone walks in the studio having never lifted a weight or touched a dumb bell, having no idea what to do, I can understand because that was once me too. My goal is to provide not only the feeling of safety and an environment to learn, but also a place for them to move through and eventually feel comfortable to lift on their own.”
Personalized plans and one-on-one training is not the only thing that sets On the Brink Fitness apart. Brinkmeier's own experience and background elevates the program above the rest. “I have a really long history in doing this and since I have a background in sports medicine, I work a lot with people who have had a past injury or surgery, and elderly people," Brinkmeier says. "I can bring them into a safe, comfortable environment where people can learn about weight training safely. Lifting heavy things isn’t all that technical, but it needs to be done properly to get the benefits and avoid injury. That’s a major focus for On the Brink technique. We try to push the envelope, helping people get stronger and be more comfortable with moving their body day to day, without getting injured."
With a growing clientele, Brinkmeier saw a need for expansion and found just the right place. “For the last eight years, On the Brink has been in a small studio in Spring Hill. I’ve been working on expanding for about five years. The difficult part was finding a space until another portion of our building became available and we bought it," Brinkmeier explains. "Now we have two rooms for myself and another trainer to work with people at the same time, which allows for more clients to achieve their fitness goals." OnTheBrinkFitness.com