Dogpound Gym founder and trainer Kirk Myers may look tough on the outside, but don’t let his giant muscles fool you. Myers learned at an early age how to understand women from watching his dad work alongside several female teachers in his own place of work.
“My dad is a retired elementary principal,” Myers tells Muscle & Fitness. “I really came from an amazing upbringing with a dad that was a really great dad and a mom who is very inspiring.”
Once an overweight kid from Kansas City, Myers thinks his own body challenges growing up actually give him an edge over other trainers when it comes to analyzing and providing programming for clients.
“I do feel like I’m a unique style of trainer because I’m not the most athletic trainer,” Myers says. “Some may feel it’s a disadvantage, but I’ve always felt that it’s an advantage because I’m able to relate and also I’m able to accomplish a specific goal because I’ve done it in my past in terms of transforming my own body. I’ve always kind of felt like, OK, maybe when I was younger, I’m not in the best shape, maybe it doesn’t make me the best trainer, but actually, I feel like that’s to my advantage in a weird way.”
How Kirk Myers Is Helping Put the ‘Fit’ in Women’s Fitness
Myers’ female clientele list—about 90% of his roster, he guesses—is extremely impressive, from Cindy Crawford to Victoria’s Secret Models Romee Strijd, Karlie Kloss, and Jasmine Tookes to pop superstars Lana Del Rey and, yes, Taylor Swift. He believes by listening to a client’s requests and goals, they trust him when it comes to putting their wellness in his hands.
“Women kind of dominate the fitness industry,” Myers shares. “In personal training, in athleisure, the main customer is female. When I started training early on, I typically attracted more female clients than men, so I always had a strong background training women. [To me], listening to what their goal is and then adapt your training philosophy to what is going to make them feel most confident in what they really want.”
No matter who the client is, Myers’ knack for understanding and communicating clearly helps him build a completely tailored plan that is unique to them.
“Everything we do is custom,” Myers says. “Personal training is one-on-one, so it really does depend on the individual. There’s certain movements that tend to work for the majority of people that I train, but every workout is custom towards that individual.”
Myers does keep some things the same for all his female clients who all have some of the same personality traits that he admires.
“What a lot of the females that I train have in common is that they’re very strong both physically and mentally,” the Dogpound trainer says. “That’s the common thread that I tend to get. I feel very blessed that I’ve had that type of person around us.”
Workouts Should Be Challenging & Fun
Biomechanics play a large factor in creating the perfect workout for each person which Myers calls a “mix” of various things in the gym which includes boxing, pilates, low impact, cardio and strength training exercises.
“You know your body better than I do because you lived in your body, you know your body,” Myers explains. “My goal is to listen to what you currently do, what you like, what you’re still going to be doing and then incorporate things that I believe and know an help you and then there’s progressions to that.”
Myers credits his excellent listening skills for continuing to build his rapidly growing clientele that come to him on a mostly referral basis to work hard but play harder.
“I think that’s probably the most important thing,” Myers explains. “Then work with them to hit that goal. One of the keys to my training is also making it fun. I know I definitely push clients 100%, but I am also a big believer in making sure it is fun and also authentic to who the person is, what they like, enjoy and want to improve.”
While Myers’ clients undoubtedly feel indebted to him for keeping their bodies the way they need them in a demanding industry, he actually credits them for inspiring him to keep doing what he’s doing.
“For sure,” Kirk Myers answers when asked if his female clients motivate him. “I always say this. Women are stronger than men. It’s science. Women give birth, right? By science, they physically can take on more pain than men.”