Personal Training International Still Changing Lives 10 Years Later

When Yury Klimovitsky migrated from Ukraine to the United States with his family in 1997, he couldn't speak English, had only $300 and couldn't find a job.

Back in his native land, he was a successful Olympic coach in track and field, winning Coach of the Year twice.

But now he was starting from scratch.

Fast-forward 16 years later, and you'll find Klimovitsky's life is more golden than ever.

Klimovitsky is the founder and master trainer at Personal Training International in Acton and recently celebrated the business's 10th anniversary.

"My philosophy is very different from other trainers," he said. "We look at what the big picture is, what will happen to this person in five or 10 years. We have a long-term plan. It's a lifetime commitment."

After migrating from Ukraine, Klimovitsky's first job was as a coach at Watertown Middle School.

He soon joined Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School as an assistant track coach and got a part-time job as a trainer at the Thoreau Club in Concord.

But after a few years in 2003, he decided to open his own business. He said once 21 of his 25 clients at Thoreau said they join his new center, he was confident he could make the business work.

"I felt I had to go on my own," he said. "But I had no business experience. I was coming from a Socialist country where people didn't own businesses. For many years I considered doing this, but I was afraid."

The first location of the PTI studio was in the basement of the Damon Mill Building in West Concord. For a few years Yury and his wife, Svetlana, trained clients, but it became apparent that they were outgrowing the location. In 2009 they designed and moved into their present location at 30 Sudbury Road in Acton.

Soon after they started hiring interns, with some evolving into full-time trainers, including Sean Duncan, the coordinator for the PTI Elite training program, a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach, and an assistant track coach at Littleton High School.

"A lot of the clients really support us. They believe in what we do because it works," Duncan said. "The reason people connect well here is because we don't try to squeeze all your goals in seven days. As people start to progress and get better, they get more enthusiastic in exercise. They see little bits of improvement and want to do more."

Training at PTI is based on the scientific European fitness model. For each new client they start with a focused analysis of your movement patterns and exercise performance, whether it be in a competitive sport or in daily living. They then assist you in developing realistic performance goals based on your extensive experience with a broad range of ages and capabilities.

"People came for the philosophy and to train with Yury," Duncan said. "Now they trust the philosophy more than the individual trainer."