The Lab by Aaron Bonser — Local services in Philadelphia

HELLO, PITTSBURGH! My trainer, Sam Whitney, at The Lab by Aaron Bonser in Philadelphia is moving to Pittsburgh and opening a branch of The Lab there. My Loss, your good fortune in my opinion!

I have used Sam as my trainer for the last year, generally three times a week. He is without doubt the best trainer I have ever worked with. He is intellectually curious with an excellent educational and work background (degree from Temple in Physiology and a lot of relevant work experience) and he has helped me explore all sorts of health-related issues and plan my fitness and health activities going forward.

I have some health issues that I have shared with Sam, and I have found that he has been sensitive to those while also responding to my request that he push me as hard as he thinks is reasonable; the results shown in the In-Body and DEXA scans that I have gotten over the last year have been great (frankly I think that is an understatement) and I attribute much of that to Sam’s guidance in planning my workouts and both encouraging me and also cutting me some slack when I’ve needed it.

Part and parcel of that is that he has a great personality, so that we can yank each other’s chain (and there’s been plenty to yank in both directions!) but at the same time have thoughtful discussions on a wide range of topics, both health and more generally. In simple terms, I’ve found Sam to be someone I’ve been able to bond with, someone I find I seek not to disappoint by failing to work to achieve my goals and honor my commitments to him. The proof of that is not only in my scan results, but more simply and obviously in the fact that he has convinced me to substantially change my sleep patterns, my nutritional and drinking habits and my health practices in general, something that no one in my family has ever been able to do.

THE BOTTOM LINE: get ahold of Sam ASAP and line up some sessions; I think he is going to have a full schedule very quickly and I sincerely believe you will have a great...

The Lab is SUCH a great thing for Philadelphia. I’ve worked out with a number of trainers over the years, and The Lab WAY exceeded my expectations. They somehow made exercise enjoyable, and I’m so much healthier for it. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in and am only getting stronger. When I was picking a gym, it was between this or Fitler Club, and I’m SO glad I picked The Lab.

They differentiate themselves because they’re mobile, but also because they take a wholistic approach to wellness, so if you want you can rotate through a number of different trainers with different backgrounds/skillsets (like physical therapy, strength based training, low-impact pool training, yoga, etc).

Special shout out to both Aaron and James who are my primary trainers. Aaron is infectiously ambitious and James is just delightful. Love them.

I’ve been running with James for a year and he’s helped me run Broad Street twice, which was something I never thought I could do. He made running approachable and now I just can’t stop. Aaron helped me train for Broad Street from a strength/stability based perspective, which helped prevent injury and made me feel comfortable increasing my mileage. The whole experience...

In July 2022, I started training with Sam Whitney and James Snyder from The Lab. Although my fitness goals have shifted around - sometimes I’m training for a half marathon and sometimes I’m working on just being healthier - but they have been flexible with working around my demanding work schedule and shifting fitness goals. I also relocated from Philly to Miami, but I have been able to continue to train with The Lab on a remote basis. I have had great success when I follow the plans given to me - my physicality has never been better and I have run several long races with ease when I stuck with the plans. They are incredibly attentive and regularly check in with me to if how the plan needs to be adjusted based on what I have going on during a particular week and how I am feeling. Of course I miss meeting with them in-person because I miss our great talks while running or lifting together, but my remote training has been great too. I use The Lab’s app on my Apple Watch, which is easy to use, provides me with good reminders about what I need to do, and allows James to give me a weekly plan and keep an eye on my cardio & strength...