Catherine Hoekstra - Personal Trainer

In late 2019, I reached out to Catherine for her opinion on how to best rehab a shoulder injury that had been keeping me from participating 100% in classes at Onside Performance Centre.Catherine performed an assessment of my mobility and strength within days of that conversation and within that week put together a detailed, well thought out four week program for me that focused on all of the areas that I had been struggling with - mobility, stability and strength. Catherine took the time out of her schedule to walk me through the program and show me how to do movements that I wasn’t familiar with and was available every step of the way to ask questions and to check in on my progress.Before this program, I didn’t have the stability in my shoulders to kick up into a handstand hold against the wall and could only do a few reps of a shoulder-heavy movement (e.g. pull ups or push ups) before my shoulders would be in pain. This program helped me to build the strength in my shoulders that I need to be able to participate fully in classes and I’m happy to report that I haven’t had shoulder pain since and can now kick up into a handstand hold. In fact, in January I participated in a rowing challenge at Onside Performance Centre (rowing was previously a movement that also resulted in shoulder pain) and didn’t have any pain.Catherine has been an incredible, supportive coach and I’d highly recommend her to anyone looking for programming or coaching in the Halifax area.

I started training with Catherine in September of 2020 and have continued to train with her for over 1 year now and see her 3x per week. We focus on strength and cardio training. We have also dabbled with strong man style workouts.Catherine is client focused provides excellent 1 on 1 PT services. Her knowledge of proper technique paired with advanced knowledge of the muscular system is an excellent combination.I really enjoy the variety of training sessions she brings to me. I don’t think I’ve done the same workout twice in over a year.She’s goes above beyond regular requirements and I’d recommend her to anyone that wants to get serious about increasing their fitness levels.

Five stars not enough, would go higher if allowed. I've been doing PT with Catherine for about 5 months now, and the results have been incredible. She's incredibly focused on technique and has a complete understanding of how the whole body is involved in each exercise and skill, and my strength and skills at all kinds of physical activities (weights, cardio, gymnastics) have all improved dramatically. She's also really helped me rehab my knee, so I'm back to running without pain and really looking forward to the curling season. She pushes hard but is very encouraging, and is really fun to work with. Highly, highly recommended.

If you are looking for a trainer that takes the time to get to know you and your fitness goals, Catherine is the one. Programming was challenging, varied and fun. I looked forward to my sessions....even when we were working on things I personally struggle with. Definitely a great experience!!