Our Coaches

ADRIAN COOKE - Founder and Head Coach

I am a native of Northern Ireland, and came to the States in 2009 and bringing with me over 20 years of direct sports performance experience as a member of both regional football ( or soccer as y’all know it here )and senior level cricket teams. During those years of performing with high intensity and physicality , week in,week out, I developed chronic back pain for extended periods of time often to the point of not being able to walk! Of course back then , you just sucked it up, took something to relieve the pain when at it’s worst and then got back in the game again. ( Something we hear about a lot in the exercise and lifting world today )

When I moved to the U.S. I hadn’t played any competitive soccer for around 3 years simply because my body was beat up and the dreary British climate of cold and damp weather really didn’t do anything for my joints. I had already started lifting weights , although I was definitely a late starter simply because I really didn’t see the benefits of doing so up to that point. Having back pain, all the experts recommended strengthening my ‘core’ to help build up some stability for my lower back. In the beginning, this really did not help and if anything aggravated my back as much as before. Even though I was doing all the recommended exercises, I had never been taught how to do these correctly or understand the mechanics and what was really going on with my body. Basically … I was butchering the exercises and my poor back! . Finally I decided to become a Personal Trainer and educate myself on how to do this stuff the '“correct” way, and whaddya know, I eventually started to feel like I had control over the chronic back issues, and by the time I had met my wife Neely and moved across the pond to the U.S, I was already back playing soccer regularly and without the nagging knee, back and ankle pain. The warm Virginia climate I’m sure didn’t do me any harm either!

Unfortunately, nowadays, I see a lot of members at the gym make the same mistakes I did, simply because they don’t understand how their body works or what it really needs. Making the time and investment to learn proper technique is priceless and well worth the effort and will provide safe and consistent progress for the long term . My mission is to help people learn from my experiences and mistakes by providing the tools and education to build a solid foundation of proper movement and strength the “correct” way, to avoid injury and become strong and mobile enough to remain physically active, competitive and independent for as long as possible!

I offer coaching with proper technique in barbell, bodyweight and resistance band training, though Kettlebells are my favorite tool because of their versatility and portability. Of course any appropriate combination of these tools and techniques will go a long way to moving anyone in the right direction.

Contact: adrian@powerof3fitness.com or 804-658-7625

Certifications:

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor ( Level 1) FMS Certified ( Functional Movement Systems ) TPI - Titleist Performance Institute Certified (Level 1) A.C.E. Fitness Nutrition
N.A.S.M. Performance Enhancement Specialist and Golf Fitness Specialist
N.A.S.M Corrective Exercise Specialist
A.C.E Senior Fitness Specialist
CPR/First Aid