5-Star Reviews: Personal Training NYC

We're proud of the 5-star Google, Yelp, and Facebook reviews we've received from clients. In fact, all of our customer reviews are 5-star reviews.

Here’s a selection, starting with Dr. Anne Moscona, a prominent physician, medical researcher, and long-term client of ours.

“Outstanding”

“Franciso Villalobos is an outstanding professional. As a personal trainer, he brings a true understanding of exercise physiology and health to his focused, responsible approach to strength training.

I am a physician and have been truly impressed, over the years, by Francisco’s careful attention to tailoring his training to the level and condition of each individual.

“I give him my highest possible recommendation.”

I trust him to train my ailing 83-year-old mother as well as my 8-year-old child, confident that Francisco will bring out the best possible effort from each, without ever overlooking medical issues.

For my own training, Francisco has gladly dealt with my limited schedule and interruptions, and has made me stronger and stronger each month and year.

In addition to being a talented and dedicated professional, Francisco is a thoughtful, completely reliable, kind, and considerate person.

I give him my highest possible recommendation.”

– Anne Moscona, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics; Physiology and Cellular Biophysics; and Microbiology and Immunology; Columbia University.

Looking for a personal trainer in NYC?

We invite you to book a phone meeting with Francisco Villalobos to discuss your fitness needs and questions.

Inner Strength Fitness provides smart strength training to baby boomers in the Manhattan area.

Choose from 3 private gyms or be trained at your residence. Remote training for travelers also available.

“amazingly efficient”

“Francisco provides an intense amazingly efficient strength training workout. He is extremely knowledgeable, diligent and safe.”

- David Liebowitz

“excellent”

“Francisco’s understanding of the human body’s mechanics leads to excellent tailoring of a program suitable for each individual’s needs.”

– John Gillis, John Gillis Architecture

“poise and class”

“I have been involved in personal training since 1983 as a trainer, manager, and educator, and Francisco is one of the few of the many that I’ve come across that I would have train me if I were the client.

I have no reservation about recommending him to anyone considering hiring a trainer.

Few people, much less personal trainers, have the poise and class that Francisco has; along with the personal training skills.

Please feel free to call me at my studio at (609) 462-7722 with any questions; but I recommend Francisco without hesitation.”

– Bill DeSimone, Owner, Optimal Exercise Personal Training Studio

“the best”

“I can not speak more highly of the personal fitness training provided by Francisco – he’s the best trainer I’ve ever had by far.

Francisco is passionate, intelligent and knowledgeable about fitness, health and nutrition.

“wonderfully supportive”

He’s also wonderfully supportive, sensitive and patient – yet firm and disciplined – in his approach to working with clients.

He delivers information, attention and guidance with a confident and gentle manner that balances wit, humor, encouragement and drive in a quest to get the best results he can for his clients.

I was so impressed with Francisco’s personal training that I recommended him to my wife and daughter, and they love him too. It’s hard to say anything better than that.”

– Gerald Grossman

“a huge positive impact”

“Working out with Francisco has made a huge positive impact to my well-being and fitness level.

I was initially skeptical about being able to make progress and getting stronger week after week, but Francisco keeps proving me wrong after several months of working together.

“Francisco is a great motivator.”

I also thought that once I had learned the basics of weight training I would not need a trainer anymore.

I was again wrong – I cannot replicate his expertise, patience and fine tuning of the program to fit my body and help me improve even on days when I have gotten little sleep or have not eaten properly.

Added bonus – Francisco is a great motivator and someone I can exchange ideas with on a wide variety of subjects (philosophy, literature, history).”

– Gabi Powell

“I am stronger than I have ever been my whole life.”

“I was always intimidated by the idea of even stepping into the weight room with all those guys sweating and grunting.

Francisco has shown me how to lift weights carefully but without fear.

I am stronger than I have ever been my whole life.

He patiently taught me how to squat, bench and dead lift. I have no issues stepping into a weight room and I love weight lifting.”

– Socorro Morales

“the best!”

“Francisco understands all types and ages of bodies.

He is an outstanding trainer and knows what to focus on for each individual needs and especially good at making the most with what you have.

“you can trust him”

I’ve worked out with many trainers and always ended up injured by being pushed to do exercises my body couldn’t handle.

You can trust him to know what you need. He’s the best!

– Carlos Hatch

“no more chiropractor visits”

“Francisco helped transition my body from an average 40-something to the strength I had when I was in college.

He motivated me and pushed me to obtain results I never thought were possible at my age. Before meeting Francisco I would have monthly visits to the chiropractor.

After two months with Francisco, no more chiropractor visits.

“I have not felt this glued together in over twenty years.”

I really looked forward to my Saturday morning workouts. I would begin to mentally prepare myself on Thursday for the 30 intense minutes on Saturday.

I 100% endorse Francisco as a Personal Trainer and a trusted professional.”

– Mark Evangelist

“My overall improvement was dramatic.”

“I have done regular weight training with Francisco over the last few years and found his efforts to be highly beneficial.

In particular he was able to effectively custom-tailor his approach to focus on strengthening specific areas that had been impaired by sports related repetitive motion injuries.

My overall improvement was dramatic. His close monitoring through diligent record keeping allowed genuine progress to be accurately traced.

As an aging life-long squash player I was faced with the compelling need to improve my overall strength capabilities in order to continue playing and reduce the chances of injury.

“Francisco enabled me to achieve my goals.”

In particular, I feel strongly that all squash players should undertake this kind of training and that Francisco would be an ideal choice.

In addition to Francisco’s highly sophisticated and time efficient approach to weight-training, his broad and deep knowledge of fitness and health issues generally significantly enhance overall client benefits.”

– Peter R. Lasusa, Jr. – Chairman, U.S. Squash

Defy your age

Francisco is a healer. The Inner Strength workout can take you from a point where you are feeling your age to a point where you are defying your age!

– Gil Rios

“transformative experience”

Becoming stronger with Inner Strength Fitness was a positively transformative experience. The Inner Strength workout is tough but it makes everything else you do throughout the day easier.

Francisco is deeply knowledgeable, experienced and attentive to the details of proper form. His empathetic encouragement pushed me and made me feel I could do or accomplish anything.

I can’t recommend Francisco and the Inner Strength Fitness experience enough!

– Enrie Morales

“engaged and caring”

Francisco Villalobos will build you up on a mental and character level as he is helping build up on a physical one. His engaged and caring style will definitely take you to the next level!

– Ralph Rodriguez

“fabulous!”

Francisco is absolutely fabulous! His method works and you will see results fast. He is patient, attentive, and thorough.

I’m a 29 year old woman and I trained with Francisco twice a week for four months. I immediately started seeing results.

Not only did I lose weight, but I gained muscle and got much leaner. Highly recommend him!

— Gabriella Paglieri

“optimal outcomes”

“Francisco Villalobos has over 20 years of experience providing highly effective strength training. I’ve been impressed with how Inner Strength Fitness achieves optimal outcomes for clients: strength and fitness are core to living well, living adventurously, and living with confidence.

“a natural communicator with a warm personality”

Every client gets a highly personalized plan and approach. There’s no generic “one-size-fits-all” approach here. Just real science and real results.

I’m impressed with the depth of Francisco’s expertise: this is a man who’s not going to waste your time.

He’s a natural communicator with a warm personality and a person of great integrity. Francisco’s personality really shines: you can see how enthusiastic he is to create win-wins for his clients. I also appreciate his safety-first approach.“.

— Sherrie Gossett, Founder, Spearfish

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