Average To Elite Performance

Jordan is a genius. He knows anatomy so well that any problem I’ve had whether flexibility or injury he has me do some seemingly minor/​basic exercises that result in significant/​dramatic and immediate improvements. It’s hard to even explain what he does — its like magic. I’m gaining back flexibility that I haven’t had in over 20 years. I’m excited about growing older — it doesn’t mean I have to lose flexibility, gain weight or feel pain… I can’t say enough things about Jordan. He’s amazing and a true jewel that I’ve been fortunate enough to run across.

Training with Jordan is unlike any other training experience. His knowledge and understanding of human anatomy and neurology is simply unmatched in the industry. He took the time to create a training plan specifically for me and my goals. Not only have I regained range of motion and ability from a previous injury, I’ve lost weight and am most certainly the strongest I’ve ever been. He doesn’t just address strength gains and weight loss goals, he also works through limitations and restrictions as well. Instead of avoiding an area of the body (due to previous injury) he addresses the problem and works to fix it. Jordan makes training fun, and infuses his wonderful sense of humor into his training sessions. Each session is focused on my personal goals, as well as ensuring optimal mobility and function. I finally feel like my body is moving the way it’s meant to. He has gone above and beyond, and is truly a healer! Thanks, Jordan!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first signed up for sessions with Jordan. I had barely any exposure to kettle bells and my goal was to simply get lose pounds and get lean. Over the course of the first few sessions, Jordan went to great lengths to address any past/​present injuries and mobility issues because it was paramount to him that the body be well-​prepared for kettle bell training. At first I was anxious to get started on an intense work-​out but all those earlier prep sessions paid off as I found myself becoming pain-​free in areas that had troubled me before. His toolbox of exercises and tips helped heal my low back pain, inner knees issues, and a particular twinge in my hip region. He was also careful about teaching me proper form when using kettle bells as it becomes important the more one loads weight. Over time, I found myself growing stronger, more stable, and integrated – particularly helpful to me since I am hyper flexible and needed to develop more muscle strength. There was certainly a method to his «madness» as when he finally ramped up the intensity level, I was more than capable of handling it, while still feeling challenge of exertion. Also of note, he changed the way I perceived the method of becoming lean towards a healthier, long-​term, sustainable approach that included diet and body composition as opposed to monitoring the scale and simply exercising to try to drop pounds.
Jordan’s vast wealth of knowledge and expertise is amazing and I immediately trusted his guidance as I could tell he had his client’s best interest in mind. Jordan has been excellent at responding to any questions/​needs I had and this helped encourage me in my practice of kettle bell training. I’ve discovered that kettle bell training is an excellent complement to my strong yoga practice and now I’ve incorporated it into my regular routine.
One last (but not least) thing I’ll always remember was when I first signed up for sessions with him, some personal issues prevented me from showing up to a few of them. After a long break, I resumed training with him and he generously gave me back the sessions I missed because he wanted to motivate me into getting back on track and see the changes I was desiring. So there you have it; not only is he excellent at what he does, he also has a heart. Don’t let his seemingly tough exterior fool you.

I contacted Jordan after reading his great reviews on Unilocal.My goals were to lose weight and become stronger for an upcoming cruise in October. I am super happy with the results so far and I could not have done it without Jordan! He is one of the best trainers in the bay area. Plus, he is super funny!

This boutique fitness studio is beyond compare. Jordan Vezina uses his expertise and draws on his vast didactic and experiential knowledge to provide the very best that there is in personal fitness training. Everything is individualized and meticulous. This business can get no better a rating in my humble opinion.

Jordan really is the best in the business. I can’t tell you how much I miss him since I moved away two years ago! I’ve looked for trainers all over Chicagoland, including Z-​Health certified trainers, but no one measures up.
Jordan not only delivers results, he FIXES YOU. Not only do you end up strong and with a killer bod, but all those nagging pains and dysfunctions? Gone. He had my body moving/​functioning better than it has my entire life. It may take some time, but he will have you doing movements you thought you couldn’t do again, pain-​free.
I still use the exercises and movement drills he taught me when I’m not performing my best. I have recurring problems with my shoulders and traps, as well as my calves/​ankles. Before/​during/​after my workouts, when something doesn’t feel right, I do them and notice an immediate difference. I’m looser, I move better, and have less/​no pain. They also help lots with recovery!
In short: GO! He’s worth it! And he’s pretty funny to boot.

I’ve just moved down to SoCal and even with the plethora of trainers down here in LA, I can’t find anyone with the skill and experience that Jordan has. Before moving, I trained with Jordan for about a year. I came to him after other trainers in SF recommended him to me due to my joint pain. I wasn’t even able to do a simple squat without my knees killing me for about a year until I met Jordan. He figured out my alignment issues in the first session and had me doing squats right away without pain! After that, he was always helping me find new ways to improve my joints issues through diet and exercise, always pushing me to maximize my workouts while staying pain free. After a year of training with him, I had my knee pain fairly under control and even started to be able to run again — a huge accomplishment for someone that hadn’t jogged in over a year and half!
If you want and need a truly professional trainer with knowledge and experience in training people with injuries, stop looking! Jordan is the trainer for you! Btw, he is also a fantastic person and has a pretty hilarious dry sense of humor.

I trained with Alyssa Chang for most of 2012 and would have continued training with her if I didn’t move away from Palo Alto last January. She is extremely attentive and knows exactly how hard to push you without making you feel sick afterwards. Alyssa will also make sure your form is solid. The workouts were constantly varying so I never got bored.
One of the things I really liked about Alyssa’s training style are her post-​workout followups. She is great at following up after workouts to see how I am feeling and also provided helpful feedback on my diet when I showed her my food log. Even when I was traveling for work, she would email me to see how I was feeling. I’m 31 now and have never been in better shape my whole life.
As a software engineer who sits in front of the computer most of the day, I can’t say there is a single other investment I’ve made in my life so far that makes me feel better about myself on a daily basis than training with Alyssa.
Even though I’ve moved to San Francisco and have a new trainer there, if I ever have to spend time in Palo Alto for more than a few days for business I will try to schedule a training session with her. She’s THAT good!

Alyssa Chang at Average to Elite Performance is one of the best trainers in the business. Alyssa is totally client centered– she listens to you, pays attention to your goals and priorities and then ever so subtly challenges you to push yourself beyond where you could ever go on your own.
Alyssa is very sensitive to my ups and downs and modifies my work out accordingly. When my back starts acting up or my knee bothers me, Alyssa pays attention to helping with the pain in the short term and correcting what led to the pain in the long term. She is a true partner, helping you to meet your goals and findi ways to integrate health and fitness into your life forever.

Pre-​Jordan: 4 years of severe back pain, 3+ years of chiropractors, 2+ years of physical therapy. Recommendation to do 2 – 5 pounds dumb-​bells. Hated exercising. (I am in my 30s)
Post Jordan: pain free (and have a very good idea of how to rid the pain if it rears it head). I reached 200 pounds in dead-​lift. Loved Kettle ball and his general take on exercising.
I had to discontinue and I miss him — I have serious withdrawal symptoms :-/​since discontinuing with him.
He is awesome and I am longing to go back to him.

Jordan Vezina has introduced me to next level training and beyond with Z Health principles applied in a practical way to what I am doing with Kettlebells and running. He is really on the cutting edge. I am looking forward to learning more and constantly refining and taking it all to the next level. Thanks Jordan. You are on it.

I first started working with Jordan about a year ago, and I have to say, it has been a great experience from day one. Coming into my first visit, I felt like I was in pretty decent shape, as I’ve played sports for most of my life and worked out consistently for as long as I can remember.
I had mainly come in with the mindset that I’d work with Jordan for a few sessions to build up a good foundation in kettlebell workouts so that I could work with them safely on my own. To my surprise, within just a few minutes and a couple of fitness level tests, Jordan was able to successfully identify and zero in on a number of things that were holding me back from really reaching my potential. I had some lingering injuries and ailments as well as flexibility issues, so his noticing wasn’t entirely impressive as I would expect as much from a fitness professional. What WAS impressive, however, was how, with just a few small drills (and accompanying explanations), we were able to have a noticeable impact on some of the pain as well as flexibility.
A few weeks later, I had a better posture, felt better, and was already building strength, despite working with much lighter weights. I had also learned a ton about my body, and how to take better care of it (and no, I’m not just talking about nutrition). Fast forward a year, and I feel like I’m still continuing to make forward progress.
One of the things that I’ve really appreciated about working with Jordan is his flexibility and adaptability. I picked up rock climbing a few months ago and my resulting fitness goals have changed dramatically. Jordan has been able to adapt the exercises and plans to help me meet my goals in better ways than I could have imagined.
For anyone on the fence about seeing Jordan, I’d say to A2E a couple of weeks and really try to incorporate some of the stuff you learn into your every day life. Your body will thank you :)

I met Jordan a few years ago when I first got introduced to the weird «cannonball-​with-​a-​handle» fitness tool during a martial arts seminar at the Inosanto Academy. Since my instructor didn’t believe I could go and knock someone out, I was given the mandate to develop more explosive power and work on my cardio. This was when I decided to find out more about kettlebells and started looking for kettlebell instructors in the area, and luckily I found Jordan and was subsequently exposed to the world of functional strength training.
I came to Jordan with horrible conditioning and even worse body mechanics, and somehow, he’s managed to sort both these issues out. When I started training with Jordan, I could barely complete one set of 20 swings on the 12kg without being close to passing out. Training under Jordan, I’ve reached some milestones I never thought I’d ever be capable of, from doing swings on the 24kg, renegade rows on the 16kg, pistols, and even my first dead hang pull-​up. These days it’s even about improving my vision to improve my movement, something I hadn’t really thought would be a vital component to training, but apparently it is, and I’ve already noticed improvement in my hand speed and movement tracking abilities in my martial arts training.
What I’ve always been impressed with about Jordan is that he has an almost Dr. Frankenstein-​like attitude toward learning — he’s always experimenting (now I don’t know if he’s ever built a monster in his basement, but I almost believe he’d actually be capable of pulling that off if he tried), tweaking things here and there, and trying to find out not only what works, but what works best. And I’ve always felt that he has a sincere desire to see his clients attain their goals. I keep training in martial arts because there are always new things to learn, techniques to refine, and I will happily make it my lifetime pursuit to attain self-​perfection in the martial arts. For that same reason, while I haven’t always been able to train consistently due to schedule constraints and have gone on long stretches of training on my own, I’ve always been drawn back to training with this guy. I know I can count on Jordan to keep learning and growing, and whatever new things he picks up in Z-​Health and other sources he’ll apply to our training sessions if it’s applicable to my goals. I would highly recommend him as a strength coach, movement specialist, and overall fitness professional.

I’ve known Jordan for almost four years and every one of my experiences in working with him have been positive. I first met him when he taught a first rate kettlebell workshop at Equinox in San Mateo. From that time until now, I have personally seen his constant growth and never ending commitment to improving his trade as a personal trainer.
I have had the pleasure of training one on one with Jordan and the result of every session was some improvement or eureka moment. He helped me pass the RKC snatch test and has always been helpful and available when discussing the business of personal training, especially in the realm of Z-​Health.
For his professionalism and expertise, I definitely give him the highest recommendation as a fitness professional.

Working with Jordan was such an awesome experience. I was in a bit of a fitness slump, and came to Jordan to try to get reenergized. He helped me work out some pain I was having in my hips, and just generally wowed me with his knowledge about the body and how we can make simple adjustments to improve mobility and strength. Unfortunately, I outside circumstances meant I couldn’t work with Jordan for very long, but I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for an awesome, supportive (and hilarious) personal trainer.

I know Jordan thru the Russian Kettlebell community. initially his videos helped me get strong to help prepare for my RKC cert.
After attaining my cert I personally befriended him as I started exploring the Z-​health training system. He has always been quick to help or answer my questions. I consider him one of the few trainers whose advice I can trust.
I have no problem recommending anyone who is interested in better performance, whether for a sport, or just for a healthier, more mobile body, to GO TRAIN WITH JORDAN!
And he also has a snarky sense of humor, which pretty much mimics my own.
I just look better doing it.

My Name is Dr. Donald Berry
I am a Chiropractor, a Kungfu Teacher and a Strength Coach. Jordan’s Insights and Videos have been a great source of learning for me. I look at his kettlebell techniques as the standards that I try and reach. I send my Patients/​Clients/​Friends and Family to his site for instruction. He’s a fine Man and a Greta Coach!

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a fan of 99.99 999% of the «fitness professionals» out there. And, as a fellow fitness professional with 20 years of experience under my belt, I’ve met plenty of them. When I look at other fitness folks, I concentrate not only on how much they know, but on their ability to apply the information, their drive to learn more, their passion, and their commitment to their clients and their chosen field. Most folks in this business have simply passed an exam so that they can call themselves «Personal Trainer.» From there, they become «Bored person checking cellphone while giving client back pain,» or perhaps «Person who equates driving clients to quivering, puking, sweaty messes to proper training procedures.»
That having been said, Jordan Vezina meets and surpasses every quality I look for in a fitness professional. I respect him more than words can say. He talks the talk. He walks the walk. He knows his stuff, and he knows how to apply it. Jordan WILL make you better, faster, stronger. If you have pain, he will get you out of it. If you have trouble touching your toes, he will get you there. If you want to learn how to do some awesome flower arrangements… well, for all I know, he might be able help you do that, too, but you have to ask nice.
I do not take reviewing my fellow fitness professionals lightly. And I can say whole-​heartedly that if you’re in the Palo Alto area, you would be remiss not to visit Average to Elite Performance.
Bring your own flowers.

I am a personal trainer working in San Francisco and I have been extremely impressed working with Jordan. He and I have attended a number of Z Health training conferences and he has held follow up trainings for us to get better. I would definitely consider him a mentor for me in the training industry. I have also seen a few of the services he has in place for his personal training clients and feel he has done a great and very thorough job putting these together.

I’ve been seeing Jordan for over 6 months now.
I was looking for more then strength conditioning. I needed help in correcting movement issues and then optimizing my flexibility and strength. Years of desk work compounded with some old injuries had taken their toll, and my DIY approach with dumbbells wasn’t cutting it. I wanted to find a trainer that would integrate kettlebell training with whatever corrective exercises I would need.
Jordan started with movement screening and gave me stretches and exercises designed to rehabilitate my lost flexibility. As my flexibility increased I was seeing far more strength increases than I expected. Seasonal joint aches disappeared, and my overall endurance and functional strength has exceeded my expectations.
I’ve got a way to go to meet my goals, but I know that with Jordan that I will surpass them.

Jordan was my personal instructor (1:1 sessions) for several months over the period of about a year. I saw incredible strength and stability gains and appreciated Jordan’s expertise and unwillingness to let me get away with anything. After returning to my weight lifting program for a time, I was amazed at how much more I could pull than before starting with kettlebells.
Highly recommend. And congrats to Jordan on his RKC Team Leader achievement!

Figured it was time to update this review since it’s been over a year. I started working with Jordan to get in shape for my wedding last year and I’ve stuck with it because it has beyond exceeded my expectations.
As a trainer, Jordan knows his stuff. Everything he teaches he actually does himself, so he’s extremely familiar with the exercises and is great at troubleshooting and knowing when to push or let you rest.
He’s got a solid knowledge base about kettlebells and general conditioning/​training and is constantly educating himself about the latest developments/​trends in his field.
With kettlebells the workouts are shorter (albeit harder), the results are better, and you don’t need 50 different machines to get it done. Everybody asks me how I can possibly get a workout from swinging a kettlebell. Keep in mind that at PAK you won’t be swinging a 5 lb KB (at least, not for long). Jordan has said that most of his female clients will start with around a 26 lb KB or heavier and progress upward from there. The KBs come in a wide range of weights, with the heaviest one being over 100 lbs.
To sum up:
**If you are not opposed to working hard, kettlebell workouts will give you a great workout in a short amount of time.
**Jordan is an excellent trainer and I’d recommend him to anyone without hesitation. You WILL get better results with his guidance and with KBs you need a good instructor, especially when you start out.
**I would give PAK 10 stars if I could. Seriously.