Richard Estupinian, Personal Trainer

I got to know Richard through my membership at the Presidio YMCA. Let me describe Richard: knowledgeable, passionate, personable, friendly, considerate, engaging, and humble.
He is the trainer at the gym who instead of standing around waiting for someone to ask him a question, he walks around the gym and looks for people that may need help. And, he is always courteous in his approach. For example, if he sees you are using a machine improperly, he politely shows you another way.
I love Richard for his passion, quest for knowlege, and the mind/​body connection he infuses into his training programs. He is always taking classes, reading, or trying to learn more about personal training and take it to the next level. He personally helped me with a running injury by showing me weights to strengthen muscles that became weak.
I would encourage anyone interested in training to give Richard a chance. I think he’s simply the BEST!!!

I finally caved and tried the personal trainer recommended by my friend Michelle. And he completely rocks! So I’m writing a review, even though I am rarely moved to write reviews (although I rely on Unilocal heavily for most ‘reviewable’ choices in life!!! I guess it’s ‘give back’ time…).
Thanks to Michelle’s recommendation, I now have a super brilliant, VERY reasonably-​priced personal trainer who is fantastic at working with people with sports injuries, repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia syndrome, etc (I won’t write what his rate is because if someone sees this review in two years or whatever it will be out of date, but he really *is* very reasonably priced). He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the human body, has thirty years of experience as a personal trainer, and is a martial arts master (Tai Chi, Kung Fu). Richard is an older guy, is very sweet and modest, and would probably be hugely embarrased to be praised so highly. However, this is my Unilocal account, and I’ll do what I like! Oh, and he’ll travel to you if you live in SF and have the equipment, or you can train at a gym if that’s your thing.
Just in case you need it, his email without the @ sign is: restupinian (at)
(the @ sign removed to try and flummox the spammers… :-)).
I have major-​league bi-​lateral carpal tunnel (Look Mom! No hands!) which is no joke when you are trying to do strength/​weight training. It took me a year of rehabilitation to be able to master micro-​movements without pain (using a computer keyboard and playing guitar etc) — mainly from bio-​feedback (linking your muscles up to a computer monitor so you can learn to use them with the minimum of stress). Anyways, the bio-​feedback only took me so far, and I decided I wanted to get into strength training again (e.g. gross movement rather than micro-​movement). I tried over and over again and failed each time, even with the help of physical therapists.
I figured my injury wasn’t healed enough. But the truth was, I wasn’t training correctly for my condition. Working with Richard has meant that for the first time I can do strength training (free weights) and increase my load gradually over time without pain. That is a huge deal for me, I thought I was stuck with aerobics-​only for the rest of my life. I have friends who have been incapacitated by carpal tunnel and have had to quit doing stuff they loved.
If you are looking for a personal trainer to scream ‘drop and give me 20′ etc Richard is not your guy. Well probably not. Who knows? If you pay him to scream at you like a Marine seargent he might. However, where Richard really shines is in creating a workout plan tailored for your specific needs, especially if you have an injury and and need a personal trainer who understands enough about the human body to really work with you and strategize about how to fix a problem. He is great at explaining how the muscles work and how to have great form when you train. Many of his clients have chronic injuries or debilitating conditions, unlike the majority of personal trainers (he worked at the VA for years). However, my friend Michelle also thinks he’s great, and she’s just about the healthiest person I know. So you don’t have to be injured to appreciate Richard’s skill as a personal trainer!
Also, he does home visits if you prefer — I believe he has some kind of affiliation with the YMCA if you need a gym to be involved. I’m very motivated about my training but I have a feeling that he could be a hard taskmaster if that’s what you need. I very strongly recommend him!