Body by Bart

Bart Applebaum has been Ahwatukee Foothills’ resident in-home personal trainer and exercise and nutrition consultant for more than 20 years.

His secret?

Applebaum says he trains people from the heart.

“A lot of trainers tell their clients what’s best for them to make money, and my clients know I tell them what’s best for them from my heart,” the 44-year-old said. “I think people know when you’re trying to make money and they know when you’re trying to help them with their health and fitness.

“I’m not trying to make money, I do alright.”

From the time Applebaum was a student at the University of Miami, he was training varsity athletes and giving diet and exercise advice to the many people that would ask him for it.

“People would ask me what they should eat and how they should train, so I said, 'Hey, I could make a living out of this.’”

After graduation Applebaum ventured into the corporate world, but about two years into his career and after being transferred to Phoenix, he decided it wasn’t for him.

In 1987 Applebaum started Body By Bart, and has been molding Ahwatukee Foothills residents into shape in the comfort of their own homes ever since.

“I’ve only done in-home, I’ve never trained anyone in a gym,” he said. “I am the only one in Phoenix that can say that.”

Applebaum currently trains about five clients a day ranging from age 25 to 78, and conducts in-home diet and exercise consultations on Fridays and Saturdays. The trainer said he keeps regular clients on a twice-a-week schedule and focuses on teaching his principal “work out smart, not hard.”

Karen Lepin, 58, started training with Applebaum 15 years ago with her daughter, Kelly, not only to get in shape, but to improve her overall health.

“The wonderful thing about Bart is if you can’t afford to do in-home personal training full time, he can give you a program and check back with you,” Lepin said. “My daughter still sees him periodically when she comes home from Tennessee to update her program.”

Lepin said that because her younger sister suffers from osteoporosis she was surprised to see results from her first bone density scan, which showed she had no bone loss. She attributes her achievement to the weight-bearing activities Applebaum incorporates into her program.

“I’ve watched personal trainers in the gym, but Bart really cares about his clients,” Lepin said. “He’s not just standing there waiting for us to get done and do another set. It’s also nice to have someone there to keep you on track, Bart calls to check up once a week.”

A two-hour nutrition or exercise consultation costs $300 and personal training is $100 per hour.

“A lot of people give away their service,” Applebaum said. “I’m a little more expensive, but I also do in-home consultations where they see me one time and in two hours I show them what to do on their own so they don’t have to pay a personal trainer twice a week.”

For more information, call (480) 940-6003 or visit www.bodybybart.com.