Amanda Hunt

My name is Amanda Hunt and I was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA in 1971.  I have always had an affinity towards helping others with their fitness and health goals.  I was a competetive athlete in high school and college (Cross Country and Track & Field).  I had some struggles with weight loss in early 2000 then finally figured out how to succeed from multiple trainers and group exercise instructors by changing my workouts to become more efficiant and safe.  I lost 40 LBS and 10% body Fat and decided to become a group fitness instructor and a personal trainer so I could help others succeed in their fitness goals.  I have worked as a nurse for 19 years and volunteered as a Paramedic with the local rescue squad for 24 years.  I have seen first hand the impacts of lack of physical activity and poor dietary choices on the human body, and I have now made the conscious choice to change my efforts from trying to fix those already devastated by their lack of knowledge and sometimes poor choices to helping those in a preventative fashion before they get to the point of having to be hospitalized for these issues.  My goals now are primarily safety and effectiveness and helping people find a routine that works for them they can enjoy and maintain for their life long journey. 

I primarily like to focus on removing momentum from exercises and engaging the core musculature using lighter loads with an emphasis on time under tension.  I focus on making my workouts well balanced around each joint; working the anterior and posterior chains equally as well as both sides of the body equally.  Form and maintaining good form and posture is everything. 

I am also capable of teaching the hard core athletic conditioning style classes with propulsive and explosive intervals while always offering less intense options for members who do not wish to participate in the higher impact exercises.  I enjoy teaching strength/sculpting classes as well as bootcamp/athletic conditioning classes and balance challenge classes where I gradually remove the stability from each exercise and assist the client to understand how much more they can gain from an exercise by working each muscle in the same way that muscle is primarily worked in activities of daily living/functional movement.  I enjoy giving clients a base move then taking away some of the stability such as having a participant do a chest press while supporting their upper body on a Swiss Ball and using their abs, glutes, hamstrings/quads etc to stabilize while dong the chest exercise.  Again...making the exercise appropriate for the fitness level of the participant witih many options to regress or progress the exercise so it is safe and effective regardless of the participant's fitness level.  I primarily enjoy working with clients who are senior citizens or middle aged, however I am comfortable working with clients of any age and fitness level.  I am also comfortable teaching both land and aquatics exercise classes. 

I am currently working full-time as a nurse at the University of Virginia Medical Center and part-time as a group exercise instructor, massage therapist and personal trainer at ACAC in Charlottesville.