“Thank you for all of your help in making me the golfer and person I am today. I started working with Michael Holland during my junior year of high school after my dad suggested that a personal trainer could help me improve my golf game. Through his focus on a progressive approach to all around fitness training, Michael helped me not only recover from tendinitis in my left wrist, but also go from a ten handicap to a two handicap golfer and the number one player on my high school team in my senior year. 

Michael helped me lose weight and gain strength by guiding me through exercises using my own body weight. Additionally, Michael helped me with the mental aspect of golf in a variety of ways, including by having me hit putts with my eyes closed and by having regular discussions on the state of my game. Thanks to Michael’s dedication and support, I now look forward to walking on to the golf team at Cornell University and living a healthier and more mindful life.”

My livelihood and recreation have always been physically demanding, from commercial fishing to construction to serious surfing. I have always been concerned with my physical capacities and over all health, and was doing okay, but by taking advantage of Michael Holland’s in depth, wide ranging and ever growing knowledge of health, fitness, wellbeing and the many other terms that try to describe the indescribable, I have been taught and introduced to pathways that have led to excellence of result and great satisfaction.

Active Isolated Stretching (AIS), greatly enhanced and extended my surfing to my late sixties when an old injury eventually slowed me down with a hip replacement. With Michaels extensive knowledge of prehab and rehab which includes nutrition, supplements, holistic physical therapy, emotional and mental preparation my recovery was ahead of normal schedule and rather painless.

Injuries, even small ones, can, after healing leave compromised movement from the habit of favoring the injury. Muscle Activation Technique (MAT), reestablishes the necessary connections and allows for fluid transitions which in things like surfing can lead to new levels. Even in everyday life being in some state of flow, each moment seems deeper and more complete.

Michael introduced me to Foundation Training. My basic acquaintance helped me to improve my posture to where my well worn and problematic lower back hasn’t given me any serious concern in six years.

Michael Holland’s both in depth knowledge of many therapies and disciplines and familiarity with many others allows him to create, implement and coach a specific program that addresses the return to greater function, fitness and health. With Michael comprehensive means comprehensive.

Thank you Michael!

This past year I was seriously injured with a strained groin towards the end of my senior year track season. The injury rendered me incapable of competing in the 200 meters. Michael Holland was instrumental on my road to recovery – providing me with the support and guidance that I needed to heal and strengthen an injured body and spirit. Through working with him, I was able to run again, and faster than I had before. In a short span of the summer I went from walking to jogging to running without pain. Now I look forward to a bright career in collegiate athletics, running for the University of California, San Diego. This is all thanks to Michael’s dedication and support of all facets of healing, from catering to the tangibility of the body to the ethereal yet equally important temperament of the spirit. 2009 – 200m-21.86

I have been bed bound for 2 years with limited physical functioning, which has made returning to my healthy and fit self very challenging. During this time various trainers and physical therapists had worked with me with limited, or no success. My doctor told me of a ‘Holistic Personal Trainer’ that she felt could help me achieve my goals of standing, walking and being self sufficient, as well as becoming healthier and fitter.

After much thought about, ‘What a Holistic Personal Trainer’ is, and what he does, I decided to call Michael Holland. That was just about one year ago. I must say that at first, his ways of working with me did not make sense. I now understand his methods and philosophies.

Within in a few sessions my right leg, which had no mobility or function, amazingly began to ‘wake up’ and function. My overall strength and flexibility has greatly increased, and I have lost weight as well. My energy is also consistently improving. It will not be much longer before I am up and moving, and self sufficient.

I highly recommend Michael’s ‘Holistic’ methods!

I am a long time runner, now in my 40s, though I once competed on the national collegiate level and I have had various injuries in my history. I met Michael and was impressed by his presence and wisdom and patience in addressing and sharing healing modalities for a unique foot ailment I had.

Michael also has coached me and helped me to slowly heal a shoulder injury I received while surfing. He walked me through a sequence of small movements-Somatic Repatterning-then with the use of small weights to regain strength and to also allow my healing shoulder to remain relaxed and at ease and to reset the pathways of my mind and body to not expect pain after healing.

Many, many times he counseled me and coached me on the merits of correct sport specific training, rest and recovery and being patient with myself and allowing my body to heal before going out and surfing or running. His care and advice and experience in sustainable healing have been invaluable.

I am now doing Triathlon training-running regularly, swimming and biking and there are no issues with my foot or shoulder.

I have known coach Holland for more than six years. Michael was highly recommended to me when I was looking for a trainer to help my son with his conditioning and golf game. He helped him with all aspects of his game – he ended up becoming the top player in his high school team in his senior year. Subsequently he worked with my younger son on his soccer skills and eventually with me directly as I was working through some lower backpain issues that prevented me from running as much as I had grown accustomed to. In general, I like and appreciate Michael’s attention to details of the individual’s desires/goals relative to their existing physical condition and constraints concentrating on long-lasting results – not trading off risks of injury/reinjury for short-term gain.

I’ve also been impressed with how Michael strives to stay up to date with the latest trends in exercise, healing and nutrition to bring valuable insights, tools and techniques to his clients.

Specifically, the things that worked for me best were: core strengthening and stretching (Active Isolated Stretching-AIS) (for my back), TRX training (general conditioning) mixed with cardio and pool exercises.
I have recommended Michael to other friends – you won’t be disappointed.

My dietary changes, the stretches and the deep water running have been absolutely transformational in tuning and strengthening my body. In just a couple of months of working with Coach Michael Holland (and after about 10 years), I am now at my ideal weight. I feel great and with each week my knee is getting stronger. I have resumed a weekly practice of hiking the PG&E Trail at Rancho San Antonio (a rigorous 8 mile hike) without any knee pain, and I am looking forward to returning to doing triathlons with my daughter, who is 37 years my junior!

Qigong has provided me with a mental framework with which to face the day and its unexpected events with a greater degree of calmness. I would like to share with you what has for me been a very unexpected benefit. I was a competitive swimmer for many years through high school and college. I realized recently, after one of our sessions, that the practice of Qigong has improved how I breathe when I swim the crawl.  As a result of the Qigong you taught me, and the specific breathing patterns I learned in the process, I was automatically using those same breathing patterns while swimming.  I am now able to swim much more easily and efficiently—and it has enabled me to swim for a significantly longer time.  Many thanks!

My time training with Michael helped me evolve in many ways. When I first started working with him, I had ended my high school cross country season early due to shin splints. If not taken care of properly, this injury could have prevented me from participating in both soccer and track later that year as well. Luckily, Michael knew not only how to help heal the injury, he also knew how to keep me in shape and even improve my performance.

Using his deep water running training routine and knowledge of holistic healing, not only did I improve my performance in running as soon as I recovered, I also learned about his unconventional yet strategic approach to training. The program he established for me involved running workouts in the pool, which simulated running on ground, but avoided the stress that it could put on my shin. It also made me much lighter on my feet and stronger, as the resistance of the water made running on land feel much easier. His holistic healing involved the practice of Qigong, a 5000 year old Chinese medical modality that improved my balance, diet, health, discipline, focus, and awareness.

Overall, for each and any client, Michael can formulate a personalized routine crafted to assure peak performance without over-exhaustion or further risk of injury. I cannot stress how extremely thankful I am for Michael and what he taught me about fitness, health, qigong, and running.

Michael has helped me with not only speed and agility but also with discipline. I recommend him for any athlete who wants to succeed.