Business grad named best personal trainer

Kari Hoyda got her degree from the Fisher College of Business, but she has gained notoriety as a personal trainer.

A 2004 Ohio State graduate, Hoyda was declared Personal Trainer of the Month by bodybuilding.com, one of the nation's leading bodybuilding online stores. At age 23, Hoyda is the youngest to win the award.

"In a nutshell, for her age, I've never seen anyone have the drive and determination she does to make a difference in people's lives," said
Matt Weik, a bodybuilding.com columnist.

People who have been Personal Trainer of the Month have gone on to be trainers for "celebrities, actors and actresses, and athletes," he said.

A former high school athlete from Tiffin, Ohio, Hoyda was a gymnast, cheerleader and hurdler. But it wasn't until she worked a desk job at a small, Columbus gym in her sophomore year at OSU that she became serious about fitness.

Since then, she has climbed the fitness industry ladder in Columbus.

After receiving certifications for fitness training, personal training and nutrition, Hoyda started to build a client base.

She began as an independent trainer at Anytime Fitness and now she works on the training staff at Life Time Fitness in Dublin, Ohio.

Hoyda had more good news about her career in recent weeks.

She has accepted a position to work with FHM, a UK-based men's lifestyle magazine, as its first online fitness columnist.

"I didn't expect that to happen," Hoyda said. "I just sent them modeling pictures and left my Web site address."

The recognition by bodybuilding.com is not the first time Hoyda has been in the spotlight. In 2007 she was featured in Oxygen Magazine, which provides information on fitness and nutrition for women.

Hoyda didn't even know what issue she would be featured in, if at all.

Then she opened the December issue and saw her picture in the center of the Future of Fitness section.

"Future of Fitness is for people breaking into the industry," Hoyda said. "I saw my picture and I was like, ‘Oh my God!'"

Regardless of what she accomplishes individually, Hoyda said her commitment is 100 percent to her clients.

Once a finalist for the fitness reality show "The Ultimate Body," Hoyda said she is happy she wasn't selected.

"My clients mean too much to me to spend three months on a reality show trying to get cut up," she said.

As a female trainer, she said she doesn't feel out of place at all, adding that the industry is half male, half female.

"I think sometimes females succeed more because they are less intimidating," she said.

Hoyda said a common misconception about personal training is that it is about bodybuilding. Hoyda said it's not. She uses functional training, incorporating cardio and strength-training aspects of a workout for efficiency.

"The mindset she has to help herself and make it a lifestyle and change others lives has been amazing," Weik said. "After helping so many people and changing their lives, she said there is nothing she would rather do with her life."

Not only is she driven to help her clients, but she also constantly strives for individual improvement.

"When I first met her, she was in shape, but there were things she could do to tone up a little bit," Weik said. "She has made fitness her No. 1 focus."

She has also made appearances as a fitness model at the Arnold Classic, the fitness portion of the Arnold Sports Festival. It is the largest multi-sport event in the nation, held in Columbus and founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hoyda focuses on eating healthy. Her diet excludes processed food, so no buffalo wings or pizza, and no bread or red meat.

She is contemplating returning to OSU within the next couple years to earn a degree in nutrition.

Hoyda said being educated is one of the most important aspects of fitness.

"I see so many people in the gym that don't know what they are doing," she said. "It's a complex industry and there is so much science that goes into it."

She has her own Web site, karihoyda.com. It lists her biography, photo gallery, training, certifications, as well as contact information.

She said she hopes to publish a health cookbook and establish a virtual training service over the Internet.