DYER | Carter Rickey learned about health and fitness only after a tragic loss and now wants to share the knowledge through his business, B.FIT.N.LIFE.
“I went to the doctor and found out that I needed to get fit,” said Rickey, a retired Calumet City police officer. Of the loss he suffered, he said while he didn't want to talk about it specifically, it was tragic to him and is what prompted him to see a doctor.
Since that time he has lost 60 pounds, keeps his weight at about 200 pounds, works out, lifts weights and has changed his body structure through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. After he retired from police work in 2010, Rickey decided to pass on his knowledge as a personal trainer.
“After I retired, I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing,” he said. “I went to school at National Personal Training Institute for six months, four days a week. All they teach is personal training, the physics of the body, the science …. people would be shocked if they knew what goes on in their body.”
Rickey, who had studied martial arts for more than a decade, received his diploma from NPTI in personal training and nutritional consulting. He also is certified in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrilators.
Originally, Rickey began working with clients in his home, but in early 2011 he moved his business to its current location. It occupies a 400-square-foot section of the business condo he owns and where he operates a computer repair business, PACT Systems.
“It’s big enough for small groups,” he said. “People really like coming here instead of going to my home.”
Rickey estimates it will take him only a few years to recoup the $6,000 he paid for his schooling and the between $7,000 and $8,000 he spent on remodeling and equipping B.FIT.N.LIFE. All the funds came from his savings and his other enterprise.
Besides weight training, Rickey teaches suspension training, nutritional training, strength training, cardiovascular and core conditioning, balance and flexibility training, circuit training, plus counter-measure training, or, self-defense.
“I just want to help people so I keep my prices low: 12-session packages are $300, $25 for each session,” Rickey said. “I teach people how to exercise. The importance of a trainer is to push you to the next level of fitness and also teach you how to do the exercises correctly. You need to do them correctly to get everything in sync. There is science behind it and the science works.”
Each one-hour session includes a warm-up to get the blood flowing and muscles ready as well as a stretching session to relieve muscle soreness and helps them give them elasticity so they don’t tighten or cramp, he said. Current clients include men and women ages 16 to 82.
“My goal is to help get people started on road to fitness,” Rickey said. “Most of my clients stay for a long time. They learn to love doing it and I love working out and working with people and seeing the end result.”
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