Testimonials

“I have been a client of James for 13 years. I worked with several other trainers in the past, but once I started with him, I was hooked because it was clear to see (and feel) that James was not just a “trainer.” Not only is James’ technique unlike anything out there, his attention to detail and focus on me and my unique needs have always been priority.

I have had two hip surgeries, wrist surgery, and several other injuries and James is the one who took me to the next level of healing and performance. I am running, training, and living life without pain because of James. When he introduced me to MAT, I was a bit skeptical, but after only one session, I was reminded of why I always trust him; I not only felt better immediately, but James was able to clearly articulate the long term plan and how it all works. That is one of my favorite things about James — besides being a master body sculpture, James can explain things in the most digestible way which brings understanding and effectiveness to what we are doing. He is always learning more to be better which makes me know I am getting the best of the best and his knowledge about fitness, nutrition, the body, human behavior is unparalleled. I cannot say enough incredible things about James as a trainer and as a human being and am grateful every single day that I know him, have him has a resource, and as a partner in this journey of making my body, mind and soul look and feel its best because it is truly a holistic experience when working with James.”

“I have participated in high-level athletics since I was a kid. When I was in college, my athletic journey took a step forward when I trained to walk-on to an NCAA division I football team.

When James and I started working together, I’d recently suffered a shoulder injury that the doctor informed me might require surgery. I really wanted to find a non-invasive way of approaching treatment, and when James educated me about MAT, it seemed like the perfect solution. Together, James and I were able to rehabilitate my shoulder injury and regain the strength that I lost.

Since then, James and I have worked in multiple capacities—he’s treated injuries for me, but has also helped to keep my body in optimum athletic condition as I’ve entered my thirties. I’ve never felt better, and I’m confident that the best is yet to come on my athletic journey; I owe all of this to James and am forever grateful that he introduced me to MAT.”

“I have been training with James for ten years, and he is easily the best trainer I have ever encountered. I started weightlifting seriously after college because I have back problems resulting from a childhood injury. As a trainer, James was always conscientious about making sure that my workouts were tailored to help me gain more everyday functionality and to avoid further injury. Because of this, when James started practicing MAT and told me about it, I was excited to try it. The results were amazing. Before using MAT, I had to get adjusted by a chiropractor at least once per month. But while regularly getting MAT treatments, I only had to visit the chiropractor once in an entire year. In addition, while getting treated, my strength training improved significantly: I was able to lift an amount of weight that I could never before lift without seriously injuring my back.

In the last three years, I have had two kids, and James has used both MAT treatments and principles from MAT in our weightlifting sessions to help me stay active and healthy throughout both pregnancies and to recover from birth. In fact, during both pregnancies I was able to weight train into my last month of the pregnancy.

James has an amazing quality that I have rarely found in other trainers and medical professionals—he is constantly working to improve on his own skills and constantly concerned with improving the health and functionality of his clients. In short, he is a miracle worker and I highly recommend him to anyone that wants to live a more active, pain-free life.”

“Since my family moved to Los Angeles seven years ago, James has positively impacted all of us in many different ways. James and I only started seriously working together in November of 2018. At the time, I was a sophomore in college, and had gained about 40 lbs since entering school, which put me at 205 lbs. Before even starting me on a diet, James had a call with me in which we discussed what I wanted to gain from this experience.

It wasn’t about actually losing weight, it was about developing a routine in which I could live a healthy lifestyle, much like I had done when I played for the number one high school water polo team in the country. Over the course of four months, and after a number of lengthy talks, I had lost the 40 lbs, and was on the right path toward a healthy lifestyle. My training regimen shifted from a “pain and gain” mentality from my water polo days, into a mindful one that focused on intention and muscle contraction. This allowed me to build the muscle that I desired, while maintaining the health and integrity of the joint. This was a radical shift in my approach to training, and has allowed me to train harder, more efficiently, and with increased frequency due to the decreased risk for injury. However, my work with James did not stop. In September of 2019, I began experiencing episodes of depression that were causing me to lose control over even the most simple things during my day. When James and I began working together on developing a healthy mind and relationship with myself, I was skeptical at first. But I put my faith in James, because he put his faith in me. While I am still learning to overcome my struggles and pain, James has helped transform my perception of what it means to be a man, how to think, and what life is truly about. I have a call with him twice a week, and those are the most positive moments of my week because I am completely present and focused on what we are discussing. I cannot say enough good things about James, but I am so thankful that my mother first met James seven years ago because he has fundamentally changed the way I live my life.”

“I love working with James because he is extremely knowledgeable in the holistic approach to health. He is the only health professional that I’ve come across who helps me reach my goals by first factoring in worklife, relationships, stress, emotional and psychological wellbeing, diet, sleep, etc. The truth is, life is life, and it will always be challenging, so staying physically and mentally fit takes an empathetic coach who listens to the entire story before giving direction. And when life pivots, so does James to ensure you are working with the best tools available to you.

I’ve trained with James for 8+ years. Not only has he been a huge factor in helping me in my fitness, diet, and personal growth, but because of his vast knowledge of gut health, he helped me avoid a very nasty surgery in 2018 that doctors told me “was deemed necessary.” It was during a time when my highly stressful work and travel was taking a huge toll on my health. I was bloated, constantly uncomfortable after meals, and was enduring decades of gut problems that were getting increasingly worse, to the point that I was in so much pain that some days I couldn’t even get out of bed. After consulting with James about my scheduled surgery, he designed a diet program that ended up helping me heal on my own. Through this program, my pain had subsided in less than a week, my gut health improved within 3 weeks, and I was able to cancel my surgery within a couple months. Along with that, some side effects to the program were getting my high school figure and energy back! It was a life changing experience, and I will never trust anyone more than James to help guide me through a healthy lifestyle.”

“I’ve known James for a little over four years now and he is much more than just a trainer, an MAT practitioner, or a nutritionist, he’s practically an older brother. In May of 2019 I was an 18 year old who was tired of looking skinny fat and burnt out with trying to figure out how to eat healthy.

I made the biggest investment in myself at that moment by committing my time and effort to his nutrition and workout plan. I was also in constant pain that I could not seem to find an answer as to what was wrong with me. I had been to numerous doctors and had gotten MRI’s but nothing showed up. Over the next nine months James and I worked together five times a week in person which consisted of everything he had to offer: Training, MAT, and Nutrition. Seeing what I was becoming was the biggest self confidence boost I had ever felt and it has changed my life indefinitely. The biggest improvement in my life was getting deep into Muscle Activation Technique with James. Doing MAT a few times a week was the only thing that had relieved my pain and I am a strong believer in it. James is very experienced with doing MAT and has spent years studying and taking classes in order to offer the best service possible and it has shown to be very effective for me. I now believe that eating right and training correctly is the only way to live the rest of my life. Not only did my physical appearance change during those months but my emotional growth developed in other aspects in my life. I grew more disciplined and became much more aware of what I wanted to possibly do as my career down the road. Now I am working on the mental aspect of my life with James which includes overcoming my issues with body dismorphia and negative self talk. James has so much knowledge on all aspects of life and is someone who you can always rely on to push you to become the best person you can possibly become. His dedication to his work and business is so motivating and is a role model to all of those around him. Having the opportunity to work with James has improved my life in many different ways and he is somebody who you can count on to help you achieve all your goals. My experience with James has changed my life completely and has turned me into a stronger, knowledgeable and caring person and I will always be there to vouch for James and promote his work.”

Our family has been training with James consistently for over 5-years. We were first referred to James as a MAT practitioner for our youngest teenage son who suffered sports related injuries that were unresolved by doctors, physical therapists and functional medicine.

The results with our son were so impressive that my wife started MAT treatments for a chronic hip issue that would not go away despite trying all traditional options. She simultaneously began training with James because of the complimentary nature of the MAT treatments and James’ strength training program. After a short time, I began training and incorporated MAT sessions with James that helped strengthen my back and alleviated a lot of the chronic pain I have experienced for most of my life. My oldest son started training with James when he was 18-years old and has maintained a training, mentoring and nutrition coaching program with James even though he is 3,000 miles away at college. James’ unique holistic method of incorporating physical training, nutritional guidance, muscle activation technique and life coaching helps optimize his client’s lives. James has been much more than a trainer to my whole family, he feels like a part of our family. With his non-judgmental and positive attitude, coupled with a calm demeanor, wisdom beyond his years, and a tenacious desire to inspire, James truly is a one of a kind human being.

James Balazs has been my personal trainer since 2013. To put it simply, he is amazing. I have been extremely impressed by the care he shows in designing my training program and in adjusting it as needed. James gives me precise instructions on how to do each exercise, telling me exactly which muscles I should think about contracting when executing the movements.

He is super-focused during our sessions, watching all of my moves and correcting me (in an encouraging way) if I don’t do them as I should. James checks in with me at the start of each session to determine how I’m feeling both physically and mentally, and he modifies our session as necessary. Thanks to James, I have become much stronger and feel more confident in moving my body (something that is very important as we get older). In addition to all this, James is very intelligent and has an immense knowledge of how the body works. I ask him a lot of detailed questions during our sessions and he always has the answers. James has told me many times about how excited he is to be able to help his clients. It clearly shows!

James has also been providing me with MAT treatments over the last several years. Before I started receiving them, I was very skeptical, as I hadn’t previously heard about MAT. I am not a skeptic anymore! James is one of the most highly trained MAT practitioners in the country and that is reflected in the treatments. They have helped me to move my body better and to exercise more efficiently. As I have learned, training sessions and MAT treatments are highly complementary. James applies what he sees during my training sessions to determine the most appropriate MAT treatments. Those treatments, in turn, pay off in subsequent training sessions. I highly recommend employing James for both training and MAT treatment. You will be very, very satisfied with the outcome.

I have known James for more than 10 years. I began working with him in 2008 for weight loss and fitness training. While I loved training with him, after I got pregnant, I was put on bed rest and so ended my time with James. I did go back to working with James shortly after my child was born; however, it was a lot to manage that soon after having the baby.

James was very supportive of me and needing to take time to realign my life with a baby, returning to work and physical exercise after 5 months of bed rest. He is always supportive. I was sad to not be able to continue with James at that time because he was a positive force to have in my life. It was a while before I reconnected with James. When I reached out to him, he responded right a way and with his usual enthusiasm and encouraging nature. At that time, I was struggling with my weight, food and alcohol consumption, sleep, stress and managing physical activity. I didn’t feel like there was a solution that I could do on my own and then I reached out to James. We met to go over where I was physically, emotionally, nutritionally, and mentally. It was a great discussion and James took the time to understand my situation, which had changed since we had last worked together.

James explained different options for me to start back at living a healthier life and being physically fit to manage a small child as an older mom with an intense full-time job. James developed a tailored plan for me that took all my life-challenges into consideration, not just physical but some of the mental and emotional ones around my feelings about guilt, failure and disappointment. The great thing is that none of those words are in James’ vocabulary. I have to say that until I met with James, I was worried that the downhill slide I was on was not going to stop. It had been a long time since I felt like I could make changes to make me a better version of me. After I met with James, I felt like I could move forward in a healthy way and that anything was possible related to my health and wellness.

For the 1st month, we focused on nutrition, developing a routine, and my emotional state. Even in that first month, when I wasn’t exercising, I started to lose weight, sleep better, have more energy, and feel more positive overall. Once we felt like I had made my nutritional plan a routine for me, we added in exercise. This was especially fun, because I could feel and see even more positive results.

Training with James is an experience that is both extremely challenging and fun. He always inspires me to get stronger and try harder; but, I never finish my workout unhappy or in a bad mood. There are 2 reasons for this, 1-James is always encouraging and sending into the world positive energy and 2-he helps me to be better and stronger and face the challenges. Sure, I have bad days and head to training when I am in a bad mood; but by the time I leave, I am smiling and feeling proud. I have also done MAT with James. I was having some back issues after I took a new job with a lengthy commute. Doing MAT was a successful method to work on my back and then improve my daily living and training. James is one of the most positive people anyone will ever come across. He is not overly effusive or a super hero; he is just someone who cares about his clients while helping them make healthy living and optimistic thinking a priority in their way of life.