STEPS Fitness Trainers
Irv Rubenstein, PhD – Founder and President
Dr. Irv Rubenstein, exercise physiologist, is co-founder and president of S.T.E.P.S., Inc., now known as STEPS Fitness, Nashville’s first personal training center. He is a certified personal trainer (ACSM-H/FI, NSCA-CSCS, NSCA-CPT, NSCA-CSPS, ACE-CPT, AAHFP-Post-Rehab Specialist) and national presenter of continuing education seminars. Dr. Irv comes to fitness through years as a martial artist, achieving a 6th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do under Master Haw Tae-Whae at Vanderbilt.
He was the co-producer of an instructional video on the use of exercise tubes for Exercise Etc. Dr. Irv (as he is called on the speaking circuit) has co-authored chapters for several personal training textbooks and has published and been featured in fitness articles in Professional Personal Trainer magazine, NSCA’s on-line magazine, Vogue magazine, and local publications. He created a dynamic medicine ball and stability ball routine called “Rock, Roll ‘n Reggae”.
In Nashville, Dr. Irv has served on the board of the Middle Tennessee Arthritis Foundation and is a board member of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee as well as a co-chair of its education committee.
Scott Kinney
Scott received a B.A. in Music (Trumpet Performance) from Louisiana State University. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA-CSCS). Scott is a 3rd Dan Black Belt and instructs the Vanderbilt Tae Kwon Do Club.
He was also a former Adjunct Instructor of Women’s Self Defense for Belmont University’s Health and Human Performance Department. Scott was one of the first STEPS personal trainers, and continues today, having brought his understanding of the body, and ability to teach movement, to a level that few achieve.
In addition to training clients of all ages and abilities, he also manages the STEPS website you are reading right now. Incorporating his own athletic background and extensive study of therapeutic exercises, Scott has developed a style of training suitable for post-stroke victims or middle-aged athletes. Scott’s eclectic approach and humor make for entertaining as well as informative training sessions.
Amanda Cornett
Amanda received a BS in Exercise and Sport Sciences from the University of Florida, where she specialized in athletic training, and worked with Florida Softball, as well as high school and club sport athletes.
She also worked as an intern athletic trainer at Vanderbilt University with Football, Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s Soccer. She is certified by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (ATC) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS).
Amanda believes fitness, in addition to making lifestyle changes, is the best way to live a full, healthy life. She tailors her workouts based on the goals and needs of each client, employing her background skills as an ATC while also making the sessions fun and functional.
Ivy Hensley
Ivy joined the STEPS Fitness team in July 2005 to help manage the operations and functions over, under and beyond those that take place on the gym floor. Her invaluable office skills combined with her mild if not outrageously contrarian demeanor have made her instrumental to the mood of the facility.
She brings a sense of calm during the storms, be they economic, interpersonal or just Irv’s rare flashes of insecurity, and makes people smile simply by being her authentic self. Without Ivy’s presence, STEPS is just a gym. With it, STEPS is the funnest gym in town.
Hannah Hoots
Hannah was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She attended Samford University and received her B.S. in Kinesiology and minored in Nutrition and Dietetics. After doing an internship at STEPS Fitness her senior year in college, Hannah got certified as a Personal Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM-CPT).
Hannah believes health is a combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise. As a distance runner since middle school, she has completed several half and full marathons, living her philosophy of health to the hilt. Hannah has been assisting and leading the Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s classes at STEPS since late 2016. She has found that working with this population of special needs individuals has been as rewarding as it has been educational. She continues to train clients of all abilities and ages, and truly enjoys being part of client’s fitness journey. When Hannah is not training others, she continues to enjoy her own running regimen, working at lululemon athletica, and assistant coaching for Nashville Youth Athletics(NYA) cross country and track.
Stephanie Kemp
Stephanie is a Nashville Native with a love for natural and holistic health. She received her Master’s of Science in Exercise Physiology in 2008, and interned with a Macrobiotic Counselor who taught her how to guide people to true health and healing.
Stephanie has worked in Cardiac Rehab, Corporate Wellness, Holistic Lifestyle Transformation, and Personal Training since 2008. She continues education in Exercise as medicine, HIIT/LIIT Training, Macrobiotics, and alternative therapies with a focus on plant based nutrition, emotional release, sound therapy, and Bach flower remedies. She is always incorporating personal growth and breath work in her programs.
She is married with three kids and outside of work she loves to travel, hike, host sound baths, and spend her time in or near the water.
Josh Kemp
After 23 years working the same job, Josh took his love for exercise and turned it into his dream career. He has been known to workout in the middle of the farm with logs and a tire or on the beach with nothing but his body. He loves to show people that you can workout from anywhere with very little while helping people overcome limiting beliefs.
Josh is married with three kids and loves a good challenge. He loves to travel, read, and is full of useful and useless knowledge and makes the best trivia partner around.
Donald Williams
Donald received a B.S. in Human Performance and Sports Science from Tennessee State University. He is an enthusiastic athlete and former collegiate football player.
Donald also performs fitness assessments at the Vanderbilt University Wellness Resource Center. He believes in keeping workouts fresh and enjoyable while attaining personal goals. Donald brings a quiet, almost gentle approach to punishing and demanding exercise sessions suitable for people at all levels of fitness.
Kyle Bivins
Bio forthcoming
Carol Frazier
Carol has been a personal trainer for over 30 years certified by NSCA and is continually doing Continued Education through out the year as well as researching to increase her skills. She went to school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), for Holistic Health and Nutrition Coaching—adding a whole new layer to how she trains and coaches clients! There is no one-size-fits-all approach to training—each client is unique! Part of her approach is an initial assessment of alignment, flexibility and strength.
Adjunct Services
STEPS Fitness houses four providers of adjunctive health and wellness services. Each provider is an independent contractor working on the premises. Below is a list of those services and the providers’ contact information.
Active Release Therapy (ART)
Dr. Preston Wakefield, a licensed chiropractor, was Nashville’s first certified ART practitioner. He has worked with professional athletes – the Tennessee Titans, the Nashville Predators – and amateur athletes, specializing in golf and tennis players. However his therapeutic hands have been helping Nashvillians and people all over the Southeast who have any variety of musculoskeletal aches, pains and tweaks. You can make an appointment by calling him at 615-383-0969.
Dietetics & Nutrition Counseling
Nan Allison, R.D., has been a mainstay of diet and nutrition advice in Nashville for over 25 years for those trying to manage their weight from any direction – to lose or to gain healthfully. She was a founding member of the former Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT), now known as Renewed, and has been helping many with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, as well as obesity, find peace with food. She and her team of registered dietitians continue to counsel and advise patients in a professional and caring environment to help them deal with body image issues and food-related behaviors.
Nan can be found at www.nanallison.com or reached at 615-861-9146.
Personal Trainers Nashville TN
Having a personal trainer is more than just about trusting someone else to hold you accountable for your fitness goals and health achievements, it’s about finding a person who communicates with you effectively on a number of major health and fitness concerns like proper posture, nutrition, and activities that best meet your individual needs. Everyone has different needs and abilities, and everyone deserves to have a professional personal trainer who understands them and is willing to put in the time and work to find a personalized life improvement plan that you can not only stick to, but thrive in. At STEPS Fitness, our mission is simple, to help people of all skill levels and walks of life see real life benefits to exercise in the hopes that one day we can live in a healthier society. We work tirelessly everyday to play our part in contributing what we can to that goal by providing the most intelligent, experienced, compassionate, and motivated personal trainers. Now, it’s up to you to take advantage of this truly life-changing opportunity. See results in as little as three sessions with the help of professional personal trainers at STEPS Fitness.
STEPS Fitness is excited to introduce our incredible personal trainers to the residents of Nashville, Tennessee. Whether you live in East Nashville, Downtown, Midtown, Gulch, Germantown, Green Hills, West End, Melrose, or any other micro-community within Nashville, you know what it’s like to have a little taste of everything. The diversity of each neighborhood and village offers the chance for residents of Nashville to celebrate their unique cultures together. Various events and festivities all year long draw in crowds made up of both members of neighboring communities as well as tourists. Between the boutiques, eateries, and endless entertainment, you can visit every neighborhood in Nashville and never feel like you did the same thing twice. Providing a unique experience for residents and tourists has always been a striving effort for Nashville, and with the help of a number of smaller communities and the individuals who help make those communities unique, it is one in which they have continued to succeed at. Whether you plan to live, work, or just play around in Nashville, you certainly won’t be disappointed.