Rob Turner
Owner and Founder of Functional Performance Systems
Strength and Fitness Professional
Rob enjoys designing individualized strength and conditioning programs for clients with a wide range of fitness and athletic experience. Much of the population desires either fat loss or sports performance so Rob has aligned his expertise and training facility with these objectives in mind.
Rob’s many years of high-level sports performance training in high school, college, and professional athletics has given him a unique perspective on training and a keen eye for coaching optimal body position, lifting form, and choosing appropriate exercises according to skill level. This practical experience in the weight room and on the field complements his dedication to strength & conditioning and nutrition research. Once your individualized fitness or performance plan is in motion, Rob serves as coach, educator, and accountability partner to ensure the long-term success of the program.
He is a major proponent of using weight training as the foundation of each program, emphasizing core rigidity along with press, squat, deadlift, pullup, and olympic lifting variations. Gymnastics strength progressions and strongman training are also included often. His initial training targets weaknesses, trunk strength, postural correction, strength deficits, asymmetries, and imbalances which is complemented by educating clients about the importance of improved nutrition and lifestyle habits. You can read interviews with Rob regarding his thoughts on health and exercise here, here, and here.
Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach
Although fitness training gets a lot of attention, Rob realizes that its what you do outside of the gym that is just as important. Our food consumption represents our most intimate contact with the environment. In many respects, our bodies literally become what we eat from day to day. Our nutritional intake affects our hormones & cells, the way we look, the way we feel, and how we perceive ourselves and the world.
Rob’s nutritional perspective is centered around the work of Ray Peat, PhD and emphasizes at its base the importance of maintaining a high resting metabolism, balancing blood sugar, and eating nutrient-dense foods that enhance the physiology and are easy to digest. He encourages clients to be more mindful of what they are or are not eating.
Rob co-authored the 180 Nutrition Program – Popping the Food Bubble, an in-depth three month course written for the layperson, that challenges mainstream nutrition beliefs and doesn’t subscribe to dietary fads or dogma. He also does phone, email, or skype nutritional consulting for domestic and international clients.
Rob’s blog is a constantly expanding resource of integrated and complementary information dedicated to evidence-based nutrition and strength and conditioning principles. The blog and the FPS facebook page are consistently growing in popularity.
Athlete
Rob is a highly-decorated athlete who excelled in high school, college, and professional sports, earning contracts in the Canadian Football League, National Football League, and Arena Football League. Over fifteen years in the weight room and countless hours on the field provides him with insight into hard work, competing to win, facing adversity in sports, playing well with injury, preparing like an athlete, and achieving consistent, elite performance. This experience is invaluable for a strength and fitness coach.
High School Athletics
Rob attended Pine Crest School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) which is known nationwide for its academic prowess. He displayed a competitive attitude both on and off the field, which lead him to success in athletics and in the classroom. Rob left Pine Crest touted by many as the best athlete to ever participate in athletics at the school. He is a part of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Rob was a member of the varsity football team for three years and was named captain for his senior year. He played both defensive back and quarterback during his high school career. After being dominant in the first three games of his senior season, his season ended when he suffered a collarbone injury in the third game of the season.
Rob also excelled in basketball where he started for three years at guard and led small schools in points per game during both his junior and senior seasons (21 ppg). He was named team captain for his senior season. Rob finished his three-year career with over 1300 points scored and won the county dunk championship in 1999.
Rob was a two-time all-conference, all-county, and all-state selection in basketball and an all-conference and all-county pick in football. He was selected as the Broward County “Athlete of the Year” by the Miami Herald as a senior in 1999 despite missing much of his football season due to injury. In addition, Rob was awarded the 1998-99 Brian Piccolo award which goes to the most outstanding scholar-athlete in Broward County.
Collegiate Athletics
Rob attended Central Michigan University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Rob lettered four years with the Chippewas where he played wide receiver, leading the teams in receptions and receiving yards in 2001 and 2002. He left the school fourth all-time in receptions (112) and 8th all-time in yardage (1,363). Rob is tied for the longest play from scrimmage in CMU history and holds the record for longest receiving touchdown in school history (98 yards).
He was named Academic All-Conference in 2001 and 2002, and he was also recognized as a Division IA Academic All-American in 2001 (first team) and 2002 (second team). In 2003, Rob won the prestigious John S. Pingel Award given to the most outstanding Division IA football student-athlete in the state of Michigan.
Professional Athletics
Rob spent four years playing professional football at the wide receiver position. Shortly after college graduation, he joined the British Columbia Lions of the CFL in May 2003. He was able to make the team and start as a rookie despite a hamstring injury that occurred early in training camp. In late December of 2003, he was signed to the New York Jets’ practice squad. Rob was let go by the Jets in 2004 only to be signed by the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League in December of 2004 where he spent three full seasons (2005-07).
In 2007 with the Avengers, Rob was the only receiver that year to start every game and lead the avengers in receptions (121), receiving yards (1,400), and touchdowns (28) helping the Avengers to the franchise’s first ever playoff victory. Rob was released from the Avengers in February of 2008. He had the opportunity to continue his playing career but decided to stay in Southern California to devote his time to a new passion — helping others achieve their fitness, sport performance, and health goals.
Education and Experience
Strength and Fitness Coach:
Personal Trainer (2006 – Present)
Opened Functional Performance Systems (2010 – Present)
Athletics:
Pine Crest School, Fort Lauderdale, FL (1996-1999)
Central Michigan University Football (1999-2002)
B.C. Lions (2003)
New York Jets (2003)
Los Angeles Avengers (2005-2007)
Education:
BA in Business Administration from Central Michigan University (2003)
Studying for NCSA & CSCS (2013)
Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN)
Advanced Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor (CMTA)
CHEK Correspondence Courses Completed
* Program Design
* Dynamic Medicine Ball Training
* Advanced Swiss Ball Training for Rehabilitation
* Swiss Ball Training
* Primal Patterns Movement
* Scientific Back Training
Peat Nutrition Professional
Recently Expired Certifications:
National College of Exercise Professionals (NCEP) Certified Trainer (2012)
CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach (HLC L1) (2012)
