Damien Rabaud
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. - Socrates
Private Personal Training & Online Strength Coach
There’s a certain confidence that comes with strength training that is hard to put into words. When people think “strong” they often think of steroided-out gym bro’s with shoulders like boulders screaming things like “no pain no gain”. I know this can seem off putting, and even I am guilty of some obnoxious yelling at barbells, but I honestly believe that everybody deserves to become the strongest version of themselves. We all have untapped potential, and through the medium of strength training we are able to overcome our own perceived limits.
I specialise in coaching everyday people for strength because of the impact it has had on both mine and my clients mental and physical health. Training strength will transform you physically
Build Muscle: If you are looking to gain muscle naturally, there’s no way around it, you have to get stronger. Fluff and pump workouts may make you look better in gym lighting, but permanent changes need progressive overload.
Burn Fat: learn to not focus on the scales, and focus on improving. A weightloss journey without strength training is a challenging affair, but one with strength training is an adventure.
Be the Person Who Opens All The Tight Jars: This one speaks for itself.
Improved Mental Health: Exercise is one of the top interventional strategies to help people manage anxiety and depression.
Be Confident: Strength training applies systematic challenges to overcome, and the sense of achievement transfers into how you handle yourself day to day.
Increase Energy Levels: the stronger you are, the more efficient your body is. Keep your hormones regulated, blood sugar under control, strengthen your heart, and keep you at the ready to tackle any challenge life throws at you
Continual Self Improvement: building a positive relationship with your body is one of the most powerful assets you can posses in this world
I am an avid supporter of supporting mental health through the use of strength training, and place a strong focus on this rather than getting caught up on what the scales say. We use improved performance as a motivator to drive positive change in your mental health, and your body is sure to transform alongside it.
Everything that you need to get stronger in one place. Never wait around for equipment and feel comfortable in a private space with an environment tailored specifically to you. Get the work done with no distractions.
Break through your plateaus in the gym and continually grow stronger. Never feel lost wondering what you need to do to level up. Workouts sent directly to your phone with video examples and tracking to optimise your time in the gym, all through one feature packed app.
Not Your Average Personal Trainer
With over a decade of experience, I have all the tools to guide you in creating the strongest version of yourself
Right from the advent of my career in the fitness industry over decade ago, I set out to challenge the status quo. The industry has a nasty habit of churning out cookie cutter personal trainers that preach the same tired fitness rhetoric. This is by no means a fault of these trainers, most of us start our training career straight out of high school. The problem is we exist in a culture with a focus on how we look, and most new trainers end up treating every client as though they are bodybuilders, promoting nonsensical high volume workouts and diets that are unsustainable.
This may work in the short term, but for most people it isn't enough to get them to fall in love with fitness. What good is a 30 day transformation if it disappears 30 days later?
The average lifespan of a NZ personal trainer career is 18 months. It takes far longer than that to gain the experience to really help others achieve their fitness goals and turn it into a lifestyle.
I have made it my mission to continually learn and evolve as a personal trainer and coach. I have discovered the joy I can bring getting clients to stop focussing on what the scale says and start realising the untapped potential their bodies have. This is why I specialise in strength training, because I honestly believe we all have the ability to truly surprise ourselves with what we are capable of. I’ll put it bluntly, I am not a weight loss coach. The pursuit of strength will no doubt burn fat and build muscle, but the major difference is its ability to keep you motivated. To keep getting stronger, doing better every single day, and becoming the strongest version of yourself.
10+ Years Experience
NZIHF Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training
NZIHF Level 3 Certificate Exercise Prescription
Richard Pattison Level 1 Weightlifting
Squat: 230KG / 500LB
Bench: 165KG / 367LB
Deadlift: 260KG / 573LB
Can't recommend this man enough! I remember having an initial goal of simply being able to pick 100kg up off the floor within my first year training with Damien. Its safe to say that was old news in the first few months
Damien is patient, caring and very approachable.
While I myself have not been very consistent in recent weeks, I'm heading back today to get back with the program. f you looking for someone to align a training schedule specifically to your goals, and hold you to account to them, this is the place for you.
Thanks Damien, you bloody legend.
Luke Tizard
If not anything Damien has changed my life, I started my strength training journey when I was undergoing the lowest point in my life, it has been over 4 years and I haven’t looked back since. Damien’s knowledge of technique is unmatched and if I have learnt anything about lifting & a positive outlook on life, a lot of credit goes to Damien. Anybody wanting to change their lives, learning to lift and become strong in general, I highly recommend Damien. Words cannot express how grateful I am.
Harish Iyer
Damien has been my training mentor for about 4 years. He is very encouraging and gets the best out of his clients. As a 10 year sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis he has helped me immensely to keep my muscles strong and my bones movable, sometimes having to change a set to accommodate whichever part of my body is sore that particular day. At 62 I feel as good as when I was 40. So yeah give it a go.
Roger Beddoes
I started training casually when I first met Damien in 2016.
I loved that his focus geared towards strength and hitting performance related goals rather than focussing purely on aesthetics.
As a new lifter I was constantly hitting new personal bests and learning new exercises which was really motivating.
I then had him write me my first programme and have been following his programmes ever since.
It has been nearly 5 years now and within that time I went from learning to lift…loving to lift…entering a powerlifting competition and becoming a certified personal trainer myself.
He really was the start of taking my life in a completely different direction.