Hi, I’m Connor Clark
I am an ambitious and crafty fitness professional based in Connecticut, USA, with close to a decade of experience as a Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Coach. I am currently the Head Coach of Connor Clark Fitness and the CEO of LIFT Performance.
Prior to my entrepreneurial ventures, I studied at Eastern Connecticut State University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science in 2016. Straight out of school, I started an internship at a gym in Glastonbury, CT, and quickly became Head Coach, then Fitness Director in a few short years, managing the day-to-day operations and a team of high-class Coaches. In 2020, I stepped into the entrepreneurial world by co-founding LIFT Performance and purchasing the gym I previously worked for.
It was during this time I was going through physical and mental transformations - pushing my limits and evolving into the person of my dreams.
Though this may seem from the surface like all positive and wild success, I’ve experienced what I call the “modern struggle” with my health in ways that challenged and, ultimately, shaped me. I was in debilitating physical pain, with gut issues, and realizing our healthcare system couldn’t help me. It wasn't until my pain and discontent became unbearable that I came to realize my way out of this mess - to seize control of my health and fitness and take responsibility for freeing myself from these shackles.
With my curiosity leading the way, I dove deep into movement and pain science, our food and agriculture systems, and self-sufficient ways to heal my body and mind. I was able to expose myself to unconventional methodologies and refine my craft through experimentation. This led me to create my unique style of coaching, the same I use to help others going through the modern struggle.
I've rebuilt my body and mind using the principles and methods I prescribe, now my goal is to help you do the same.
MY PHILOSOPHY
As human beings, we are meant to be resilient and adaptable to our environments and the stressors of everyday life. This is why I believe in a balanced and comprehensive approach to fitness, one that leaves no stone unturned and has been developed over years of trial-and-error and first-hand experience. I combine weight training, mobility, conditioning, and nutrition to optimize the mind, body, and spirit while remaining pain-free.
WEIGHT TRAINING
Being pain-free doesn't come from a bottle, pill, or unnecessary surgery. It comes from a body that has been built to withstand the hardships thrust upon it. This is why weight training is the base on which your fitness will be built upon. Weight training makes you move, feel, and look better. With the constant progression and ever-changing movements and complexities, weight training will transform you into your strongest, best-looking self.
CONDITIONING
Cardio is far more important and has far greater potential to enhance performance than one might think. I'll coach you to better understand the benefits of aerobic and anaerobic cardio training - the two greatest predictors of longevity, i.e., remaining free from disease and illness. You'll also recover faster and sleep better than ever before.
MOBILITY
Mobility training is joint training. It's a targeted and multi-faceted approach that develops resilient and free-moving joints that help resist pain, injury, and other joint-compromising diseases like arthritis. Mobility training is the key to counteracting the lifestyle of Western civilization and is the missing link in most people’s training.
NUTRITION
Western mainstream thought and lifestyle habits that have been developed over the years have created a society stricken with obesity, heart disease, and cancer. It's time to educate yourself on your body's nutritional requirements and create a balanced, nourishing, and satisfying diet to improve performance and heal the mind and body.
QUALIFICATIONS
I’m driven to stay at the top of my field by continuously educating myself through self-study, mentoring from the field’s elite-level coaches, and attending cutting-edge courses and seminars every year.
Certified Personal Trainer - NSCA
Certified Physical Preparation Specialist - CPPS
Kinstretch Certified - FRC
Postural Respiration - PRI
Mobility Specialist - FRC
Corrective Exercise Specialist - NASM
Online Trainer Certified - PTDC
Myokinematic Restoration - PRI
“I don’t complain of the lack of time. . . what little I have will go far enough. Today – this day – will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay siege to the gods and shake up the world.”
- Seneca, Medea, 423-425
MORE ABOUT ME
Outside of my work, I’m a fitness and movement enthusiast, backpacker, writer, minimalist, triathlete, #vanlifer, buffalo chicken garbage disposal, wannabe philosopher, amateur speaker, student of life, gym rat, grill enthusiast, and ice plunger.
I enjoy spending my free time training for various ends (but always lifting heavy things), traveling across the country with my fiance, Ashley, in our self-converted camper van Vanderlee, reading and writing to immerse myself in history, art, and my personal development (also to make sure I’m an asset to society), and taping my mouth closed at night to get a great nights sleep.