ABOUT
TRAILHEAD FITNESS

MEET YOUR TRAINER

ZACH HELZER- CPT AND FOUNDER

Hi, I’m Zach! I’m a hiker, personal trainer, nutrition coach, and a huge comic book nerd.

I’m not your typical hiker. I didn’t come from an outdoorsy family, and I spent the majority of my life in the flat lower peninsula of Michigan, but even though I’m not an expert outdoorsman, I am an expert at getting people strong and fit.

I started weightlifting when I was a teenager because I wanted to build muscle, and attract girls. Thankfully I eventually grew out of this phase and started focusing on how to help others on their own fitness journeys. I graduated from the National Personal Training Institute in 2016, got certified, and have been training ever since.

In 2020 my career was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I couldn’t train anyone for seven months. Being stuck in my apartment 24/7 was driving me nuts, so I decided to start hiking as a way to get outside and exercise. During those seven months I hiked four to five days a week and quickly developed a new love for hiking.

Looking to step up my hiking game, I took a trip to Colorado in September of 2021 with a few friends, and I summited my first 14er (a mountain over 14,000 feet in elevation). It was difficult, but well worth it because the view from the top was breathtaking. Unfortunately a couple of my friends weren’t prepared for the hike, so they stayed back and missed out. I felt bad that they couldn’t experience summitting a mountain, but it wouldn’t have been a safe hike for them.

This made me realize that everyone deserves the opportunity to see these breathtaking views no matter their fitness level. So I combined my passion for fitness with my newfound love of hiking and created Trailhead Fitness, a specialized training program for people who want to go on challenging hiking adventures, but aren’t sure how to properly prepare for them.