ROSEMONT, IL – The top 10 personal trainers in the world descended on DavidBartonGym in New York City on Oct. 17 to demonstrate their elite training skills and passion for fitness at the Life Fitness Personal Trainers to Watch competition and one trainer emerged the winner. Today, Life Fitness announces that Cristiano Arthur S. Parente, 38, of São Paulo, Brazil, has won the Life Fitness 2014 Personal Trainers to Watch competition.
“It’s truly an honor to have been selected as a finalist, let alone be named the winner among such talented and passionate individuals,” said Parente. “For the past 17 years, I’ve been lucky enough to change lives I’m not only a coach in physical training, but a coach in life, and the spotlight that Life Fitness has put on the industry through this competition is essential in recognizing the inspirational work being done by personal trainers around the world.”

Parente is a personal trainer and CEO of Koatch in São Paulo since 1997. Parente received a bachelor’s degree in sports science and a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of São Paulo and is currently working towards a master’s degree in sports management, marketing and law from the University of Neuchatel-Switzerland. His training philosophy centers on the knowledge of movement.

“Cristiano demonstrated a unique approach to personal training and an impressive level of dedication to the industry,” said Chris Clawson, Life Fitness president. “The resilience, strength and humility he has shown in his journey as a personal trainer are awe-inspiring. He is truly deserving of this award for his achievements both inside and outside the gym.”

Live Judging Event
The Personal Trainers to Watch program is in its fourth year, and this year’s competition brought in more than 1,700 nominations from 43 countries. The live global judging event was held at DavidBartonGym – Astor Place in New York City. The top 10 finalists, hailing from five different continents, were flown in to demonstrate their training skills in front of a panel of four elite fitness industry professionals. Each finalist was randomly paired with a volunteer that acted as their client for the demonstration. Finalists developed workout routines for clients utilizing the Life Fitness Synrgy360 functional training system based on the client’s fitness level and goals. Judges then scored the personal trainers on their ability to enhance the client experience, with criteria including building client confidence, motivating the client, appropriately adapting exercises, and progressing and regressing exercises as needed.

To view a video profile on Parente along with the other nine finalists, visit http://www.lifefitness.com/pttwevent.

The Personal Trainers to Watch program is held in partnership with the Life Fitness educational arm, Life Fitness Academy, as well as the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPs), EuropeActive and the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

About Life Fitness
Life Fitness is the global leader in commercial fitness equipment manufacturing. The company manufactures and sells strength and cardiovascular equipment under the brand names Life Fitness and Hammer Strength and distributes its equipment in more than 120 countries. Headquartered outside Chicago, in Rosemont, Ill., Life Fitness is a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC).

About DavidBartonGym
Founded in 1992 in New York, DavidBartonGym has world class trainers with unrivaled success in changing bodies, state of the art equipment, exhilarating energy, and award-winning design. With locations in New York, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, DavidBartonGym is devoted to its members and to helping them “LookBetterNaked.”