As P360 continues to grow, so too do our amazing team of coaches.  We are both extremely proud and excited to introduce your two new P360 Level I Certified Coaches, Caitlin Friedhoff and Matt Eubank, as well as your new endurance coach, Maria Alcoke!

If you’ve ever been in a class with Matt or Caitlin then you’ve probably received help from them at some point already. Always positive and always quick to lend a hand to their fellow members, both Caitlin and Matt are natural fits for their new coaching role.

Becoming a P360 Level I coach is not a process we take lightly.  Many request to undergo the process, few are accepted.

The certification process is about three months and throughout its entirety, both Caitlin and Matt have consistently displayed an extraordinarily high understanding of movement, training and coaching.

Their certification includes:

• Phase I – Written Demonstration – 125 question test from the 100 page P360 Training Manual where they both scored above a 93%.
• Phase II – 2-day verbal cues and demonstration.  We tested their ability to coach movement, spot and correct problems and how to effectively communicate.
• Phase III – 3-day shadowing and on the spot testing of movement correction (which will happen next week).

We are excited to learn from them as well, as their individual experiences and training journey have taught them much.

Caitlin joins us with almost a decade experience as a certified personal trainer.  She is a former Division-I athlete, USA and Coast Guard rescue swimmer.  She has a ton of knowledge and experience coaching clients and will bring her ability to communicate in a one-on-one personal training role to a larger group environment.  Caitlin is a confident communicator and exceptionally talented female athlete.  Already popular in her noon class, we are excited for others to learn from her knowledge.  Caitlin will coach throughout the week on a semi-regular basis.

Matt is a two year understudy.  A former novice to these movements, Matt simply followed the process all the way to top 8% of performance in the gym and into Club Forged, a level you do not achieve without an understanding of training, movement load to volume ratio and recovery.  Additionally, Matt holds the record for quickest male beginner to 400# deadlift, has a 58″ box jump and a mile sprint of 5:29.  A natural athlete, fast study and effective communicator, Matt’s experience as a member turned coach will be valuable to new and current members looking to get better.  Matt will coach a few times per month.

Maria comes on board as our Endurance Coach.  She is a 6-time Top 10 finisher, has finished the long course Wildflower Half Ironman, 3:30 Marathon PR, 5:40 mile sprint and has experience training for triathlons, full and half marathons, trails and sprints.

We are beyond excited to have them and are confident you will feel the same way.

You can expect to see them run classes beginning April 1st, with Maria’s endurance class starting Wednesday, March 5th!

Let’s get to know them.

Caitlin Friedhoff (Level 1 Coach)

From: Federal Way, Washington
Graduated: SDSU, St. Mary’s College of California
Favorite Exercise: Pull-ups, double unders, power cleans
Least Favorite Exercise: Broad jumps :)

I Eat: A lot. I cannot stand onions, especially when they are chopped up really tiny and I can’t pick them all out! Not a fan of tomatoes, either. Other than that I’ll eat anything!
Favorite Cheat Food: Carne asada burritos and Rubicon Deli cookies

Embarrassing Fact: I’ve had my teddy bear for 25 years and he’s been washed once.
Fun Facts: My last name is German for the word ‘graveyard’.

About Caitlin

My background in fitness has stemmed from USA Swimming which I began seriously pursuing at the ripe age of eight. In high school I was undefeated in Districts for all four years in the 50 yard freestyle as well as the 100 yard freestyle, which provided me a full scholarship to San Diego State in 2003.I swam in college for two years and then decided to retire my swimming career in exchange for being a normal person for once. At this point I became a certified personal trainer to help myself through the rest of college, and because I still wanted to remain active in the training world and help others.Long story short, chlorine and pools have dominated my life! I have served in the United States Coast Guard as a rescuer swimmer aboard ships. I have also experienced the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Rescue Swimmer School (yes, the one from that movie with Kevin Costner).Right now I am a newbie to the sport of triathlons, my bank account may not like it but I see myself getting hooked! So, if you have any questions about swimming technique feel free to ask! I am very excited to help everyone at the gym and become apart of the amazing staff already in place.

Caitlin’s Accomplishments: 12 dead hang chest to bar pull-ups, 245# deadlift, 2nd Place (overall) in P360 Battle of the Sexes II, 2:54 half mile sprint, 145# hang clean, Level 3 Prison Yard Club, Level 2 Barbell Club, Level 1 Frog Club

Matt Eubank (Level 1 Coach)

From: Newark, Delaware
Graduated: James Madison University
Favorite Exercise: Anything jumping and pull-ups
Least Favorite Exercise: Distance running, barbell rows

I Eat: I try to make as much of my meals as possible.  I have been on quite the food adventure over the last two years by challenging myself to make meals that are both delicious and good for me.  I try to keep everything relatively clean but I don’t feel like I handcuff myself with my diet.  If I want a sandwich, I eat a sandwich but my cravings for food like that are very rare these days.  I eat a lot of sweet potato dishes, bacon and egg scrambles, ribs, steak and plenty of stir-fries.
Favorite Cheat Food: Sandwiches, Baked Bear

Embarrassing Fact: #P360confessions: at a party we hosted in college, someone peed in my shampoo bottle and I used it for a few weeks wondering why my pert plus was “a little runny”.  Side note: my hair was absolutely stunning during that time.
Fun Facts: With a few exceptions, I’ve cut my own hair for the last 12 years and for a majority of college, I wore nothing but yellow clothes.  I was known by many as “Yellow Matt”.  I pierced my ear as a joke after I graduated high school and kept it until my 30th birthday. 

About Matt

I have always been a very active person but I suffered from severe (undiagnosed) “Athletic ADD”. I wanted to play every sport I came in contact with. I grew up playing mainly baseball and basketball but dabbled in a lot of other sports and remain very active in athletics to this day.In addition to a heavy dose of P360 each week, I participate in kickball, softball and basketball leagues (I recently won all three championships within a 2 week span…nbd).Throughout my journey in athletics, I never found the desire to lift heavy weights. Maybe it was because of my feeble frame. I’d accepted the fact that my biceps were never going to rip through a shirt sleeve and it was up to my personality to do the heavy lifting. I’d go to the gym quite infrequently and bounce around to different machines but usually some other piece of equipment caught my eye so I would move on to that, sometimes in the middle of a set.As I got older, I saw the need to take care of my body more, which opened the door for me to join a place like p360. I thought I would try it out for a few months and move on to something else. It was at this point that I caught the “bug” for lifting. The programing was just perfect. The workouts were laid out for me daily and short enough to keep my attention the whole time, all the while, getting me in to the best shape of my life.I am so competitive that I became obsessed with getting stronger and stronger and learning how I could improve my technique to breakthrough any strength plateaus I hit.I love being a part of such a positive community and everyone here really drives to be better everyday. It is so inspiring to see other members hit big PRs because I know how much we all work to get there.I am honored to be a part of this team and can’t wait to help in any way I can so that other members can reach the goals they have set out to achieve.Matt’s Accomplishments: 415# deadlift, 58″ box jump, 5:29 mile, 21 strict pull-ups, Club Forged, Level 4 Frog Club, Level 4 Mile Club, Level 2 Barbell Club, Level 2 Prison Yard Club, 9th Place (Men’s Overall) — P360 Olympics III, 11th Place (Men’s Overall) – Battle of the Sexes II

Additionally, Maria Alcoke joins us our Endurance Coach!

Maria Alcoke (Endurance Coach)

From: Columbia, Maryland
Graduated: University of Delaware (2006), Maryland Institute College of Art (MA, 2007)
Favorite Exercise: Pull-ups, jerks
Least Favorite Exercise: Kettlebell presses, rowing

I Eat: A lot. I love food and I love to cook; about 80% of the time I focus on eating clean. I ate a vegan diet for about 2 years but learned that I feel and perform better with a well rounded diet of organic fruits and veggies, grass-fed, free range meat and eggs, some grains, and a little dairy. If I wasn’t already married I would marry Brussell sprouts.
Favorite Cheat Food: ’My Pie’ pizza from Ciro’s, Thai Village drunken noodles, and Maryland crab pretzel (a soft pretzel smothered in crab dip).

Embarrassing Fact: I am obsessed with sloths. In college, I was given the nickname “Slothface.”
Fun Facts: I became an AAFA certified Spin instructor in 2008 but I never taught a class. I grew up swimming in the same conference as Michael Phelps. I have been snowboarding and surfing in the same day (only in SoCal)!

About Maria

I grew up in Columbia, MD where I fell in love with the water at the tender age of 2. I swam competitively year-round until my senior year of high school and took the fall of my junior year off from swimming to run x-country.

I chose not to swim in college and it took me a while to get a grip on balancing a healthy lifestyle outside of the consistent training schedule I once had. I fell into the cycle of weight gain and weight loss and decided to get serious about my health and fitness when I started grad school. After finishing my Master’s in 2007, I packed up drove across the country to sunny SD and have been here ever since. To me, San Diego is the healthiest place to live – you can shop at local farmer’s markets any day of the week, go for a hike or jog at the cliffs or paddle around the ocean or bay. This is where I ran my first marathon, discovered yoga and the sport of triathlon, and became part of P360’s amazing community.

I’ve loved this gym from day one and I could not be more excited to be a part of this coaching staff. I’m very interested in the connection between strength, speed and endurance and have been educating myself on the proper programming to benefit my own training as well as others’. When it comes to endurance training, I definitely believe in quality over quantity. My goal is to share my enthusiasm for sport and health with everyone I encounter here and maybe I’ll get a few of you to reconsider your distaste for running or even coach you through your first triathlon!

Matt’s Accomplishments: 3:30.35 California International Marathon, 7th Place Spartan Race, 1st Place San Diego Tri Rock Sprint, Level 2 Barbell Club, Level 3 Prison Yard Club, 5:40 mile sprint