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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

On the job : Coach moonlights as personal trainer


Personal trainer Bob Omlin, left, works with client  Jim Campasino. 
 (Jed Conklin / The Spokesman-Review)
Mike Lynch Correspondent

Bob Omlin is a rangy 6-foot-3 and, dressed in his workout clothes, exudes good health and physical fitness. In fact, those descriptive phrases provide an excellent definition of his various occupations.

During some of his working hours Omlin is occupied at Specialty Training Inc. in the Paulsen Building in downtown Spokane. Omlin is active there as a certified personal trainer. He is one of a dozen personal trainers, not all full time, at Specialty Training, which has been in the Paulsen Building for three years.

Darin Bell is president of Specialty Training. He’s also a certified trainer and has an obvious aim of making exercise programs conveniently available to people working downtown. The facility can be a skywalk stroll for many.

Initially on the ground floor of the building, Specialty Training has expanded to upper floors in the last three months. On this particular day, Omlin had an appointment in Suite 252, a large bright area equipped with free weights and stability balls among other exercise equipment.

Omlin works by appointment because he has other commitments during the week. He is a teacher and coach at Whitworth College. He teaches kinesiology and physical education.

Omlin also coaches pole vaulting and high jumping at the school during the track season. And he has the credentials for that. He attended Washington State University and Eastern Washington University. During his collegiate years he competed in the decathlon, track and field’s most demanding event. He graduated from EWU, majoring in sports medicine.

As for his time at Specialty Training, Omlin said it’s never dull.

“Every hour is different. I love it,” he said.

Omlin works with a variety of individuals, people who come to him from either active or inactive lifestyles.

“We have some people who work out five days a week, and some once a week,” he said.

He also works with high school and college athletes, helping some rehabilitating from injuries. And a big part of work is evaluating each individual’s general conditioning and flexibility. The personal trainer’s fee is $50 to $55 an hour, Omlin said. That can be an hour for evaluating the client and establishing an exercise program, although some clients work with him more often.