Rachel Burke
Owner, Fitness Together Gunbarrel Road

Rachel Burke was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and has worked in the fitness industry in South Florida for eight years. Within this culture she experienced the vanity that the majority of the fitness industry encourages.  She now understands the importance of motivating clients to focus on their over all health and quality of life, instead of finding their identity in an ideal image.
Rachel's passion for health and fitness was born out of a love for tennis and bodybuilding and grew into a variety of fitness-related opportunities including tennis coach, aerobics coordinator, general manager of L.A. Fitness in South Florida, and nutritional counseling at Physicians Weight Loss Centers. 
Rachel is now excited to join the Fitness Together team in Chattanooga, which is equipping her to encourage, educate, and motivate clients for better quality of life.  Rachel is continuing her education by currently training for NSCA Certification.  She is involved in a local church, and has a passion for coaching and mentoring inner city teens. She currently enjoys a variety of sports, including tennis, running, bodybuilding, and roller blading and is embarking on new local challenges, such as rock climbing and trail running.

Julian Kaufman
BA HES/M.ED/NSCA-CSCS
Owner, Fitness Together Frazier Avenue

Julian Kaufman earned his B.A. degree in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University. He went on to earn a master's degree from Covenant College in curriculum and instruction. Julian is certified through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). The NSCA (www.nsca.com) is the world's leading authority on strength, conditioning, and fitness. The NSCA distinguishes itself from the hundreds of other certifying organizations because its foundation is rooted in scientifically reliable research. The NSCA bridges the gap between the lab scientist and the fitness practitioner. Julian also holds certification from USA Track and Field.

Julian has worked in several diverse health related fields over the last sixteen years in the Chattanooga area. His technical experience includes working alongside exercise scientists in human performance (vital capacity, stress test, heart rate, blood pressure, body composition, flexibility), exercise physiology (max VO2, O2 deficit, hydrostatic weighing, anaerobic threshold), biomechanics and motor development. Additionally, he has experience working as a wellness teacher, personal trainer, sport specific trainer, strength & conditioning specialist (at the high school & college levels), and coaching varsity high school sports (football, wrestling, track). He enjoys working with individuals of all ages and at all levels of physical fitness.

Julian's personal philosophy is centered on the idea that health is holistic in it's nature. Spiritual, intellectual, emotional, relational and physical health should be viewed in an integrated manner. As an individual deals with the physical aspects of their health, they should also be careful to care for the other, more complex components of their overall health. As the physical is worked on and developed, it must focus on substance versus image. This substance is whole health with the goal of preventing disease, increasing potential for longevity, and improving and maintaining quality of life.

Elizabeth Di Biase
Registered dietician RD/LDN

Elizabeth Di Biase, RD, LDN is a Registered Dietitians and Wellness Coach. She is part of the FT staff heading up our daily online journaling and accountability program.  She is a food and nutrition expert who can assist you in creating a healthy lifestyle by providing individualized, cutting edge nutrition information based on the latest scientific evidence.  Elizabeth takes a holistic approach by encouraging the unique balance between nourishing foods and physical activity.

Elizabeth received her undergraduate degrees in nutrition and psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and completed her internship at University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona.  She has worked in many areas of nutrition; including wellness, public health, program management, and clinical dietetics.  She is a Certified Weight Management Counselor with the American Dietetic Association and is a member of the Nutrition Entrepreneurs Dietetic Practice Group.

Elizabeth lives what she teaches by eating clean, whole foods and keeping active by attending yoga classes, hiking, skiing and running.

“Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food” ~Hippocrates

Blaire Newhard
Registered dietician

Blaire Newhard received her BS in Food and Nutrition at UTC and completed her Dietetic Residency in Portland, OR at OHSU.  She specializes in weight loss, diabetes, vegetarian nutrition, pregnancy & child nutrition, food allergies, and food preparation.  She has recently worked in organic test kitchens, organic farms, and as a personal chef.  She is currently the dietitian for Greenlife Grocery offering counseling and tours as well as the RD/LN for Fitness Together in Chattanooga. Blaire has a strong passion for educating our community on the benefits of eating whole, natural foods and living a healthy lifestyle.  

Denise Kile
Trainer
B.S. Psychology
A.S. Liberal Arts
ISSA Certified

Denise Kile earned a degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her personal training certification is from ISSA, International Sports Science Association. Denise has been involved in training for several years in Chattanooga. She loves to motivate others to reach their personal and fitness goals. Denise believes and takes pride in educating clients in proper nutrition and proper exercise techniques. Exercise and proper nutrition must work together to achieve the end goal. Seeing clients succeed in their goals is her passion. She believes in becoming a team member with the client. Accountability to a trainer is a must in reaching a healthy, functioning body. If we are not healthy, we are not able to function at our best. Life is a blessing, and if we are healthy we can enjoy it to the fullest.

"People decide their habits…their habits decide their future."  Anonymous

Jonathan McClellan
Trainer

Jonathan graduated from Covenant College in 2006 with a B.S. in psychology. He is a Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT) through the ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association).

Jonathan’s interest in health and fitness began at an early age as he was diagnosed with asthma. Jonathan overcame this adversity and in high school received All-Region Honors in both football and basketball. After high school, Jonathan had the privilege of continuing his athletic career at Covenant College where he received a basketball scholarship. At Covenant, Jonathan lettered four years on top of scoring over 1,000 points in his collegiate career. Jonathan received All-Conference Honors in his freshman and senior seasons as well.

Jonathan’s approach to fitness and health, like that of Fitness Together, centers on improving one’s ability to function thus improving one’s quality of life. While at Fitness Together, Jonathan has worked with a wide variety of individuals ranging in age from 9 to 90. Jonathan loves people and enjoys encouraging others. This paired with his hard work and attention to detail has brought him and his clients great success.

Jonathan feels that the Lord has blessed him with a unique ability to relate and encourage individuals in relation to health and wellness. He feels honored to work at Fitness Together.

Jonathan has hopes of one day working with college athletes possibly as a strength and conditioning coach. He has plans to earn his Masters in Exercise Science in the near future.

Justin Tate
Trainer

Justin Tate, is a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in which he plans to earn a B.S. degree in Health and Human Performance. Justin is a certified personal trainer through FFL and has certifications in CPR, AED, and Back Injury Prevention through the American Red Cross. He is a member of the AAPERD (American Alliance of Physical Education, Recrestion and Dance) and is currently working toward his ISSA certification for personal training.

Justin was born and raised in the Chattanooga area, where he graduated from Hixson High School in 2004. He is a very active person who enjoys sports, being outdoors, and other various physical activities. While in college, he was on the Lacrosse team for the Mocs, where he took pleasure in leading them to their first winning season in 2006. Lacrosse has helped Justin improve in agility, awareness, and speed training. He enjoys physical fitness and every aspect of wellness. As a personal trainer, physical conditioning, flexibility, and cardiovascular development are his primary areas of interest. He comes from a Christian family and is very involved with church. When Justin has free time, he occasionally enjoys hiking, swimming, golfing, and boxing.

George Arellano
Trainer

George Arellano has lived in the Chattanooga area for just over ten years. It was here that he set his sights on becoming a personal trainer and helping people with exercise, nutrition, and motivation.  Directly after graduating high school he decided to earn his personal training certification through ISSA.

 In September of 2005 George married Samantha Gibson of Wildwood, GA.  They now have one child (Julian) together.

Before arriving at Fitness Together, George already had a strong athletic background.  His main interest had always revolved around bodybuilding and changing the shape of his body.

Adam Parson
Trainer

Adam Parson attended both the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Dalton State College with studies in Psychology.  Adam played baseball and basketball his freshman and sophomore year in high school.  He has 15 years experience playing the difficult game of golf through which he taught himself how to play with proper technique, drills, and stretching.  He received his FT certification in late January, 2007.

In 2001, Adam struggled with being 40 lbs overweight and through discipline and his own research he conquered his goal by losing 45 lbs, dropping from 220lbs to 175lbs through proper diet and exercise.  Upon reaching his goal Adam set new goals of gaining back 45 lbs in strength and muscle.  With years of his own research he was able to improve his strength and muscular mass safely through proper diet and exercise.  He understands greatly the struggles of eating properly and making exercise a form of habit. 

Adam worked with CBS News 12 for 6 years prior to working at Fitness Together.  As a hobby he trained himself and others throughout those 6 years.  He has a desire to see help people form better habits for improvements in health and quality of life.  With Adam's great knowledge of literally hundreds upon hundreds of different exercises and several exercises has developed on his own, Adam brings a whole new ballgame to creativity and exercise intensity with more focus on making the workouts an enjoyable but yet effective experience.

Dustin Markanich
Trainer

Dustin Markanich, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, graduated from Lee University with a BS in Health Science and a minor in Religion.  Dustin is a certified personal trainer through the National Endurance & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA), Fitness For Life (FFL), and CPR certified through the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS).  He is also a first degree black belt in Wado Ryu.

Dustin worked for a year as a personal trainer before joining the Fitness Together team.  He enjoys meeting new people and helping them achieve their desired fitness goals and improving their quality of life.  Since a child Dustin has been very active and interested in fitness and exercise.  He enjoys playing all sports, especially soccer, and types of weightlifting including Olympic weightlifting and kettle bells.

Dustin believes that God has blessed him with a passion and a heart for helping people.  He loves to encourage others and help them reach their full potential.

Dustin is very driven to be the best personal trainer he can.  He is working on completing the National Strength & Conditioning Associations Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification and continuing to further his knowledge as a trainer.  Dustin plans to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition.  Dustin is very thrilled and excited to work at Fitness Together.