Personal Trainer in Bird Rock — Performance Training Center
Personal Trainer in Bird Rock
In-home personal training in Bird Rock, with a private studio in Bankers Hill for clients who prefer to come in. One coach, 22 years of experience, and a program written for your body rather than pulled off a shelf.
Training in Bird Rock, usually at your house
Bird Rock is quiet and residential, and the people who train with us here tend to like it that way. The training reflects that. Most Bird Rock clients train at home, one on one, on a schedule built around school runs and work, with no gym floor, no wait for a rack, and no music you did not pick.
Surfing is the other constant. Paddling is a lot of shoulder, a lot of thoracic rotation and a lot of time lying prone, and it turns up in assessments here more often than anything else. Strength work that supports it means building the mid-back, hips and posterior shoulder, keeping range where the stroke needs it, and not piling on more of what your sport already gives you plenty of.
Everything starts with an assessment rather than a workout. How you move now, what you have injured, what has been nagging and for how long, and how you sleep and eat around training. The program comes out of that and gets progressed when you are ready for the next step, so it is something you can hold for years rather than a hard week you never repeat.
Bird Rock is a drive from the studio, so in-home training is the default here, and it is also the format the research favors over training alone. A 2025 randomized controlled trial found in-person supervised training produced higher adherence and greater gains in strength and lean mass than app-guided or self-guided approaches. Someone in the room watching the set is the part an app cannot copy.
Our Integrated Training System
Four things run through every program. They work as one plan rather than as services you add on separately.
Strength & Conditioning
Progressive strength work, written for you and moved forward as you earn it. For most Bird Rock clients the target is a body that handles surf sessions, hills and everyday load without complaint, and that keeps its strength as the years add up.
Nutrition Coaching
Practical nutrition from a Certified Nutritionist, matched to what you are training for. Protein, timing and consistency you can actually keep, not a plan that survives two weeks. More on our nutrition coaching in San Diego page.
Somatic Movement Education
Movement re-education drawing on the movement teachings of Moshé Feldenkrais. Years of paddling and any old injury both leave habits in how you organize a movement. This is slow, attentive work on that, and it sits alongside the strength training rather than replacing it.
Functional Testing
Metabolomics testing at $799, plus microbiome, hormone and food sensitivity panels, for the stretch where progress has stalled and you want data behind the next decision. Optional, and not a replacement for your physician.
Services for Bird Rock Clients
Who We Train
All ages and abilities. Four kinds of clients make up most of our Bird Rock work:
Surfers and Ocean Swimmers
The water asks for the same things over and over, and a body eventually answers by getting stiff in the places that repeat. We train the mid-back and hips so the shoulder is not doing all the work, keep the shoulder strong through the range paddling actually uses, and build enough legs and trunk to make the pop-up feel easy again.
Parents Working Around a Full Calendar
Training in Bird Rock usually stops for scheduling reasons, not motivation. In-home sessions take the drive off both ends of the hour, which is often the whole difference between three sessions a week and one. Early mornings before the house wakes up tend to be the easiest slot to protect.
Adults Coming Back After Years Off
If it has been five or fifteen years, the first job is not intensity, it is finding out what your joints will tolerate and building from there. We start light on purpose, add load once the movement holds up, and keep the first month boring enough that you are still training in the third.
Post-Rehab Clients
Cleared by your physical therapist and not yet back to full function. We pick up after that clearance with somatic movement education alongside progressive strength work, and we have trained clients after ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, spinal procedures, and hip and knee replacements. Performance Training Center is a performance-training studio, not a medical or physical-therapy clinic. We do not diagnose, treat or rehabilitate injuries or medical conditions.
About Martin Alonzo
Martin Alonzo is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Golf Specific Strengthening Coach, Destination Wellbeing Practitioner, and Somatic Movement Educator with over 22 years of experience. His training integrates applied exercise science, structural assessment, and Feldenkrais somatic methodology into a single custom system built for each client.
His client list includes Fortune 500 executives, professional and collegiate athletes, post-surgical clients across orthopedic specialties, and serious San Diego performers across every life stage from late 20s through retirement.
Studio & Location
The studio is at 440 Upas Street, Unit 104, in Bankers Hill, one block from Balboa Park. It is a private room rather than a gym floor, and there is street parking on Upas. From Bird Rock it is a drive, so we would rather set you up with sessions at home than sell you a commute you will resent by week three. Clients who like getting out of the neighborhood are welcome at the studio any time.
In-home training is what most Bird Rock clients use. PTC travels from Downtown San Diego to Rancho Santa Fe, so the address is rarely the problem. You provide the space and we work with your home gym, your bodyweight, or the outdoor area you have. If you travel often, Assessment & Program Design at $899 per cycle gives you a written program to take with you. Nearby: La Jolla, Pacific Beach and our San Diego personal training overview.
📍 View on Google Maps · 📞 (619) 284-2510
Start with a conversation, not a sales call.
Tell us what you want to be able to do and what keeps getting in the way, and we will tell you honestly whether in-home or studio training fits your week. If you would rather come in with numbers, the free BMR and macros calculator takes about a minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you come to Bird Rock, or do I come to you?
Either. Most Bird Rock clients train at home and we bring the session to them, which is the honest recommendation given the drive. The studio at 440 Upas Street, Unit 104 in Bankers Hill is open to you whenever you want it. In-home starts at $300 per visit and studio sessions are $175.
I do not have much equipment at home. Does that matter?
Not much. A pair of adjustable dumbbells and a bit of floor covers more than people expect, and Martin brings what a session needs. If you already have a garage gym we will use it. The programming is the same either way, only the exercise selection changes.
I surf several times a week. Will lifting wreck my paddling?
Not if it is programmed around the surf rather than on top of it. The usual mistake is adding hard pressing and more shoulder volume to a body already doing plenty of both. We put the work into the mid-back, hips and legs, keep shoulder training strong but controlled, and place the heavier days where they will not land on your best swell window.
Can we train outside instead of in the house?
Yes. A driveway, a yard or a patio works fine, and outdoor sessions are easy to run here. You need enough flat ground to move on, and we bring the rest.
Do you offer one-on-one personal training, or only group sessions?
One-on-one is our primary model. Every session is part of a customized personal training program built for the individual based on your assessment, your goals, and where you are that week. We also offer small-group training (2-4 people, typically family or close-friend pairs) for clients who prefer it.
How long are training sessions?
60 minutes for standard sessions. Initial consultations are 30 minutes — we walk through your goals, your current fitness baseline, your injury history, and whether our methodology is the right fit for you. Most clients book a follow-up assessment session afterward.
I just had surgery and was cleared by my physical therapist. Can you help me get back to full function?
Yes — this is a large part of what we do. Somatic movement education plus progressive strength and conditioning is built to pick up where clinical care ends, once your physical therapist has cleared you. We’ve worked with clients post-ACL reconstruction, post-rotator cuff repair, post-spinal procedures, and post-hip and knee replacements. We coordinate with your surgeon and PT when relevant. Performance Training Center is a performance-training studio, not a medical or physical-therapy clinic. We don’t diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate injuries or medical conditions.
What strength and conditioning principles do you use?
Progressive overload, applied to a person rather than to a template. The American College of Sports Medicine’s position stand on progression models says the same thing: loading, frequency and progression have to match the individual’s goals, capacity and training history. In Bird Rock that usually means programming around a sport you are already doing several times a week, so the strength work adds to the surf rather than eating the recovery it needs.
Do you take insurance?
We’re a private personal training studio, not a medical clinic. We don’t bill insurance. Sessions are paid out-of-pocket, but we provide FSA/HSA-eligible documentation for sessions related to post-surgical rehabilitation when applicable.
What’s your cancellation policy?
Sessions cancelled with 24 hours’ notice are rescheduled at no charge. Less than 24 hours and the session is forfeit. Packages are non-refundable but transferable to a friend or family member.
How quickly will I see results?
Individual results vary based on ability, program intensity, recovery, and individual adherence. The clients who get the most out of training are honest with us about nutrition, sleep, and life stress — those factors drive the majority of outcomes alongside the training itself.
What does pricing look like?
In-studio sessions are $175 per session — same rate whether you book a single session or a package. In-home training starts at $300 per visit, with the final rate based on neighborhood travel time. Assessment & Program Design is $899 per 4-6 week cycle. View full rates.
Are you taking new clients right now?
We accept a limited number of new clients each month to maintain coaching quality. The best first step is the free BMR calculator + 30-minute consultation — that’s how we determine whether you’re a fit for our current openings. Reach out and we’ll let you know what’s available.
Coaching in Bird Rock, mostly at your door.
One coach, 22 years of experience, and a 5.0 rating across 25 Google reviews. Grab your numbers in about a minute, or just call and tell us what you are working on.
“Muscle-strengthening activity is associated with a 10 to 17 percent lower risk of death, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.”