Moji Oluwa: From Olympic Weightlifter to Personal Trainer

Hockey has the hat trick, with fans spontaneously saluting any player who scores three goals in a game. Major League Baseball and thoroughbred racing each feature a version of the Triple Crown, celebrating the rare accomplishment of winning three championships in a single season.

The world of weight training and fitness does not officially recognize similar achievements, but if it did, Moji Oluwa would be a deserving recipient. The Olympic weightlifter turned professional bodybuilder turned accomplished personal trainer has reached elite status in the industry in three different disciplines.

At 42, Oluwa continues to compete as a bodybuilder while living out nearly a lifelong dream of working as a personal trainer. That dream began to take shape at the age of 8 when Oluwa stumbled upon the iconic bodybuilding movie "Pumping Iron" while watching TV in his native Nigeria. The documentary that helped make Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name also changed Oluwa's life forever.

"Seeing people with that much muscle inspired me," Oluwa said. "I had never seen anyone like that before. I wanted to do that, and I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to live that lifestyle, to be in control of me, mentally, physically and emotionally."

He accomplished all that, and then some. When Oluwa had the opportunity to meet Schwarzenegger eight years ago at the annual Arnold Fitness Expo, he did so not simply as an admirer, but as someone who has made a significant impact on the industry.

Oluwa came to the United States on an International Olympic Committee scholarship to train as a weightlifter for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He went on to serve as the captain of the Nigerian Olympic weightlifting team.

When the games ended, Oluwa decided to remain in the United States and start a new life for himself. He had a contact in the city of Sacramento, California, who offered him a place to stay to help him get settled in a new country. But as Oluwa described the experience, "things didn't work out."

Without any other connections or job prospects, he was homeless.

Oluwa turned to a coach he had worked with before the Olympics who lived in Los Angeles. The coach became a lifesaver, inviting Oluwa to live with him. It provided Oluwa a sense of belonging.

"The one thing that kept me going was going to the gym. Working on my body, working on my mind, working on me. It was tough in the beginning, and at one point I thought about going home. But I hung in there, and I kept believing. There was a reason that I came here. I live by this motto: 'Emotional pain leads to emotional growth'. Oluwa continues, " I told myself that if I stayed here and went through all of the struggles, one day something great was going to happen, and it did."

Oluwa's career as a personal trainer began to take shape in 1997 after his competitive weightlifting career came to an end.

"I decided to become a personal trainer because I know what it feels like to not have the right help when I first started weightlifting," Oluwa said. "I just wanted to pour all of my knowledge into the industry."

Oluwa became an ISSA certified trainer approximately six years ago. "I believe in certain philosophies in guiding and training people, and when I looked into the ISSA training philosophy and motto, it agrees with mine," he said. "It's all about the client, making sure the training fits the individual."

One of the keys that Oluwa took from his training at the ISSA was the importance of delving into clients' backgrounds; whether they have an athletic background, whether they have had any injuries, any health issues or bad habits, etc.

"Someone could have issues with flexibility or range of motion," Oluwa said. "You have to help them tackle those issues first before you can help them get their body to where they want it to be."

Oluwa works as an independent trainer at a gym in Burbank, California. His clients range in age from 15 to 90 and include people who simply want to lose weight, to competitive athletes.

Oluwa said he works with many bodybuilders and also choreographs routines. He works with athletes by focusing on exercises that will improve performance in specific sports. So, as he pointed out, Oluwa's work with the golfer aiming to get his PGA Tour card this year is different than the work for his mixed martial arts fighters.

"I used to train a Jui Jitsu guy who struggled with endurance," Oluwa said. "By the time he got to the second round, he started losing some of that endurance and grit. So we knew what to work on. After working for about six months he fought again, and he won. He said he felt as good in the third round as he did at the start of the first."

Among his success stories, Oluwa began training Eben Britton, a promising high school football player, when he was 16. The offensive tackle was 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, and would grow to 300 pounds. He went on to play for the University of Arizona and was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars and played six years in the NFL.

As for any advice, he would give to someone considering a career as a personal trainer, Oluwa spoke of having a passion for what you do.

"I see trainers in the gym going through the motions and not putting 100 percent of themselves into what they are doing," he said. "The other thing I recommend is that they be creative. You can't have the client doing the same thing week in and week out. You can't expect the client to progress without giving them something to challenge them."

"Keep educating yourself, and do research. There are always new ways to train people; there is no one way to get to a destination."