Jon Adler Kaplan was voted Best Personal Trainer in 2008 by Baltimore Magazine, but he wasn’t always so passionate about health and wellness.
In fact, he first started teaching a fitness class while he was a communications major at Penn State University for a group of sorority women just to have fun.
“It was a social thing,” Kaplan said. “That’s when Jane Fonda was pretty big. They nicknamed me Jon Fonda.”
What started as a fun pastime soon became a way of life. When Kaplan moved to Baltimore for a job, he taught aerobics part-time at at the Downtown Athletic Club. A year later, he quit his job and took up fitness full-time.
In the 31 years that have passed since then, Jon has been involved in club management for a variety of facilities in Baltimore and Washington, DC. He helped to establish the employee wellness centers at Harbor, Union Memorial and Good Samaritan Hospitals.
Jon received an Open Society Institute fellowship in 2008 to develop the Baltimore Fitness Academy—or BMoreFit, for short—which teaches young people to adopt healthier lifestyles. In 2009, he incorporated BMoreFit as a nonprofit and is continuing his mission to create healthier communities and reduce childhood obesity. The Board of BMoreFit merged with the Y of Central Maryland at the end of 2016.
Jon is currently building a Baltimore office for Infinity Wellness Partners. As WorkLIFE director he gets companies to embrace wellness so that employees are living healthier lifestyles. Jon also trains clients at Meadow Mill Athletic Club and at his home in Bolton Hill.
“I had heard that women should do some weight training as they get older, as it helps build stronger bones and prolongs life, but I had always been uncomfortable in gyms where both the machines and people intimidated me,” explained client Kristine Smets,
“So, I was apprehensive when I first signed up to exercise with Jon. But after our first workout together I realized I need not fear. Jon really met me where I was—a reluctant, rather inexperienced athlete who needs lots of constant encouragement.” After two years, Smets has seen results. “I have better posture, am much stronger, and even have a little bit of muscle tone! I have not quit because Jon does not let me off the hook and once I am there, I have fun.”
Working in corporate wellness is the perfect fit for Kaplan. “It allows me to utilize skills I have learned from 31 years in the fitness industry, combined with my marketing and communications background, to promote a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “But the best part is seeing the transformations that take place. A lot of people don’t get that in their jobs. When you see someone who transforms their life, it changes yours.”
Jon is available to train you in his Bolton Hill home or is happy to coach you in your home to help you become the best you possible. You can reach Jon at 410-241-8444 or jonadlerkaplan@gmail.com.
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