Meet Kirby Retzer | Strength and Conditioning Specialist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Kirby Retzer and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kirby, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida. Our house was in a golf community and it was positioned on the side of a 585 yard par 5. Growing up with a brother that was 4 years older than me, we had the biggest playground anyone could ever ask for. That environment gave us the freedom to explore every sport and physical activity you could think of. I am convinced that is where my love of sports and the outdoor world came from. Climbing trees, running/jumping/throwing everything imaginable built a background of general athleticism that still helps me in my life today. Those formative early years helped me when it came time for more competitive sports in high school, and without that general athletic foundation I wouldn’t have been good enough to play college baseball.
Also, my parents pushed me to be physically strong. From a young age it was a requirement to do pull ups before bed and when I was old enough (13) my mom brought me to the gym and taught me how to lift weights. When it came time for training for baseball in high school and college I was much more prepared than the other kids and that gave me a needed edge because I was shorter than everyone else. It was also a significant advantage within my career of personal training and muscle health. I am forever indebted to my parents for the background and upbringing they provided for me.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At Symmetry Exercise Clinic we help people that haven’t been able to achieve results with traditional exercise methods. There are two “tracks” at Symmetry; the first is traditional personal training. With personal training we help people achieve results related to their physical well being such as preservation of muscle (sarcopenia – loss of muscle as we age) and bone density (osteoporosis). On this track we teach people the principles of exercise so they can safely train with forms of resistance to create necessary adaptations. The second track is focused on helping people move better so they can reduce their unwanted sensations such as pain and stiffness from a multitude of reasons (sciatica, low back pain, shoulder/hip replacements).
I was recommended to Symmetry Exercise Clinic 11 years ago when I finished my career as a baseball player and was told surgery was the only option to fix my elbow pain. The staff here (Jay Weitzner) found that my neck and shoulder did not move well, and through improvement of those muscle systems my elbow was pain free in two weeks. This experience was transformative for me. Physical therapists at the highest level of professional baseball could not help me, and my physician was telling me I needed an Ulnar Nerve Transposition. To be able to avoid surgery AND move better than I did before sent me on a journey to learn how to think like a Muscle Systems Specialist.
It is our mission to help people move the way they want to, especially when other practitioners have not been able to.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family is what comes to my mind first, but because this is about my career in particular I will keep it to those that have impacted that most directly. I can say I’ve had three mentors in my career and I would like to recognize them.
First, Mike Roose. He was the strength and conditioning coordinator with the Red Sox when I started as an intern. He’s had my back since the first day I entered this field and was an impactful mentor to me as I started my career. Mike has a background in exercise physiology from FSU and served in the Air Force for multiple tours of duty. Secondly, Mike Roose’s right hand man when I was with the Red Sox, Edgar Barreto. Edgar has the most infectious personality of anyone I have met. You can’t have a bad day around him! He taught me how to be a professional in the strength and conditioning world, I am forever indebted. I learned as much about life as I did work from these two men.
Finally, Jay Weitzner and Greg Mack! As mentioned above, Jay helped me avoid surgery after college baseball and he is what has sparked the direction of my career into the world of Muscle Systems health. That initial experience led me to Greg Mack in Columbus, Ohio who taught me the principles of a Muscle Systems Specialist and exercise as a whole that I lean on every day.
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